We tend to think of the refrigerator as a tool to keep food as long as possible. With most foods, it’s true. Without the refrigerator, we wouldn’t be able to have meat, dairy, or many types of products in the house. Refrigerators are truly a modern miracle that has revolutionized the way families eat.
But it turns out that some foods lose their freshness in the refrigerator. Sometimes cold foods diminish the flavor or change in texture.
You should review the 10 foods on our list to improve your cooking and get more out of your food. If you’ve put # 9 in the fridge, you’ve probably never tried a really delicious one.
Keeping the following foods at room temperature can actually help you avoid inadvertently wasting so much good food.
1. Onions
Onions will spoil faster in the fridge than on the counter. They will become moldy and mushy before you know it. It is best to keep the onions at room temperature, but keep them out of direct sunlight.
Once the onion is peeled and cut, you’ll want to refrigerate it. Just put it in a resealable bag and put it in the vegetable drawer.
2. Garlic
Garlic tends to lose its flavor when stored in the refrigerator. To keep this spicy flavor, keep it in a cool, dry container with some ventilation.
A paper bag is a prime example. But garlic always starts to break down once the head is broken. Make sure to use these teeth within 10 days.
3. melon
Whole melons, like cantaloupe, watermelon, and sweet melon, taste best when stored at room temperature.
Some research even suggests that the cooling melon will degrade the antioxidant content faster, so eating it at room temperature also makes the fruit healthier. After cutting, you can keep the melon in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.
4. Potatoes
Potatoes are best stored in a cool, dark environment, but the refrigerator is too cold. The cold begins to degrade the starch of the potatoes, causing a grainy texture unpleasant to eat.
Starch also begins to turn into sugar in the refrigerator, further affecting the taste.
5. honey
Honey crystallizes when stored in the refrigerator. It becomes grainy and practically solid, which makes it almost unusable and unpleasant.
Honey is kept for a long time, provided that it is kept at room temperature. Solidified honey can be recovered by gently heating the bottle in lukewarm water.
6. Bread
Bread is generally relatively perishable; it does not last long before molding. Some people put it in the fridge to prevent mold growth, and that helps in that regard. But refrigerating the bread dries it out too, so you can’t enjoy it anyway.
Bread is best kept in a bread box or pantry. If you need to extend its shelf life, freeze it and then grill the slices if necessary.
7. Nuts
Refrigerating nuts can extend their shelf life by preventing the oils from going rancid. But still, you don’t want to eat them cold, as they tend to lose their distinctive nutty flavor, as well as absorb odors from other foods in the fridge.
It is best to store the nuts in an airtight container at room temperature. To revive nuts that have been refrigerated, you can toast them in a dry skillet before eating them.
8. coffee
If you love coffee, you know there is a big difference between great coffee and bad coffee.
Refrigerating beans, whole or ground, will cause watery condensation, which makes beer very disappointing. Keep these beans in an airtight container at room temperature.
9. tomatoes
Although many products work best in the refrigerator, tomatoes are best kept over the counter. Cooling whole tomatoes takes away the flavor and makes the texture floury.
If your tomatoes are overripe, place them on a sunny windowsill. If they begin to overripe, it is better to cook them, after which they can be stored in the refrigerator.
10. Hot sauce
It’s okay to store hot sauce in the refrigerator, but it steals some of the spicy heat from the peppers. And you really don’t have to chill the hot sauce to keep it.