Which Foods Do You Keep in the Fridge?
There is quite a bit of disagreement about this pressing question. Here are eight popular products that we do—or do not—keep refrigerated.
Tomatoes
No. Don’t. Never in the fridge. The red fruits lose an incredible amount of flavor very quickly when you keep them refrigerated. Cold, flavorless, mealy tomatoes, anyone? Exactly—not for us. Just put them in your fruit bowl.
Butter
When we forget to take the butter out of the fridge in the morning at the office, our lunch is basically ruined already. A day without butter is a day not lived, according to the FavorFlav editorial team. Some chefs say you shouldn’t keep butter out of the fridge for longer than fifteen minutes, while others believe you can still perfectly enjoy this creamy crowd-pleaser even after a week outside the fridge. We tend to agree with the latter. After all, butter is made from pasteurized milk and therefore doesn’t spoil that quickly.
Bread
Never in the fridge. Don’t. All we have to say. Bread gets nasty; it loses flavor and moisture. And we wouldn’t wish a dried-out, flavorless slice of bread on our worst enemy.
Avocado
Don’t keep it in the fridge. At least, not if you want a delicious, creamy avocado. Ripening stops in the fridge, and since—if you’re unlucky—your supermarket may only sell rock-hard avocados, you’d better put them in your fruit bowl.
Eggs
Eggs should be kept in the fridge. An eggshell is always slightly porous, which means bacteria can enter and grow. Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria, and that’s especially important with eggs because you don’t want salmonella. You’re right that this is inconvenient if you do a lot of baking—most recipes call for eggs at room temperature—but you should do it anyway. Just take them out of the fridge half an hour beforehand.
Ketchup
There are so many preservatives in ketchup that you can safely keep your Heinz outside the fridge.
Apples
Keep apples in the fridge if you want them to last a long time. Outside the fridge, they stay good for about a week, so if you eat them within that time, you can easily keep them outside the fridge. If you want to keep them longer, the fridge is your friend.
Cucumber
I have to admit: I always kept cucumbers in the vegetable drawer. Until today. Cucumbers apparently dry out quickly in the fridge. The skin shrivels, and that always-so-fresh, crunchy green vegetable becomes soggy. From now on, I’m simply leaving my cucumber on the counter.
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