12 products you should never put in the fridge

Some people keep everything in the fridge (I recently took my car keys out of the vegetable drawer), while others have an official policy for it. If you’re also moving towards the organized side of life, this information is essential: these twelve things are better left out of the fridge.

Aged cheese

It becomes rock-hard if you keep it in the fridge. Especially if you put the cheese in your fridge unwrapped, but even in a piece of cheese paper – the best way to wrap cheese – it dries out and you could use it to knock a hole in your head. The best place for cheese is a cool, dry environment, so people with a cellar or a good pantry are the winners in this story. Otherwise: eat it quickly (no problem).

Potatoes

The cold changes the structure of the potato. So don’t put raw potatoes in the vegetable drawer; keep them in a dark place in your home instead. Room temperature is fine, but when it gets warm, your potatoes will start sprouting.

Cans of fish

Incomprehensible, but some people keep cans of fish in the fridge. Unopened! There’s no need—after all, they aren’t kept in the refrigerated section at the store either, are they? Check the best-before date on the can – it will probably keep for years – and simply store it in the pantry.

Hazelnut spread and chocolate spread

Try spreading it when the Nutella comes straight from the fridge: it doesn’t work. You’ll tear your sandwich to pieces. Just keep the hazelnut spread in the kitchen cupboard with the sprinkles and chocolate flakes; that’s where it belongs.

Garlic

Store garlic cloves somewhere dry and dark, for example in one of those special garlic pots. Not in the fridge, where it’s always a little damp, because that will inevitably make your garlic go moldy.

Onions

In the fridge, onions become soft and start to go moldy. And – even worse – everything in your fridge will start to smell like onions. So never do it! Store onions with garlic and potatoes in a dark place. Already cut? Use immediately.

Honey

People put it in the fridge because they’re afraid the honey will go moldy. Nonsense, that can’t happen. In the cold, honey does crystallize, making it harder to scoop out of the jar. Has the honey become hard? Put the jar somewhere warm, and you’ll see that it naturally becomes golden and liquid again.

Basil

Have some basil leaves? Don’t put them in the fridge; they’ll develop black spots and become soft and mushy. Put the cut basil stems in a glass of water, as if they were a bunch of flowers, and they’ll stay good for a little while. An even smarter idea is to make a delicious pesto right away—it will keep longer (in the fridge!).

Olive oil

Why on earth? The oil becomes thicker in the fridge and loses its lovely aroma and fruity flavor. Just leave it on the counter, please.

Peaches, apricots, cherries

All types of stone fruit taste best at room temperature. Don’t put them in the fridge, because they’ll develop bruised spots more quickly and the fruit will lose its flavor. Is the fruit not ripe yet? Put it in a paper bag with a banana, and within a day it will be soft and juicy.

Tomatoes

Never in the fridge. They become hard, they don’t taste good, and they don’t keep any longer either. Put them in a bowl and leave them on the counter or somewhere else at room temperature. With a bit of luck, they’ll even catch some sunlight, making them even riper and more delicious.

Chocolate

Why would you keep a bar of chocolate in the fridge? Cold chocolate doesn’t taste good and feels strangely grainy in your mouth. You can also get ‘sugar bloom’ on your chocolate, a grayish-white coating. It won’t go away, and the texture of your chocolate will no longer be deliciously creamy but rough. Ouch, don’t do it again!

Read also:

• You are what you eat: the fridges of 14 families around the world prove it
• These 11 things will keep for at least two weeks in your fridge
• Eddie’s food pet peeves: that layer of water at the bottom of the fridge

Source: Constative