You can tell a lot about someone as to whether they keep their peanut butter in the fridge or cupboard – but who is right? Working out how best to keep your foods fresh can be confusing, but here are 10 foods which you should think twice about putting in that chilly refrigerator.

Fruit

This is a tricky one and completely depends on what stage of the ripening cycle you are in. Once fruit is ripe, store it in the fridge as the cold temperatures will stall the ripening process.

Once removed from the fridge it will likely soil very quickly so only take it out when you know you will eat it!

Before they are ripe however, make sure they take their place in a fruit bowl to allow them a gradual ripening process. The exclusion are grapes, figs and berries though – these preserve much better when stored in the fridge. Minefield!

 

Chocolate

I honestly believe there is nothing better than cold chocolate (in the morning…) but New Zealand based chocolate expert, Luke Owen Smith, disagrees with me. Apparently there is no reason to store chocolate in the fridge with it becoming “dull” and not releasing the flavor that it should do. For best results, store in a “cool, dry, dark place”.

Bread

Whatever you do, do not store bread in the fridge! Doing so will just dry it out. Keep in a cool dry spot to help it stay fresh but if there is too much bread, pop some in the freezer already sliced so it’s ready to go when you want a slice of toast!

 

Potatoes

Believe it or not but potatoes can lose their flavor when stored in a fridge. To ensure they are tasty, keep in a cool, dark place.

Tomatoes

Again, it’s a classic waiting game with these red wonders. If they are ripe, then they definitely belong in the fridge. But before that, stay clear of the fridge and cold as much as possible.

Coffee

Coffee connoisseurs tend to keep their coffee in the fridge but where did this come from? In reality, this is counter-productive as it takes some of the rich flavor away. Make life easy and just keep them in an airtight container in a cupboard.

Spreads

Nothing beats a slice of toast and jam but how do you keep your spread staying fresh? We recommend always reading the label, but on the whole most spreads are already well-preserved and therefore it’s unnecessary to refrigerate them. Plus, the high sugar content in a lot of preserves means they’ll be perfect out of the fridge.

Oils

There is an assumption that keeping foods in the fridge will make them last longer but that isn’t the case for everything. When it comes to storing oils or any oil based condiments in the fridge, it can actually have detrimental effects as light exposure can decrease an oil’s antioxidant activity.

Butter

Personally, I like my butter soft enough that it doesn’t break my cracker in half when I try to spread it but some prefer their butter cold. Either is acceptable but overall, butter does tend to last longer when kept in the fridge.

Garlic

If you have fresh garlic that is not yet peeled, best to keep it in the cupboard however once peeled the fridge will help keep its flavor!