Foods not to be preserved in the refrigerator: 10 foods you maybe store incorrectly

One of the most common mistakes in the kitchen is to think that everything can be put in the refrigerator and that cold temperature could preserve all types of food more easily and for a long time. Are your refrigerators overflowing and you are wondering if that leftover clove of garlic could stay right there, in the salad drawer? Do yourself a favor: stop for a moment and keep reading. Of course, many foods can and must be kept in the refrigerator: but not everything, and certainly not these 10 foods you will read about. So let's see which ones.

1. Potatoes

To preserve them as long as possible, potatoes need a dry place where they can lose part of their humidity; so no need of the refrigerator. Cold temperatures then make them rot faster and turns the starches into sugars. The result? Floury potatoes, often too sweet. Put your potatoes in a paper bag and then in a cupboard, you will preserve them much longer and they will be much tastier.

2. Bread

Unless you're trying to turn your bread into a brick, the refrigerator isn't the best place to preserve it. Cold temperatures make it dry and hard, practically you will have to throw it away. The best way to store every kind of bread is to put it in a cotton bag or in a paper bag, like those of bakeries.

3. Tomatoes

The reason why tomatoes should never be put in the refrigerator is quite simple: cold temperatures interrupt the ripening of this vegetable and makes it floury to the taste. The best way to preserve your cherry tomatoes is in the fruit basket, strictly at room temperature.

4. Basil

Have you ever noticed that your lush and green basil once put in the refrigerator turns black and withers? So why persevere in the error and spoil your dishes? In fact, in the refrigerator, the leaves tend to rot and lose their properties, color and flavor. Basil is a flower and as such should be preserved: a nice glass jar with a little water and you're done, in this way you will safeguard aromas, flavors and colors.

5. Coffee

Coffee is a concentrate of aromas, perfumes and sensations, for some people it is a real poem. But perhaps not everyone knows that coffee, if put in the refrigerator, absorbs the smells and humidity of all other foods: do you really want to start the day with a cup of pepper-flavored coffee? We have no doubts about the answer, so bring an airtight container and keep it at room temperature.

6. Bananas

The best way to make bananas go bad is to put them in the refrigerator: at the speed of light they will become soggy and of a decidedly uninviting brownish color. Of course, bananas have a rather fast ripening which however can follow its natural course if you preserve them in a fruit basket, but away from apples.

7. Avocado

A hard avocado is an inedible avocado: the cold temperatures of the refrigerator allow you to preserve the avocado for weeks, which means that you will practically never eat it. A good avocado is an avocado soft at the right point and, to achieve that compactness that makes it so good and prepare a mouth-watering guacamole sauce, you will have to let it rest at room temperature. If you are in a hurry, put it next to an apple that will accelerate its ripening.

8. Garlic

The effect of the refrigerator on garlic is practically an aggression: the cold temperatures in fact makes it sprout faster and makes it mushy, and it will be a real nightmare to sauté it. Garlic must preserved like potatoes: in a dry and possibly dark place.

9. Onion

The same garlic thing can be applied to onion: in this case, however, we are talking about whole onions that are much better preserved at room temperature; in fact, the cold temperatures tend to make them rot faster, while the air is a real cure-all for onions. If, on the other hand, we are talking about onions that we have already used, then yes, the refrigerator can help you preserve them, provided they are wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

10. Eggs

At the supermarket, you buy the eggs on the shelves at room temperature, so why do you decide to put them in the refrigerator as soon you arrive at home? In reality, perhaps you are a little bit right, because many refrigerators have special containers for eggs: the truth is that they are of little use. In fact, the eggs are preserved in the same way inside or outside your favorite electrical appliance. Why then keep them out? Because the cold temperatures change the flavor of the eggs and your omelettes will be a little insipid.