10 Things to NOT Keep in Your Refrigerator This Holiday Season
The holidays are almost here, and with them come a lot of hungry mouths to keep fed! While many people believe that all food items belong in the fridge, there are certain foods that should never be refrigerated because it can make them go bad very quickly, make your fridge stink, or cause the food to absorb flavors from other items you are trying to keep chilled.
Here are foods that you shouldn’t ever try to refrigerate.
- Cooking oils. If you put them in the fridge, they will quickly lose their “oily” consistency and harden up. They will develop a texture that is similar to butter.
- Coffee grounds or beans. Unless instructed by the manufacturer, keep your coffee OUT of the fridge! Coffee in the fridge will absorb flavors from whatever foods may be stored around it. Also, the change of temperature from your kitchen environment to your chilly fridge will cause moisture to form in the coffee, which causes it to almost immediately lose its original flavor.
- Unripe tomatoes. When unripe tomatoes are kept in a fridge, they will develop a mealy texture and may never achieve full flavor. If the tomato is sliced, it may become so chilled in your refrigerator that it starts to form ice crystals.
- Onions. Onions will become very mushy if kept cold in your fridge. They can cause your entire refrigerator to have a very strong oniony aroma, as well.
- Potatoes. Cold temperatures will break down the starches in a potato and leave it with a very sweet, odd flavor.
- Unripe bananas. A banana in the fridge will not ripen. If you try putting green bananas in the fridge, they will never get fully ripe enough to eat.
- Honey. When honey is kept in a chilled environment, its sugars will start to crystallize and it will become difficult to scoop or pour.
- Garlic. While you may be thinking that a little garlic goes a long way in your meals, and you don’t want to throw away what you haven’t used, don’t put leftover garlic in the fridge. Garlic quickly becomes rubbery in a chilled environment.
- Uncut melons. A melon that isn’t yet cut can be kept in your kitchen – not chilled in the fridge. After you cut a cantaloupe, watermelon or any other type of melon open, that is the time when it should be kept chilled.
- Unripe avocados. When you buy an avocado, it may not be ready to eat just yet. If you put it in the fridge at this point, it will never fully ripen.
These are a few ways to prevent food spoilage and a smelly fridge this holiday season!