Foods You Should Avoid Storing in the Fridge

Usually you put things in the fridge if you want them to last longer, right? Unfortunately your best intentions may actually be shortening the longevity of some foods. Here are some foods you should avoid storing in the fridge:

🧅 Onions - Whole and unpeeled onions will get mushy quickly in the fridge since the colder temps turn their starches into sugars.

🥔 Potatoes - Just like onions, the starches in potatoes turn into sugars in the fridge, leading to a gritty texture.

🌱 Basil - Once trimmed, putting basil in the refrigerator will cause it to turn brown due to enzymes in the plant called polyphenol oxidase that reacts with oxygen. Trimmed herbs are best stored at room temp and whole stems can be stored standing upright in a jar of water.

🍅 Tomatoes - Leave your tomatoes on the counter. Fridge temps cause the compounds in tomatoes to become dull leading to less flavor.

☕ Coffee - Condensation can build up in your coffee in the fridge, drastically changing its flavor.

🍯 Honey - Honey will keep for a very long time at room temp (archeologists have found honey that’s thousands of years old!) and allows it to be more user-friendly. Colder temperatures cause honey to crystalize.

🧄 Garlic - Because it’s usually planted in the Fall, garlic will sprout more quickly when in colder temps. Keeping it in the fridge can make it turn rubbery and even mold. It’s best stored at room temp.