If you’re big on food and cooking, then your refrigerator is probably always full. But what if we told you that not all of the things you keep in there actually belong? Here’s a list of no refrigeration foods, for healthier meals and more space on your chilled shelves.
When you tend to cook a lot, like I do, you buy a lot of groceries and then you try to figure out the most efficient puzzle-like way of storing them in your cool box, am I right? Especially when I’m living with a roommate, a good sense of organizing things is a much-needed skill. You need a good feel for 3D puzzles since you sometimes have to figure out a way to fit in so many things.
But you know what tends to crowd? Some foods that quite frankly, need no refrigeration at all. Learning about these has really helped me open up a lot of space on my shelves. And of course, after clearing that space I then proceeded to cram even more foods in it. I am terrible. But you’ll probably do better than I did if you take out these no refrigeration needed foods.
Keep these foods on the counter or in the pantry, because they are very tough and can withstand room temperature. OK?
10 no refrigeration foods
1. Fruits
A lot of fruits, like cherries, plums, apples, pears, peaches, and nectarines don’t really need to be refrigerated. So why keep them in an environment they don’t really thrive in? Chilly air in the fridge can really destroy their internal structures. Because they’re as sensitive as they are tasty. This rule applies to pitted and stone fruits. So keep them at room temperature if you want to enjoy them for a long while.
2. Coffee
Maybe you’re not guilty of this particular sin, but I swear that I know way too many people who keep their coffee beans and grounds in the refrigeration when there’s no refrigeration needed. And they don’t listen to me, because they buy into some silly myth. Don’t do that to your morning coffee. The beans and the ground will become drier and flavorless because of that careless treatment. Maybe you’ve actually been looking for a reason why your coffee tastes bad?
3. Jam
I had a few jars of jam on the shelves in my refrigerator door. But guess what? I removed them, because jams and preserves are, as the name says, preserved foods, which means they are meant to last. Keep them in your pantry, for the love of pectin! You don’t need to keep that storage space busy.
4. Honey
Has your honey been crystallizing and you had no idea why? Well, odds are that you’ve been keeping it in the refrigerator, where it doesn’t belong. Low temperatures are the reason your golden elixir (I love honey, can you tell?) changes consistency, from smooth and viscous to grainy and with a nastier taste. Take your jars out of the fridge and place them in the pantry, stat!
5. Soy sauce and hot sauce
Both of these tend to get duller when you try to refrigerate them. Soy sauce is fermented, so it doesn’t need a cooler temperature to stay alive and kicking. And hot sauce loses its spicy notes over time, because of lower temperatures. Treat your sauces right and save them from deterioration!
6. Bananas
Have you noticed that your bananas tend to brown very fast and get all kinds of bruises on their beautiful yellow peel, even though you keep them in the fridge? Trick question! This has been happening because you keep them in the refrigerator, not despite it. Cold air is not good for a lot of your fruit. So if you want to keep them safe, store them outside of the fridge, as the Universe intended. While you still can.
7. Avocados
If you’re a huge fan of avocado toast, maybe we shouldn’t lecture you about the proper way of storing avocados. Still, let’s make sure we’re on the right page and make sure you are keeping them out of the refrigerator. Cold temperatures tend to ruin the fruit’s texture and lovely flavor. That is, if it’s still intact. If it’s halved, then you’d better keep it in the refrigerator. But only for a day, before it will undoubtedly go bad.
8. Maple syrup
This lovely topper for your pancakes or waffles or other foods behaves pretty similar to honey. And so, it doesn’t belong in the refrigerator. Lower temps will make it go bad and grainy and you can say goodbye to the syrup part of the name. Not to mention that it will definitely be tougher to pour over your breakfast.
9. Bread
Yeah, this one is strange to me, because I cannot stand the texture and taste of bread that’s been chilled out. It gets so crusty and inedible. And between you and me, I had another roommate who always put our bread in the refrigerator. And I honestly think – this is not my paranoia speaking, no! – that they were doing that just to spite me.
10. Pickles
This is another food item that has been preserved, so there’s no refrigeration required after you buy a jar. Or can it, for that matter. Sure, nothing bad happens to the pickles if you keep them in the fridge, but if you have many jars of pickles, like I do, then they tend to take up a lot of space. So why not clear that out for something a bit more urgent?
