Refrigeration isn’t always necessary when it comes to food storage. Cold storage can even negatively impact the quality of certain foods. Properly storing different foods is vital to keeping them tasting their best. Before storing food, review this helpful guide for insight into which foods not to refrigerate and why.
Foods that deteriorate faster once placed in the fridge
Tropical fruits
If bananas, lychees, dragon fruit, mangoes, longans, papayas, and other tropical fruits are in the refrigerator, the skin will develop depressions and black-brown spots within a few days. Nutrients will not only be significantly damaged, but also quickly deteriorate.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are best stored at 10-12°C. They should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days; otherwise, their unique flavor will be lost.
Green peppers
The optimal temperature is 7-8°C, so they should not be stored in the refrigerator for long. Otherwise, they will become frozen, black, soft, and change their flavor.
Bread, mooncakes, and other baked goods
Bread, mooncakes, and other foods are soft and elastic because the straight chain of the starch is destroyed and cooked during the baking process. If these baked goods are kept in the refrigerator, they will become hard and stale faster, seriously affecting their taste.
Ham
If ham is stored in the refrigerator at low temperatures, the water will freeze, the fat will precipitate, and the flesh will become lumpy or loose, resulting in a less flavorsome and perishable product.
Chinese medicine
Chinese medicines should not be placed in the refrigerator, as they will absorb moisture, thus affecting their medicinal properties and introducing bacteria. The more valuable herbs, such as ginseng, antler velvet, and asparagus, to name a few, should be placed in clean glass bottles and then shelved in a cool, well-ventilated place. If you want to keep them for a long time, it is best to put them among some glutinous rice fried to a dark yellow color.
Chocolate
Once removed and left to stand at room temperature, refrigerated chocolate will develop a layer of white frost on its surface. Mildew can form if the chocolate is not consumed quickly, deteriorating the flavor and original taste.
Honey
It has been found that a jar of honey from 1,000 years ago maintained its freshness just as when it was initially poured. This is because honey can stay fresh. Putting honey in the fridge will crystallize faster and become almost like raw dough, making it difficult to scoop.
Coffee
Both ground coffee and coffee beans should not be in the fridge. It is basically like a sponge that can suck in all the surrounding odors, so if you put coffee in the refrigerator, it will suck in all the odors in your fridge, and there is no way to restore it to its original flavor.
Onions
Onions can become soft and moldy if left in the fridge for too long. They will lose their moisture if cut, no matter how tightly you wrap them. Also, a cut onion will impart its odor wherever it sits.
Potatoes
Low temperatures generally break down the starch in potatoes, so putting them in the fridge will give you sweet or gravelly potatoes. So no matter what you cook with these potatoes, they won’t taste good.
Fish
Fish in the refrigerator should not be stored for too long. The temperature of domestic refrigerators is generally -15℃, and the best quality refrigerators can only reach -20℃. When the storage temperature of aquatic products, especially fish, does not get below -30℃, the fish flesh will become dehydrated, or other changes will occur. For instance, when anchovies are stored for a long time in cold storage, it can lead to the flesh becoming rancid and inedible. The best motto is to buy fresh fish, cook, and eat it fresh!
Garlic
Garlic can quickly deteriorate in the refrigerator and become moldy and soft like rubber. Worse, its outer appearance doesn’t change, but when you cut it, the inside is rotten.
Foods that should not be eaten together
Cucumbers and tomato
Tomatoes contain ethylene, which causes cucumbers to deteriorate and rot. It is best to avoid storing and placing cucumbers next to tomatoes.
Bread and biscuits
Biscuits are dry due to low-level moisture, while the bread has more water. Storing these two foods together will cause the biscuits to soften and lose their crispness, and the bread will become hard and difficult to eat.
Dry rice and fresh fruit
While in storage, fresh fruit can evaporate its water and dry out, while dry rice will absorb this water and develop mold or worms. It’s recommended not to store these two foods together.
Fresh eggs, ginger, and onions
Egg shells contain many small air holes. Storing eggs near ginger and onions will cause their strong smell to penetrate the air holes of the eggshell, accelerating the deterioration of fresh eggs to the point of becoming rotten.
Vegetables and fruit
Storing vegetables and fruits together can easily lead to deterioration and contamination.
Seven taboos when using a refrigerator
- Never place hot food in a cold refrigerator.
- Avoid over-packing and crowding the refrigerator with excessive food. Leave gaps between food items to allow the convection of cold air to flow freely. These will help extend the life of the unit and save electricity.
- Raw and cooked foods should not be mixed in the fridge to maintain good hygiene and avoid contamination. These foods require different storage times, temperature requirements, and storage containers. Place raw food into proper freezer containers. Avoid placing the food directly onto the freezer shelves as the frozen food will be hard to remove.
- Fresh fish and meat should be sealed in plastic bags and stored in the freezer. Vegetables and fruits must be washed and dried thoroughly before being placed in the storage containers at the bottom of the fridge, set at the correct above-zero temperature suitable for fruits and vegetables.
- To prevent bottled liquid drinks from freezing and cracking, avoid placing them in the freezer. Instead, they should be placed on the refrigerator door stall and stored at about 4℃.
- Chemical drugs should not be stored with food items in the refrigerator.
- Frozen food should never be refrozen again after thawing. Cook thawed food thoroughly and refrigerate any leftovers. Frozen food bought from the market, such as meat, fish, chicken, duck, eggs, frozen vegetables, etc., should be processed and consumed as soon as possible after thawing and should not be prolonged.
Translated by Eva and edited by Maria
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