15 Meals You Do not Truly Need to Refrigerate

You may be within the behavior of placing all of your perishables within the fridge, however the reality is that not every thing wants—or advantages from—a right away cooldown. Some meals can truly spoil sooner when refrigerated, whereas others lose texture or taste when chilled. 

Listed here are 15 meals dietitians say are higher saved outdoors the fridge.

1. Avocados

Chilly halts the ripening means of avocados and makes them arduous and flavorless, Diane Lindsay-Adler, MS, RDN, CDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Boston Kids’s Well being Physicians and assistant professor at New York Medical Faculty, informed Well being. As soon as they’re ripe, you’ll be able to put them within the fridge to stretch the frustratingly brief avocado-eating window just a few extra days.

2. Tomatoes

“Chilly temperatures can break down cell membranes, inflicting a rough texture and fewer taste,” Lindsay-Adler stated. Retailer them at room temperature away from direct daylight. After they’re reduce, although, tomatoes needs to be refrigerated.

3. Recent Herbs

“The chilly temperature of the fridge will wilt leaves, trigger black spots, and scale back aroma,” Lindsay-Adler stated. As an alternative, deal with recent basil, parsley, cilantro, and different herbs like reduce flowers. Place the stems in a glass of water on the counter, with a plastic bag loosely overlaying the leaves.

4. Potatoes

“If saved within the fridge, the chilly temperature converts starches into sugar, altering the flavour and making them gritty when cooked,” Lindsay-Adler stated. Retailer them in a cool, darkish spot with air flow, like in a paper bag or in a pantry. 

5. Onions

The moisture within the fridge can encourage mould and sprouting in onions, Lindsay-Adler stated. Maintain them in a cool, darkish, well-ventilated place, like in a mesh bag or a basket. Refrigerate them after they’ve been reduce.

6. Garlic

Storing garlic within the fridge can mess with its texture, turning it rubbery, in line with Lindsay-Adler. Like onions, maintain garlic in a cool place that is effectively ventilated, and stick it within the fridge after it has been reduce.

7. Apples

Apples don’t should go within the fridge, although some individuals may want them crisp and chilly. One other storage tip: Maintain apples (and likewise bananas and tomatoes) away from veggies like greens and potatoes. “The ethylene fuel from the fruit makes greens spoil a lot sooner,” Lindsay-Adler stated. 

8. Butter

Unsalted butter can keep out at room temperature for one to 2 days, in line with the USDA’s FoodKeeper food-safety app. Salted butter can keep out longer in an hermetic ceramic butter crock, because the salt acts as a preservative, Nicolette Tempo, MS, RDN, CDE, CDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist, chef, and founding father of NutriSource, informed Well being. 

9. Arduous Cheeses

A small chunk of an aged arduous cheese, like Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano, could be stored in an hermetic container at room temperature, Tempo stated. Freeze or refrigerate bigger quantities to maintain them recent. “Put them within the warmest a part of your fridge, just like the vegetable bin, to stop crystallization,” Tempo stated. Excessive-moisture cheeses, like feta or mozzarella, should be refrigerated.

10. Eggs

When you’ve been meals procuring in Europe, you most likely noticed eggs on cabinets as an alternative of in fridges. That’s as a result of these eggs are unwashed—in contrast to within the U.S., the place washing and refrigerating mass-produced eggs are required.

Eggs have a pure protecting coating on their shells to maintain micro organism out. Washing them removes that coating. When you get eggs straight from a farm or from yard chickens, they will keep at room temperature. However as soon as they’ve been washed, they should go within the fridge, Tempo stated.

11. Bread 

Refrigerating bread makes it go stale sooner, Tempo stated. As an alternative, maintain it in a bread field or an hermetic container. When you’re not going to make use of the entire loaf instantly, freeze it, particularly if it has seeds and entire grains. “The fats content material within the grains could cause some rancidity and spoilage,” Tempo stated.

12. Sure Sauces

Even after they’re opened, the vinegar and salt in sizzling sauce are pure preservatives, Lindsay-Adler stated. Similar goes for the salt in soy sauce. They are often stored at room temperature in a cabinet.