The Channel 46
Most households store their coffee in the fridge, thinking that this will elongate the shelf life of the coffee and keep it fresh. This could not be farther away from the truth. Coffee does not need cooling from the fridge to stay fresh. On the contrary, the humidity from the refrigerator can adversely affect the aroma and taste of the coffee. The moisture from the fridge will lead to clumping of the coffee and cause it to absorb the smells from other food items present in the fridge. The only situations where it is acceptable to store coffee in the freezer is when you have bought too big a batch of coffee, or if you are not a regular coffee drinker and use it very occasionally.
Did you know that honey is one food item that never goes bad? Even though storage and external factors might cause the appearance of honey to change, the presence of high sugar content prevents the growth of bacteria. Storing honey in a refrigerator is a bad idea because the quality of honey deteriorates in the cold temperature of the refrigerator. The sugar present in honey crystallizes in the fridge, totally ruining not only the appearance but also the flavour and benefits of honey.
Potatoes are best stored at room temperature. Keeping them in the fridge converts the starch into sugar and makes them taste sweet. Raw potatoes will last in the fridge for 3-4 weeks but during this time, there will be considerable chemical changes in them. Raw potatoes in the fridge may also absorb odours from other foods in the fridge, affecting their flavour. Although keeping raw potatoes in the fridge is not recommended, you can use the fridge to store cut potatoes. Simply submerge your chopped potatoes in water and then place them in the refrigerator. Ensure to use these cut potatoes within a day.
Eggs are an item that is always found in the fridge. In fact, refrigerators have slots specially designed for storing eggs. However, recent research has proven that keeping eggs in the fridge can make them unfit for consumption. The moisture formed on the eggshell due to condensation in the refrigerator can lead to the growth of bacteria. This bacteria can also possibly enter the egg and cause health hazards.
Do you end up eating dried bread from the refrigerator only because you think the shelf life of bread increases when it is stored in the fridge? It must be noted that bread goes stale faster when it is stored in the fridge. Storing bread in plastic bags and then placing them in the fridge causes mold growth. If you choose to keep it in paper, the moisture in the bread dries out, making the bread hard and tasteless. Thus, the refrigerator is not the right place to store bread. If you have large quantities of bread that you want to preserve for longer, put them in vacuum-sealed bags and store them in the freezer.
Just like most of the other root vegetables, moisture and light exposure are bad for garlic storage. Both of these lead to the growth of mold. Storing garlic inside the refrigerator is not recommended because of the moisture and lack of air circulation inside. While garlic can remain fresh for a couple of months in the right conditions, garlic stored in the fridge loses its flavour and begins to rot very quickly.
Olive oil is considered to be a gourmet ingredient in Indian kitchens. Hence, a lot of thought is put into the storage of this expensive oil. Storing olive oil in the fridge is not only unnecessary but also dangerous to health. When stored at such cool temperatures, radicals can be produced in the oil. These radicals can become the cause of health problems.
It is a common misconception that all fresh vegetables should be stored in the fridge only. Some vegetables are better off being outside the refrigerators, like tomatoes. Keeping tomatoes in the fridge can cause them to lose a lot of their delicate taste and flavour. Not only this, the moisture inside the fridge can cause fungus to grow on the tomatoes, making them unsafe to consume. In terms of appearance, the skin of the tomatoes often appears shrunk due to the extreme cool temperature of the fridge. For all these reasons, tomatoes should never be stored in the fridge.
Getting the storage of nuts right is extremely important because if not stored well, nuts can go rancid very quickly. Storing nuts in the fridge can cause the nuts to go bad easily. The moisture content in the fridge can lead to the growth of mold on the nuts. When stored in the fridge, the nuts can absorb the smells of other items in the fridge, affecting their taste.
Storing avocado is probably the trickiest. The fruit ripens and rots at such great speed that one has to be extremely cautious about how it is being stored. Most of us buy avocados when they are just about to ripe. Keeping them in the fridge at this point can stop the ripening process. Thus, it is not recommended to store avocados in the fridge. However, if your avocado is ripe and you want to extend its life by a day or two, you can store it in the fridge to prevent it from ripening further.
The Channel 46