The best and common way to preserve food in this era is to refrigerate. Most people refrigerate almost everything as far as they have a refrigerator available to them. From groceries to vegetables and fruits, if it is not to be eaten now, then it has to go into the refrigerator. But, do you know you cannot refrigerate every food?
In as much as refrigeration help to preserve food and keep it fresh, it also reduces the flavor and the nutritional quality of the food. Also, it quickens the spoiling process. It is, therefore, necessary to know the kind of foods to preserve in the refrigerator and the foods you shouldn’t refrigerate.
Here are 11 foods you shouldn’t refrigerate
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are such that, refrigerating them may make them lose their flavor. Also, their original texture changes and become a meal. This may cause it to go bad if it is not used shortly after it comes off from the refrigerator. The best way to preserve tomatoes is to keep them under a temperature below 21°C for not more than two days.
Potatoes
Another food you should never refrigerate is potatoes. When potatoes are placed in the refrigerator, the cold acts on the starch and break it down making the potatoes lose their natural flavor and taste. To keep potatoes fresh, they must be stored in a dry place.
Basil
Basil is one of the difficult green leafy vegetables to preserve. It has a unique taste and flavor. However, preserving it in the refrigerator soften the leaves and make them very unpleasant to use. If kept long in the refrigerator, black moulds begin to grow on them and they cannot be used anymore. The best way to keep basil fresh is to refresh them always by sprinkling water on it and storing it in a dark place.
Bananas
Most people will be surprised by this but bananas are not supposed to be stored in the refrigerator. Since they normally come from tropical regions, cool temperatures are not good for them. When they are stored in the refrigerator, they turn black at a point in time. When buying bananas to eat at a later point in time, go for unripen ones so that they become ripe while you preserve. This will make them fresh when you are ready to consume them.
Read Also: Seven Best Energy Giving Foods Which We Sometimes Ignore
Onions
Another food you can never refrigerate is onions. Onions are best used when they are fresh. They always need free air circulation to keep them fresh. Keeping them in the fridge makes them soft and loses some nutritional quality.
Cucumber
Preserving cucumber in the refrigerator only makes it soft and watery. To store cucumbers in the refrigerator, it is best to wrap them in plastic bags before putting them in the fridge to reduce the accumulation of moisture content.
Honey
Honey is one of the most natural and healthy sweeteners on earth. However, honey should never be stored in the refrigerator. Storing or preserving honey in the refrigerator crystalizes its chemical contents making it lose some nutritional quality.
Garlic
Refrigerating garlic will only allow mould to grow on it. Every bulb in the garlic will be exposed to mould if it is stored in the fridge. The best way to preserve garlic is to store it in a warm and dry place.
Peanut butter
Further, it is always advisable not to refrigerate peanut butter especially those who use it for spreading. Keeping it in the fridge will only make it hard and difficult to spread. Using it for other purposes also becomes difficult since you have to wait for it to soften before use.
Chocolate
Refrigerating chocolate might change the color, taste and texture. Mostly, people preserve chocolates for the texture to harden up especially at places with higher temperatures. However, it should not be continuous but intermittently. Also, the tendency of chocolate to absorb the smell or flavor of other foods around it makes it a poor choice to be refrigerated.
Bread
One major mistake most people make is putting bread in the refrigerator. Bread, especially white bread should never be placed in the refrigerator. When the bread is exposed to coolness and dryness, it becomes hard and the taste and flavor changes. The best way is to take out what you will be eating for a day or two and then put the rest in a deep freezer.
Read Also: Get Rid Of Acne, Dark Spots and Bad Body Odor
