What foods cannot be stored at low temperatures? List of popular foods to remove from the refrigerator and hide elsewhere
In summer, the refrigerator is central to the house. We put water and drinks there, freeze ice and hide absolutely all food. The desire to keep food fresh in the heat is understandable, only some of the foods do not respond well to chilling. Which food stock does not fit in the fridge even on the hottest days? Grab our list and put them in the right place.
Bread
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Many people have the habit of storing bread in the refrigerator. It is believed that in this way it retains its freshness longer and does not become moldy. It's a paradox, but the cooling here works exactly the opposite. Bread in the refrigerator perfectly absorbs moisture and odors, the crumb swells and becomes an ideal breeding ground for mold. If the loaf simply dries up in the bread bin in the heat, then on the third day of storage in the refrigerator it is simply dangerous to eat it.
Exit: To preserve large stocks of bread (if available), wrap the loaf in a cloth and store it in the freezer. There, the product will retain its useful properties and taste to the maximum. However, keep in mind that even in the freezer, bread should not be stored for more than two to three weeks.
Coffee
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Coffee perfectly tolerates heat and temperature changes. However, there are people who keep it in the refrigerator. The reason for this is the recommendation to store this product “in a cool dry place”. If the coolness is applicable to the refrigerator, then the dryness there leaves much to be desired. The beans swell from such storage, and the ground coffee becomes loose. The drink will lose not only its magical aroma, but also its taste: a cup of invigorating coffee in the morning will give off a musty smell.
Exit: Bean coffee can be stored in a freezer in a jar or a tightly sealed bag. The shelf life is no more than a month. But ground or instant coffee should be placed in a dark and dry place (not necessarily cool) in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Honey
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Everyone knows that honey loses its properties when heated, so in the heat, many tend to take it to a cool place. However, the refrigerator has almost the worst effect on this product. At low temperatures, honey crystallizes faster. A cloudy suspension appears in it, taste qualities disappear. When stored for a long time in the refrigerator, the viscous sweet product becomes hard. After that, a spoonful of honey will have to literally "pick out" from the jar
Exit: honey, like coffee, must be kept in a dry and dark place, in a jar under a tightly screwed lid. Whether in summer or winter - under such storage conditions, it will stand for ages.
Olive oil
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There is no place for any vegetable oil in the refrigerator, but olive oil suffers from the effects of low temperatures the most. Due to the cold, it begins to exfoliate, a white precipitate appears, and the taste acquires a noticeable bitterness. The density of the oil also changes - it becomes thicker. This change affects its beneficial properties.
Exit: optimum temperature for storage of olive oil - this is + 15-18 degrees. If you do not have such a place in the house, store it simply in the kitchen cabinet, but only away from the stove and oven.
Chocolate
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In hot weather, chocolate melts very quickly. Putting it on the table, after a couple of hours you run the risk of "licking" the soft chocolate mass from the wrapper. Therefore, in the summer, we most often put this delicious dessert in the refrigerator. And in vain: the very next day a white bloom appears on the chocolate or candy. These are sucrose crystals, which indicate that the product loses its natural moisture due to the cold. This makes the taste less intense, and the look, frankly speaking, turns out to be less appetizing.
Exit: dry cool place. In the house, these can be closed kitchen cabinets that are closer to the floor. There the chocolate may become a little softer, but it certainly will not "flow" from the heat.
Potato
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After purchase, potatoes are traditionally sent with all the vegetables to the lower compartment of the refrigerator. For a day or two there nothing will happen to him. But if you bought a root vegetable in reserve, be prepared for the fact that you will not like the look and taste of it. Because of cold storage, starch is fermented into sugar over several days. This will affect not only the taste, but also the structure of the vegetable: when peeling, the potato will be soft, and when sliced, it will be crumbly.
Exit: if possible, in the heat, do not buy this vegetable in large quantities, and if you bought it, store it in a closed cardboard or wooden box in the lower kitchen cabinets
Tomatoes
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Tomatoes have an amazing property: if you pick an unripe fruit and put it in the sun, it will ripen and fill with juice by itself. The cold stops the ripening process, so unripe tomatoes in the refrigerator will simply rot. But even if you bought a mature vegetable, it also has no place at low temperatures. The taste of a tomato after a couple of days in the refrigerator becomes watery, with a stringy, mealy notes. In addition, the moisture in the refrigerator spoils tomatoes faster: characteristic black dots appear on the skin.
Exit: unripe tomatoes can be kept on the windowsill. As soon as they reach the desired state, we eat. Or put it in a ventilated place (you can put it in the same kitchen cabinet, but not in a box, but on a platter).
Onion
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Onions, like potatoes, are often put into the refrigerator “on the machine”. Meanwhile, this vegetable perfectly tolerates heat and can be stored for a long time in any dry place. But in the refrigerator, after a few days, the bulb softens due to excess moisture, often germinates or becomes moldy
Exit: any dry and dark place is suitable for long-term storage of onions. Just don't hide his supplies next to potatoes. Housewives noticed that this neighborhood shortens the shelf life of both vegetables.
Carrot
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Carrots are usually put in the refrigerator due to the fact that they wither quickly in the heat. However, low temperatures for this vegetable are also not an option. In the refrigerator, on the contrary, carrots are saturated with excess moisture, become watery and quickly begin to rot.
Exit: large stocks of carrots can be stored in the freezer. Only not in its original form, but the way you will use it for cooking. You can freeze grated or diced carrots. After defrosting, it retains both taste and useful properties. In the "uncooked" form, carrots are perfectly stored in a dry, dark place. Only not in a bag, but in a cloth bag, cardboard or wooden box
Avocado
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To preserve the avocado during transportation, it is brought to our supermarkets unripe. There is a version that for fruit ripening it needs a cool place, so after buying it, many people put it in the refrigerator. After a while, the fruit really becomes softer, but this does not mean at all that it is ripe. It's just that the avocado has absorbed moisture, and due to this, the flesh has become looser. This will not particularly affect the beneficial properties. But this is not at all the effect you wanted to achieve.
Exit: avocados should ripen at room temperature and outdoors. Only fully ripe fruit can be sent to the refrigerator, and then no more than for a couple of days.
You will also be interested to read:
How to properly lay out food in the refrigerator: what to put on which shelf
How long can food be kept in the refrigerator
