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Keeping food in the refrigerator may seem like the best way to keep it fresher for longer, but for some foods, keeping them in the fridge can actually have the opposite effect. Refrigerating certain foods can actually shorten their lifespan and can make them lose their taste, texture and colour. From bread to tomatoes let’s take a look at ten foods you should keep away from the fridge. Ever popped your loaf in the fridge to keep it fresher for longer? Chilling bread actually caused bread to become hard and stale quicker, due to the low temperatures causing the starch to crystallise. The best way to store bread is in a bread bin in a cool area, or in the freezer. Freezing bread delays the ageing process, keeping your bread fresher for longer. Refrigerating ripe bananas may help keep them ripe for a few more days, but putting unripe bananas in the fridge will stop them from ripening at all. In fact, when you take them out the fridge their skin will go from green to black. Being a tropical fruit, bananas aren’t used to cold temperatures and being in the fridge will cause the fruit’s digestive enzymes to leak out of the cells and turn the skin black. Like many of us you may have thought the fridge was the best place to store your tomatoes, but in fact keeping them in the fridge can stop tomatoes from ripening and affect their taste. Refrigeration changes the chemical structure and amount of volatile compounds, which alters their flavour. If you ever grabbed your tomatoes from the fridge to make a nice crisp salad and the skin is pitted and wrinkled this is due to being kept at cold temperatures. To prolong the life of your tomatoes, keep them at room temperature. Keeping apples in the fridge can cause them to dry out, and become past their best a lot quicker. The best place for apples is in a fruit bowl, preferably one that has ventilation holes to let the air circulate around the fruit. Potatoes should be stored somewhere that is cool and dry, preferably in a paper or perforated bag to avoid moisture. Keeping them in the fridge can break down the potato starch into sugar, making them discolour and taste sweet when cooked. Keeping honey in the fridge will cause it to crystallise, and make it extremely hard. Prolong the life of your honey by keeping it in a cool dry place, and in a tightly sealed container. Many of us are guilty of keeping onions in the fridge, but we are storing them incorrectly. Unpeeled onions should be kept in a cool dry place, with lots of air ventilation. However, chopped onions are an exception and should be kept in a sealed container in the fridge. You may think that keeping basil in the fridge will help it last longer, but like tomatoes it needs warmth. To get the most from your basil treat it like a bunch of flowers and keep it in a small glass of water, but make sure you change the water every couple of days. Ever been tempted to keep your olive oil in the fridge? Doing so can cause the oil to condense and become hard, giving it a butter like texture. Olive oil is best kept in its original bottle, and stored in a kitchen cupboard that is cool and dark.
Bread
Bananas
Tomatoes
Apples
Potatoes
Honey
Onions
Basil
Olive Oil
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