Some foods act as natural deodorizers — absorbing the flavors of food around them.
Cold storage is necessary for many perishable foods such as meat, seafood and certain types of produce, but the cold air of the fridge can also have a negative effect on some of our favorite healthy fares.
To keep these foods at their best, find out why you should leave them out of the fridge.
Bread
I am sure you have heard this many times: keep bread out of the fridge. But, do you know why?
Wheat flour, the primary ingredient along with water and yeast, consists of granules of starch which are crystalline is their natural state. In other words, the starch molecules are arranged in a defined geometric structure.
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Once mixed with water and baked in the oven, the crystalline structure breaks down leaving no defined structure. As the bread cools, the starches begin to slowly regroup, and this gradual retrogradation or recrystallization is what causes bread to harden and grow stale.
This is why refrigeration is bad for bread — it speeds up the hardening process. Freezing on the other hand, dramatically slows down this recrystallization So if you do not think you will finish your loaf of bread fast enough — wrap it tight and freeze it!
Coffee
Coffee naturally attracts moisture, but moisture is very bad for it! The problem with storing coffee in the fridge is that there is moisture inside refrigerators, and it’s the change of temperature from your coffee going in and out of the fridge that results in a buildup of condensation — diminishing its flavor.
Not only that, coffee works like a deodorizer — it will absorb the aromas in your fridge, which will negatively affect how the coffee tastes when it’s brewed.
The best place to store coffee is in an air-tight container in a cool (but not cold) dark place, protecting it from moisture, heat and light.
Basil
The best way to store basil is not in the fridge — basil does much better at room temperature. In fact, refrigeration often turns basil leaves black.
Basil will also wilt and absorb the smells of the food around it if it is kept in the fridge. The best way to store basil is to trim the stems, place them in a glass jar of water and loosely cover it with a plastic bag, leaving it on the counter. This storage method can have your basil lasting up to a week or two.
Onions
Keeping onions in the fridge makes them go soft and eventually turn moldy because of the moist environment and lack of air circulation. Did you know that onions do not come out of the ground with that papery skin? This protective layer comes from curing the onions in a dry environment — like a pantry, which is where you should keep them.
It is best to store onions in a cool, dry, dark and well-ventilated place, but not next to potatoes! Potatoes give off moisture and gas which cause onions to spoil quickly.
Avocadoes
Avocadoes do not start to ripen until after they’re picked from the tree. As we often find at the grocery store, many avocadoes are rock hard, so you definitely do not want to store them in the refrigerator because that slows the ripening process.
However, if you find a perfectly ripe avocado, storing it in the refrigerator is a good idea because if may prolong the amount of time you have before you need to use it.
Bottom line — store unripe avocados on the counter in a paper bag and place ripe avocados in the fridge until you are ready to eat them. This advice works similarly for tomatoes, minus the paper bags.
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