FOODS THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO KEEP IN THE REFRIGERATOR:

☞ Apples:  Can last a week or two at room temperature, but can get mealy quickly if kept in the fridge.  And they can cause other fruits to ripen more quickly if kept in the fridge with them.

☞ Bananas: They hold on to their nutrients better when they are kept out of the fridge. Cold temperatures actually slow down the ripening process (same with avocadoes). But there is also a lot of moisture in most refrigerators which can cause bananas to turn brown or even black.

☞ Bread:  The fridge not only dries bread out, but at cold temperatures, bread will turn stale, dry, and tasteless. Also, bread acts as a kind of sponge and it will soak up whatever odors are lingering around your fridge. (Which explains a lot about the taste of the sandwich I had for lunch yesterday!)

☞ Eggs (!!):  In many countries, eggs aren’t kept in the refrigerator in grocery stores or in homes. A study recently showed that it makes no difference whether or not you store your eggs in the fridge, so you might as well save yourself some fridge space. (Somehow, I don’t see this changing anyone’s mind…)

☞ Tomato Sauce:  Doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge because it is chock-full of preservatives.  That’s why all restaurants are able to leave it on their tables all day long. (But if I don’t put it in the fridge, I’ll never know where it is!)

☞ Coffee:  You can keep coffee in the fridge as long as it’s in an airtight container. This goes for both coffee beans and leftover brewed coffee. Generally, coffee beans need to be in a cool dry place, and a fridge is cool, but not very dry.

☞ Chocolate:  Although many people love cold chocolate, the ideal temperature for it is around 19 c. Only store chocolate in the fridge if conditions are so hot that it is at risk of melting.