Should You Really Put Vegetables In The Fridge

There is nothing worse than doing a big grocery shop, then finding half you veg has spoilt before your family’s eaten it.

That’s why many people shove their carrots and beans straight in the fridge – the thinking is the chilly temperature will keep it fresh for longer.

While that’s the case for some items, it’s actually a very bad move for certain vegetables. A fan of sticking your spuds in the chiller drawer? You might want to reconsider…

Potatoes

This isn’t a case of it being better not to store potatoes in the fridge – you’re actually warned doing so could be terrible for your health.

According to the Food Standards Agency, they are the “most important food” not to bung in your chiller.

“When these are stored in the fridge, the starch in the potato is converted to sugar. When baked or fried, these sugars combine with the amino acid asparagine and produce the chemical acrylamide, which is thought to be harmful,” it explained.

Pumpkin

Much like onions, these do best when stored somewhere cool and dark.

They don’t flourish in the fridge, so instead keep in a cupboard.

Melons

It seems pretty obvious that juicy melon should be fridged, how else do you get it nice and cold?

Well actually this is totally the wrong move.

It’s because some of them can lose the antioxidants in them when they get too cold.

Your best bet is to leave them out until your cut the fruit, then wrap and fridge them.

Tomatoes

Pretty much everyone shoves tomatoes in the chiller, whether we’re talking about cherry ones or their big brothers.

But in his book On Food and Cooking, Harold MCGee claimed it can damage their membrane, which means they don’t have as much flavour.

Onions and Garlic

These like cold and dark places, but the fridge is a no go.

Stick them in there and you run the risk of everything coming out tasting like them.

Avocado

Many people presume these should be fridged, but it’s best not to.

That’s because doing so will stop them becoming ripe, so they’ll remain too hard to eat.

Bananas

Just like with avocado, it can be tempting to bung these in the fridge to make them last longer.

Wrong move.

If your bananas are green and you chill them they won’t ripen, instead they’ll go black and mushy.

It’s because they are grown in warm climates so aren’t used to be cold.

Once they’ve ripped you can pop in the crisper drawer thoughp

Nectarines, peaches and pears

These can go in the fridge, but it might impact the flavour.

The best thing to do is allow them to ripen on the counter top, then pop in the fridge once they’re already nice and sweet.

Then of course there are the things which definitely do need to be kept below room temperature.

Grapes are one which not everyone pops in the fridge, but it’s best to. If you don’t it’s much more likely they will spoil quickly, which is the same with berries and cherries.

Apples do well when cold as well, as do sweetcorn, peas and cucumber.

Soft fruit like peaches, plums and mangoes are best left to ripen on the counter, then popped in the fridge once they’re soft. That lets them keep their nutrients better.

SHARE THIS