Chilled or Not Chilled: The Great Refrigeration Debate

The kitchen is a haven of culinary magic where we find ourselves day after day obsessing over the astounding mysteries of food storage. It is, after all, the center of the house, and most of us have probably experienced a moment of bewilderment there once, when we reach for the maple syrup or soy sauce and wonder, “Stand by, should this be in the cooler?” Many of us have been puzzled by the culinary issue for a very long time. Everybody has those childhood groceries that were never stored in the refrigerator’s chilly environment.

We didn’t realize how incorrectly we were storing things until far later in life, perhaps during a casual discussion or an incredibly late-night online browse. It was maple syrup and soy sauce for me. These two basic foods never once felt the chilly embrace of the refrigerator; instead, they sat proudly on my pantry shelf. However, it looks like they would have been happier to relax. That made me consider all the other things we don’t refrigerate, either because it’s part of who we are or because we genuinely think they don’t need it. I’ll tell you what, the list is considerably longer than you may imagine.

Start with the humble potato. Who hasn’t kept a bag in the fridge thinking it would extend their shelf life? Turns out we’re dirty potatoes. The cold environment of the refrigerator turns their starches into sugars, giving you a strange sweet foreign taste. The same goes for sweet potatoes. Instead, these tubers prefer the dark solitude of a cool closet or drawer hidden in a paper bag to a treasure waiting to be found.

There’s honey, nature’s liquid gold. This sweet, sticky delight is often relegated to the fridge, but that’s where we go wrong. Honey prefers to lounge around at room temperature and away from strong sunlight. Chilling honey gives you crystallized gunk that’s a pain to scoop out. Then, of course, there are the tomatoes. These juicy fruits—they’re technically a fruit—are flavorless and mealy in texture when refrigerated. They much prefer lounging on your counter until they hit that perfect ripeness.

Apples suffer from the chill. They lose so much of their crispness and a good deal of flavor following a spell in the fridge. If you’re craving that cold crunch, pop them in there about 30 minutes before you’re ready to take a bite. Onions, or those tear-inducing bulbs, should go into a paper bag in a cool dark place. If you refrigerate them, they will get soft and begin to smell, and believe me, you do not want your milk to smell of onions.

Talk about peanut butter. That one certainly seemed to divide the crowd. Some said refrigerate, others, like me, were happy just keeping it in the pantry. Fact is, peanut butter does OK in a cool, dark cupboard. And bread, well, that’s another story. The refrigerator guarantees that bread will dry out faster. It will stay fresh longer and remain soft when it’s kept in a bread box or cupboard.

Bananas are a tricky bunch. The minute they ripen on your counter, if they get too ripe before you get to eating them, just pop them in the freezer to use in banana bread later. Most oils, other than those that have lower saturated-fat content, are totally OK at room temperature—toss in a dark cabinet or even into the fridge door if you want, but this is really quite unnecessary need.

Keep avocados on the counter until ready to eat. Cut into one, and you should use it all, as they lose flavor once refrigerated. Peppers, whether they’re red, green, yellow, or even the fiery chili variety, are content in a paper bag in a cool cupboard. And winter squash? They scoff at the cold. Keep them at room temperature, and they’ll be just fine.

Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes are happy at room temperature. Just don’t crowd them too much, or they’ll start to mold. Berries, with their fleeting shelf life, should be eaten quickly and never refrigerated. Melons, too, prefer the room-temperature life, but once you’ve cut into them, any leftovers should be stored in the fridge.

Ketchup is fine in pantry after opening. Thanks to vinegar and preservatives, it’ll hold up well. The same goes for jam. With its high preservative content, it’s okay to store in the pantry post-opening. Stone fruits and pickles, both high in preservatives, are also better off outside the fridge.

Garlic stored in paper bag in cool, dark place. Hot sauce, with all its spices and preservatives, can be kept in the pantry, freeing up space in your fridge. Spices, ground or whole, should never see the inside of your refrigerator. And coffee, that morning lifesaver, is best kept at room temperature to preserve its natural oils and robust flavor.

Nuts, dried fruits, and cereal are all pantry-friendly. Vacuum-packed tuna, sealed just like in a can, is more than fine stored at room temperature. And fresh herbs? Instead of suffocating them in plastic, give them a water-filled glass jar on your counter, creating an herb bouquet that’s both decorative and practical.

What is maple syrup, exactly? If kept in the refrigerator, it will crystallize and get goopy, just like honey. It appears that my decision to move my pantry wasn’t as confusing as I initially thought. Which brings us back to our original query: Are there any other meals that you think taste better straight out of the refrigerator? Without a doubt, the answer is yes. Many of our favorite foods, like the tantalizing sweetness of maple syrup or the harsh taste of ketchup, are far from being found within the cold fridge. It comes down to preference, quality, and occasionally, medical care. However, one thing is certain: the heated discussion on refrigeration is far from ended.

Related posts:
Foods that normally don’t need refrigeration
What Foods Don’t I Need to Refrigerate?