5 Food Items That Should Not Be Kept in Fridge

The refrigerator is the centre point of most kitchens today, even if the appliance may not be placed in that room. There is a tendency among many people to use the fridge as a catch-all storage space where all food items are to be kept. The assumption is that the cold environment will slow down the ripening/aging or deterioration process so that the foods remain better-looking, better-tasting, and healthier for a longer period of time. This is a mistake. There are many food items that not only do not benefit from being stored in the fridge, but also keeping them there can damage them, and in severe cases, make the people who consume them sick. These are foods that are commonly stored in the fridge but should be kept at room temperature.

• Bread: Bread rapidly dries out and becomes stale when stored in a fridge. Storing it in a cool, dry place like a cupboard or a bread bin will keep it fresh and edible longer.
• Bananas: Many people store these in the fridge, but this is a mistake. Bananas grow in warm tropical climates, and their cells do not tolerate cold. If they are green and placed in the fridge, they will not ripen, and if they are ripe, they will turn black.
• Tomatoes: This fruit is very often stored in the fridge. The fact is being kept in the cold damages the membrane inside the fruit, which changes the taste and texture. This results in a loss of flavour and making the consistency more watery.
• Potatoes: This is possibly the worst possible food to keep in the fridge. When kept in a fridge, the starch in the vegetable turns into sugar. During the cooking process, these sugars combine with amino acids to produce harmful chemicals to human health.
• Coffee: People often keep their coffee bean containers in the fridge. While the cold will not damage the beans, they will absorb the odours of the other foods stored there and ruin the taste of the beverage.

Besides these food items, people often put honey in the fridge, even though they know it does not go bad. They do so as a matter of convenience. Refrigeration will not damage the honey, but it will cause it to crystallize, and this affects its texture and taste.

 There are many more food items like these. Looking at the fridge as a convenient place to store everything is a mistake that most people make. Eating food that is as fresh as possible with the minimum of deterioration and damage is a major factor in maintaining good health. Check the items in your fridge. Packaged foods often have storage instructions and expiry dates printed on the packaging – follow these guidelines. In the case of other foods, go online to find from reputed sources how they should be stored or ask a nutritionist at a hospital for advice. Good food should not just be of great taste; it should help to protect your health.

Reviewed by Dr Suresh S Venkita, Group Medical Director, Kauvery Hospitals

Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

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