10 foods that don’t belong in the fridge
Some vegetables, fruits and foods actually keep better and have improved flavour when stored at room temperature rather than in a cold fridge. So free up some shelf space, enjoy tastier foods and recycle your second fridge with Fridge Buyback. Not only will you save up to $300 a year off your energy bills by unplugging your spare fridge, you may be eligible for a $25 rebate* (Conditions apply).
1. Tomatoes – Room temperature is best for tomatoes, enhancing their flavour and texture as well as maintaining beneficial lycopene levels. Keep them out of the fridge, and in a bowl on the bench top.
2. Potatoes – These starchy vegetables prefer a cool dark place, rather than a cold fridge. Lower temperatures can break down the starch in potatoes giving them a gritty texture. Keep them in a dark cupboard, out of plastic bags which trap moisture, making them spoil quicker.
3. Avocadoes – If your avocado is hard to the touch, ripening will happen best at room temperature. Place them on a bench top to ripen, and if you’re in a hurry, pop them in the fruit bowl, where apples and bananas will speed the process. Softer avocados keep better in the fridge.
4. Tomato sauce and other condiments – These don’t always have to go in the fridge, and most would be fine in a pantry for a month or so. Check the product for storing instructions.
5. Coffee – Keep beans and ground coffee out of the fridge, as your favourite blend will lose moisture and flavour, as well as absorb other smells in your fridge. Keep them in an airtight container in a dark cupboard.
6. Bread – Your loaf and the fridge don’t mix, as the cooler air makes bread go stale faster. Cold temperatures speed up the dehydration process, drying bread out quicker. So, stick to bench top or freezer for bread.
7. Onions – These bulbs never live in the fridge, unless peeled. They tend to go mouldy if stored in the high-moisture atmosphere of the fridge.
8. Basil – This beautiful herb wilts more quickly in the fridge than stored in a cup of fresh water on the bench top, as you would a bunch flowers.
9. Garlic – Like onions, garlic tends to go off quicker in the fridge than at room temperature, where it likes to live in a cool dark place, stored loosely in a container with some air circulation.
10. Melons – Whole melons will sit on your bench top happily at room temperature, but once cut, store in your fridge. Storing uncut melons out of the fridge also helps maintain antioxidant levels so they’ll not only taste better but be healthier too.
Fridge Buyback is the only service of its kind in Australia. It has collection runs every 2-3 weeks in metropolitan Sydney, The Illawarra, The Shoalhaven, The Central Coast, The Hunter and The Blue Mountains. To book call 1800 708 401 or Click Here.
*The collection is free and the rebate payable as long as the removal does not involve going up or down more than 6 stairs. If there are between 7 to 20 stairs to go up or down the collection is still free but no rebate is payable.