Why you SHOULD store and in the fridge but NOT

AS THe weather warms up, it’s tempting to pack your fridge with absolutely anything and everything that just might ‘go off’.

But did you know refrigerating some foods can shorten their shelf life? Or that chilling some foods that you would never normally dream of putting in the fridge can improve their flavour?

read on to find out why red wine and nuts should be in your fridge this summer — but potatoes and tomatoes definitely shouldn’t.

BREAD: OUT

yOu may think that keeping your loaf in the fridge will preserve its freshness for longer — particularly in warm, humid weather — but it will actually make it go stale more quickly, say the experts at the good Housekeeping institute.

Why? Because once bread has been baked, the starch molecules in it slowly start to crystallise and harden, gradually turning your loaf dry and stale — a process that is significantly speeded up by cool temperatures (but bizarrely, slowed down by freezing).

So what’s the best way to store your bread to keep it fresh for as long as possible?

experts say you should be able to keep a four-day supply of bread quite happily, wrapped in plastic on your kitchen counter (or in a bread bin), away from heat or sunlight, at room temperature.

Worth a try for this purpose are Lakeland’s reusable cotton and polythene bread bags (from £7.99, which have been shown to keep your loaf fresh for up to a week. lakeland.co.uk),

RED WINE: IN

AuTHOr of the Oxford Companion To Wine, Jancis robinson, says the fridge is the best place to keep opened bottles of wine — including, believe it or not, reds. According to robinson, low temperatures slow down oxidation, the process which, over time, can adversely affect the taste, bouquet and quality of wine.

So, if there’s a glass or two left in your bottle of red at the end of an evening, then re-cork it or, even better, decant it into a smaller half-bottle with a screwcap (too much air in the bottle tends to flatten flavours and aromas) and pop it in the fridge, where it should keep nicely for up to five days.

Just don’t forget to bring your favourite red back to room temperature before you drink it.

TOMATOES: OUT

Keeping tomatoes in the fridge tends to deaden their flavour and give them a mealy texture, say the experts at the good Housekeeping institute.

Why? A low temperature halts the ripening process — which is the very thing that gives tomatoes their delicious flavour and aroma.

Chilling tomatoes also tends to break down the fruit, which can adversely affect their texture.

So where is the best place for them? if they already have had their stems removed, place your tomatoes stem side down in a basket or bowl on the kitchen counter — away from the sun and other heat sources.

Cook’s illustrated Magazine found that tomatoes stored stem side down rotted much more slowly than those stored stem side up — possibly because upending the fruit stops air getting in and moisture getting out.

However, if your tomatoes still have their stems on, storing them stem side up is fine.

Of course, the drawback is that tomatoes kept on the kitchen counter will ripen and start to go off more quickly than they would if they were kept in a fridge.

The trick is to adjust your shopping accordingly and only buy as many as you need for the next three or four days.

POTATOES: OUT

ACCOrding to the Food Standards Agency, raw potatoes should never be kept in the fridge.

‘When potatoes are stored in the fridge, the starch they contain turns to sugar.

‘When baked or fried, these sugars react to produce a chemical called acrylamide, which has been linked to some cancers,’ says Kaarin goodburn from the Chilled Food Association.

The best — and healthiest — way to keep your potatoes fit for purpose is in a breathable paper or canvas bag or basket, in a cool, dry, dark spot (the bottom of a kitchen cupboard, for example).

popping in an apple — which will release a small amount of natural ethylene gas — will help to stop potatoes sprouting.

AVOCADOS: IN

CuTTing open and eating an avocado at exactly the right time — when it’s not rock hard or turning mushy and an unappetizing shade of grey — can be tricky.

Though the fruit bowl is by far the best place to store an unripe avocado (the natural ethylene gas that is released by apples and bananas will help the avocado to ripen more quickly), once avocados are ready to eat, popping the whole, uncut fruit in the fridge will keep it in that fleeting, perfectly edible condition for a couple of days.

And if you’re left with half an avocado? don’t bother wrapping it in clingfilm or drizzling it with lemon juice. According to tests by various food bloggers, placing half a cut avocado in a small, airtight container, cut side up, on a layer of roughly chopped red onion is by far the best way to keep it looking and tasting good enough to eat.

The sulphuric compounds in the onion appear to keep the avocado from spoiling for up to three days, without having a significant effect on its flavour.

ONIONS: OUT

iF yOu store whole, uncut, onions in the fridge, however, the humidity will eventually turn them soft and mouldy and they’ll start to sprout.

The best way to keep them crisp and aromatic is to store them in a cool, dark, well-ventilated space.

Take a tip from gardening enthusiasts and hang up your onions in an old pair of tights.

drop the onions down the legs of the tights and tie a knot between each bulb. This allows air to circulate around the onions and you can snip a bulb off the string whenever you need one.

NUTS: IN

BeCAuSe of their high polyunsaturated fat content, heat and light can turn nuts rancid fast. if you don’t plan to use your walnuts or cashews immediately, store them in an opaque, airtight container in your fridge — or even your freezer — with their shells on or off. They will keep for up to a year, say food hygiene experts at the university of California.

nut and seed oils should also be kept in the fridge for the same reason.

nut butters, like peanut and almond spreads, however, can become hard and difficult to spread if kept in the fridge.

if you keep them in a cool dark cupboard, and only ever dip into the jar with a clean knife or spoon, nutty spreads, which often have salt, sugar and oils added, should be safe to use for up to three months, says microbiologist dr peter Barratt.

BANANAS: IN

yOu should keep bananas out of your fruit bowl as they produce a gas, ethylene, which can cause fruit around them to ripen and then go off much faster. However, you can also use this to your advantage. Sit bananas next to unripe avocados or peaches as they’ll ripen them much quicker. however, this gas doesn’t work on vegetables.

if your bananas are very ripe, stop them turning to mush by popping them in the fridge. The skins will blacken and shrivel, but the fruit will stay firm for

several extra days.

FRIDGE RULES

dOn’T over-fill your fridge. Cold air needs to circulate around foods to keep them fresh. Keep the fridge door open for as short a time as possible to avoid raising the temperature inside too much. Clean your fridge regularly and thoroughly with an antibacterial cleanser to keep moulds and bacteria away

Surveys suggest up to 70 per cent of us in the uK have our fridge at the wrong temperature. Buy a cheap fridge thermometer and maintain yours between 1c and 5c.

don’t keep milk in the fridge door — it’s the warmest spot in the appliance. Milk is particularly sensitive to warm temperatures, so use the door for more hardy condiments, such as pickles, jams and ketchup instead.

Keep salads and delicate herbs away from the back of the fridge — the coldest spot — as they’ll get frost damage and turn mushy.

Trim the green tops off carrots and beetroot before you put them in the fridge drawer.

The tops will suck out valuable moisture from the vegetables and cause them to deteriorate faster.

Spicy sauces and coffee are best kept out of the fridge because the chilly environment will dull their flavours.