Nowadays, most people store their food in the fridge to extend its shelf life. This is all well and good, but not for all foods, even if it has become common practice to store them this way.

Although the shelf life can indeed be extended with cold in many cases, this is usually at the expense of flavour or consistency and the loss of important nutrients.


What should not be stored in the fridge?

Bread

Bread moulds easily when it is stored warm and moist, which is why it often ends up in the fridge, where it can be stored in airtight packaging for a week longer than normal.

However, this destroys the crystals of the flour contained in the bread, as they cannot tolerate the cold. The bread becomes harder and its flavour changes adversely, becoming brittle and bland.

It is better to freeze fresh bread in portions and leave to defrost overnight for daily use.

Tomatoes

The tomato is a sun-loving plant that prefers to be stored in a shady place without packaging at a constant temperature of around 16 ºC rather than in the fridge. Tomatoes continue to ripen after picking and only develop their full flavour if they are not refrigerated.

During the ripening process, tomatoes release the ripening gas ethylene, which also causes fruit and vegetables in their immediate vicinity to ripen, so their shelf life can be reduced. It is better to store them separately.

Citrus fruits and exotic fruits

These fruits are very sensitive to cold and should be stored in a cool place, i.e. up to 12ºC, but the fridge is too cool at 6ºC and the fruits quickly lose their intense flavour. It is therefore better to store them only for a short time and in a cool place outside the fridge.

Cucumbers, courgettes, peppers, pumpkins and melons

These fruits and vegetables have a very high water content and are therefore also unsuitable for storage in the fridge, as they lose a lot of flavour because they become increasingly watery due to the excessive cold.

As a general rule, it is better to buy all the fruits and vegetables mentioned in small portions so that they can be eaten within a few days, as the loss of flavour and nutritional value is simply too high, despite the extended shelf life when stored in the fridge.

Below is a list to help with the storage of various foods:

 
Leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach) A few days in the fridge, fruit and vegetable drawer       
Fruit vegetables (pepper, tomato, aubergine, cucumber), seed vegetables (peas, beans) Cool, but not in the fridge       
Root vegetables (celery, carrots, kohlrabi) 8 days in the fridge, fruit and vegetable drawer       
Berries 2-3 days in the fridge, fruit and vegetable drawer       
Cool tropical fruits, unripe citrus fruits, but not in the refrigerator       
Apples and pears Apples 3-5 months, pears 1-3 months at storage temperature not above 5 °C, dark, airy       
Bread, fresh Wheat bread: 1-2 days, wholemeal bread: 10-12 days in bread box, stone crock       
Potatoes, small quantities for a few weeks in a basket or wooden crate, dry, cool, airy       
Potatoes, large quantities, 6-8 months in the potato rack (special box for storing potatoes), slatted rack, dark, airy, 5-10 °C, 80-90 % relative humidity       
Fish, fresh Refrigerate for up to 1 day, coldest point 0-4 °C       
Meat, raw 1-2 days in the refrigerator, coldest point 0-4 °C       
Minced meat, raw Max. 8 hours in the refrigerator, coldest point 0-4 °C       
Chicken, raw 1-2 days in the fridge, coldest point 0-4 °C    
Source: Food stock, aid booklet (1996)