Onions and Potatoes: The Perfect Disaster Duo
Here’s something that’ll blow your mind: potatoes release moisture and gases as they age, which can cause onions to spoil more quickly, developing soft spots and mould. Additionally, onions have a strong odour that can permeate potatoes, potentially altering their flavour and making them less appetising. Most people throw these two in the same pantry corner without a second thought. Moisture in the fridge can cause onions to become soft and moldy. Store potatoes in a cool, dark place around 45-50°F, while onions prefer slightly warmer conditions at 55-65°F. Keep them in separate, well-ventilated areas and watch how much longer they last. The science behind this is fascinating – the ethylene gas and moisture exchange between these two creates the perfect storm for spoilage. Think of it like putting two people who hate each other in the same room and expecting them to get along.
Bananas Next to Other Fruits: The Ripening Accelerator
Bananas release a significant amount of ethylene gas, a natural plant hormone that triggers the ripening process. When other fruits are exposed to this gas, they ripen—and subsequently spoil—much faster. This can lead to a waste of perfectly good fruit if they all ripen at once and can’t be consumed in time. It’s like having that one friend who gets everyone else in trouble just by being there. Don’t place them in a bowl with other fruits—they can be stored on the countertop, but because they emit lots of ethylene gas, aim to keep them at least six to eight inches away from other fruits and vegetables. Consider putting a bowl of apples on a coffee table, hutch, or entryway station to keep your apples safely away from ethylene-sensitive produce. Pro tip: if you want to ripen fruit faster, put it near the bananas. Otherwise, give them their own space like they’re the drama queen of the fruit world.
Coffee Beans in the Freezer: The Flavor Killer
A common misconception, many people think that freezing bags of ground coffee or whole coffee beans helps them stay fresh longer, but that’s not true. Freezing your coffee actually zaps some of the flavor and aromas. Keeping it in the fridge or simply at room temperature is a better option. Being highly absorbent, coffee will pick up other flavors around it if it is kept in the refrigerator, which leads to a loss of freshness. The best way to store coffee is in a sealed container at room temperature, away from sunlight. Your coffee is like a sponge for bad smells and moisture. Imagine spending good money on premium beans only to have them taste like frozen fish sticks. Store your coffee in an airtight container at room temperature, away from light and heat sources. Your morning brew will thank you with that perfect aroma you actually paid for.
Honey in the Refrigerator: Creating Concrete
If you keep your honey in the fridge, it can turn hard and lumpy. To keep it smooth and gooey, leave it at room temperature. Honey will turn solid in just a few minutes after putting it in a cold place, which will make it impossible to consume. It is not pleasant at all to crave some honey and can’t enjoy it because of its solidity. Think about it – bees don’t keep their honey refrigerated, and they’ve been perfecting this for millions of years. Honey that’s stored in an airtight container won’t turn on you, no matter where you keep it—though it tastes best when consumed within two years of opening, according to the FoodKeeper app. Room temperature keeps honey in its perfect, drizzle-ready state. The natural preservative properties of honey mean it can literally last forever at room temperature.
Garlic Bulbs in Cold Storage: The Texture Destroyer
To keep your garlic fresh, avoid refrigerating the bulbs, which can negatively affect their texture. Store them in a cool, dry area, like a pantry or cellar, separate from your cooking space, to achieve the best possible outcome. Whole garlic and unpeeled cloves are best kept in a cool, dry place, in part because temps below 40°F speed the growth of a green sprout from the garlic. Refrigeration causes it to become rubbery too. Nobody wants rubbery garlic that’s sprouting like it’s trying to plant itself in your pasta. The cold temperatures mess with garlic’s cellular structure, turning it into something that resembles a sad, squishy version of its former self. Keep it in a mesh bag in your pantry where it can breathe and maintain that firm, pungent punch you need for cooking.
Tomatoes and Cucumbers: The Ethylene Sensitivity Problem
Tomatoes emit ethylene gas as they ripen. Cucumbers are highly sensitive to this gas, and exposure can cause them to become soft, yellow, and spoil quickly. This is like pairing a heavy smoker with someone who has severe asthma – it’s just not going to end well. Keep your whole tomatoes at room temperature to ensure optimal flavor and juiciness. Store tomatoes on your counter until they’re perfectly ripe, then move them to the fridge if needed. Keep cucumbers in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer, far away from any tomatoes. The juiciness and best texture of tomatoes are obtained by storing them outside the refrigerator, at room temperature. A cool space impacts their natural flavor, making them untasty. Separate storage means both vegetables stay at their peak.
Apples with Oranges: The Bitter Truth
Apples produce ethylene gas, which can cause oranges to develop a bitter taste and spoil faster. The gas can also make the orange peel tougher, reducing the fruit’s quality. This can lead to food waste and a less pleasant eating experience. Apples are probably one of the most common ethylene producers, so keep them far away from your other produce! However, what’s interesting about apples is how ethylene affects it based on how long the apple was harvested. If the apple was picked before reaching a peak in harvest, the ethylene may cause the apple to scald, which makes the skin turn brown. Store apples in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer, while oranges prefer slightly warmer temperatures around 40-45°F. Keep them in separate areas of your fridge or pantry. The ethylene from apples is so powerful it can affect the taste and texture of citrus fruits within hours.
Raw Potatoes in the Freezer: The Texture Nightmare
Freezing raw potatoes should also be avoided. They become soft and get a somewhat grainy texture upon defrosting. Cooked potatoes, however, are just fine to freeze and reheat. Potatoes can be tricky. Raw spuds may turn mushy and grainy, and even in cooked dishes, they can discolor, disintegrate or lose their flavor. The Penn State Extension recommends using prepared, frozen potatoes within two to four weeks. Raw potatoes are like wet sponges when frozen – the water inside turns to ice crystals that break down the cell walls, creating a mushy mess. The added moisture from the fridge makes potatoes gritty and sweet. Store them in a ventilated container, such as a cardboard box or open paper bag, and out of direct light to prevent sprouting. Keep raw potatoes in a cool, dark, ventilated space instead.
Eggs in Their Shells: The Freezer Explosion Risk
No matter how low-hassle you want your want morning routine to be, if you insist on eating eggs (any style) for breakfast, you should never freeze them in advance. Stick to making them right before you want to eat them. “People swear by frozen breakfast burritos, but I test-froze some recently and concluded that life is too short to eat rubbery thawed scrambled eggs,” Donofrio tells us. “For a quick breakfast burrito, I recommend prepping the components ahead of time and take a few extra minutes to assemble your burrito fresh,” she suggests. Raw or boiled eggs in their shells don’t work well in the freezer either. When water freezes, it expands – and eggs are mostly water. This means frozen eggs can crack or even explode in their shells, creating a mess you definitely don’t want to clean up. The texture of thawed eggs becomes rubbery and unappetizing, like trying to eat a bouncy ball. Store eggs in the refrigerator where they belong, not the freezer.
Fried Foods: The Soggy Disaster
As delicious as these foods are when fresh, upon freezing, fried foods or foods with a crumb topping lose all of their signature crunch—the thing we love about them so much in the first place! Once defrosted, fried foods and crumb toppings turn into a soggy mess. Think about it – you spend all that time making perfectly crispy fried chicken or fish, only to turn it into something that resembles wet cardboard after freezing. The ice crystals that form during freezing destroy the crispy coating’s structure, making it limp and unappetizing when thawed. It’s like taking a perfectly crisp potato chip and dunking it in water. Store fried foods in the refrigerator for a day or two at most, or eat them fresh. The crunch is what makes them special, and freezing kills that instantly.
Cooked Pasta and Rice: The Mushy Mistake
Although it’s tempting to freeze that leftover pasta or cooked rice, it won’t be worth your time. Upon defrosting, most cooked pastas and rices become mushy and flavorless. One exception is pre-baked lasagnas, which store well when frozen and baked just before serving. Made too much pasta? You may be tempted to freeze your leftovers. While we understand the urge, it never tastes as good once thawed. When reheated, the pasta tends to glob together and take on a chewy, mealy texture. We suggest packing your extra noodles in one of the storage containers below and keeping them in the fridge until you’re ready to reheat. For the best results, package the sauce separately. Pasta and rice absorb water during cooking, and freezing disrupts their structure even more. Store cooked pasta and rice in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to four days instead.
Mayonnaise-Based Salads: The Separation Nightmare
Mayonnaise, as well as ketchup, can become clumpy when frozen, which is why it’s never a good idea to store mayo-based salads, like egg salad, tuna salad or chicken salad, in the freezer. To make these ahead, you can mix and freeze all the ingredients aside from the mayo in advance and stir in the mayo after the other ingredients have been defrosted. Mayonnaise is an emulsion – basically oil and water held together by egg proteins. Freezing breaks this delicate balance, causing the ingredients to separate into a gross, clumpy mess that no amount of stirring will fix. It’s like trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Store mayo-based salads in the refrigerator for no more than three to four days. If you want to meal prep, freeze the main ingredients separately and add fresh mayo when you’re ready to eat.
High-Water Vegetables: The Mushy Mess Makers
Avoid freezing high-water vegetables, including watercress, endive, lettuces, cucumbers and radishes, Gina Homolka advises in “Skinnytaste Meal Prep.” They will turn mushy when thawed. Fresh foods with a high water content, for example, become a soggy mess once defrosted. Eggs and many dairy products, on the other hand, lose their consistency to the point of becoming inedible once frozen. Some foods with high water content, like lettuce and soft greens, don’t maintain their shape and texture once frozen and thawed, which is why you should never freeze these leafy greens “unless you intend to use them in soups or smoothies,” Jeanine Donofrio of Love & Lemons cautions. Avoid freezing “any vegetable that you want to eat later as a fresh salad, such cucumbers and tomatoes,” Donofrio recommends. Once thawed, their texture is never quite as firm. These vegetables are like water balloons – once the structure breaks down from freezing, there’s no going back to that crisp, fresh texture.
