Many fruits and vegetables should only be stored at room temperatures. Refrigeration can cause cold damage or prevent them from ripening to good flavor and texture. For example, pink tomatoes ripen to a better taste and red color if they are left at room temperature.
Apples, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, oranges, pineapples, strawberries, tangerines and watermelon are received ripe and should be refrigerated.
Garlic, Onions, and Shallots
With the exception of spring onions and scallions, alliums shouldn't be stored in the fridge. These bulbs benefit from being kept in a cool, dry, dark place. And make sure to avoid wrapping them in plastic bags.
Fresh strawberries can go directly into the refrigerator, but will do just fine on the counter for a couple of days. Remove any bruised or otherwise marred berries and place the rest in a colander or open-weave basket to allow good airflow.
In the United States, fresh, commercially produced eggs need to be refrigerated to minimize your risk of food poisoning. However, in many countries in Europe and around the world, it's fine to keep eggs at room temperature for a few weeks.
They prefer the refrigeration. Apples keep longest when held at 31-36 degrees Fahrenheit. So, you want to keep them in the coolest part of the refrigerator. Most home refrigerators don't get that cold because the rest of your food would freeze, but the colder the better.
They are unrefrigerated because apples do not need refrigeration until they began to soften slightly. Apples should be stored unrefrigerated for about 7 days after purchase.
Yes, you can absolutely store bananas in the fridge. Just keep in mind that the cool, dry climate slows the ripening process, which is why bananas aren't refrigerated in the supermarket. In other words, if you put green, unripe bananas in the fridge, they're likely to stay that way.
Store unripe and ripened kiwifruit at 32–35 degrees Fahrenheit. To ripen, hold fruit at room temperature in a loosely closed paper bag, for two to three days and avoid unusual heat and direct sunlight. Once kiwifruit is ripe and yields to the touch, it should be refrigerated until ready for use.
Your refrigerator is the best place to keep fresh grapes. They thrive at about 30-32 degrees Fahrenheit with 90-95% humidity, so go ahead and throw them in the back of your crisper drawer (it's usually the coldest place in the fridge).
Storing fruit in the fridge
Most fresh fruit, including apples, berries and grapes, will last longer if kept in their original packaging and stored in the crisper of your fridge. Berries can last in the fridge for about a week.
One of the most common ways to store blueberries is keeping a stash of fresh blueberries in the fridge. It's important to refrigerate fresh berries after a grocery delivery, trip to the store or visit to the u-pick farm. You can keep them in the original plastic clamshell or in a covered bowl or container.
You can leave blueberries at room temperature if you plan to eat them in the next day or so, but after that you should transfer them to the fridge—they can stay there for five to 10 days. Of course, you can freeze them if you want to keep them longer than that. Frozen blueberries will last about six months.
Ripe tomatoes should still be kept at on your counter, uncovered, if you are going to enjoy the tomato in the next day or two. But any longer than that – the recommendation is to refrigerate. A so-so tomato is much better than a rotten, moldy tomato. Refrigeration will slow down the decay.
Storing lemons in the fridge is a great way to extend their shelf life. And if you want to keep lemons fresh for longer than a week, you'll definitely want to refrigerate them.
You'll have to store your carrots in the refrigerator, but how you store them can actually make a difference. Raw carrots, when properly stored will usually stay fresh for around 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge. If your carrots are sliced or chopped, you can store them in the fridge and they'll last for about 2 to 3 weeks.
Whole onions and shallots are best stored in a cool, dry, dark and well-ventilated room. Ideal places include the pantry, cellar, basement or garage. Peeled onions can be stored in the fridge for 10–14 days, while sliced or cut onions can be refrigerated for 7–10 days.
Even though cucumbers are prone to chilling injury, the fridge is still the best place to store them. At room temperature, cucumbers will only last for about two days. So, what's the solution? Store cucumbers in the warmest part of the fridge — towards the front, furthest from the cooling elements.
Do cucumbers need to be refrigerated? No. However, while room temperature is best for them, you can still keep them in the fridge if you fancy a cooler cuke. If you choose to do so, you must make sure the skin is a dry as possible.
Soft cheeses such as cream cheese, cottage cheese, shredded cheeses, and goat cheese must be refrigerated for safety. As a general rule, hard cheeses such as cheddar, processed cheeses (American), and both block and grated Parmesan do not require refrigeration for safety, but they will last longer if kept refrigerated.
According to the USDA, butter is safe at room temperature. But if it's left out for several days at room temperature, it can turn rancid causing off flavors. The USDA does not recommend leaving it out more than one to two days.
An open jar of peanut butter stays fresh up to three months in the pantry. After that, it's recommended to store the peanut butter in the fridge (where it can maintain its quality for another 3-4 months). If you don't refrigerate, oil separation can occur.