Indians are good in savings especially women and they have their own methods of saving money. They can bargain with the shopkeeper and use small quantity of daily use items so that it can be used for long time. These are some common saving methods but the best method is using Refrigerator or fridge. You must be wondering how a fridge can help in savings.
The answer is that fridge can increase the shelf life of perishable food items such as fruits, veggies, milk etc. which was not possible before its invention. Stocking the fridge can really help in savings e.g. when the prices of fruits and veggies reduces, you can buy them and store it in fridge.
These items can be used for at least one week time means you need not to buy the veggies when its prices are soaring high. But fridge is not the lamp of Aladdin means it cannot increase the shelf life of everything. There are some foods you shouldn’t keep in your fridge. Let’s see what these items are.
Potatoes –
Never ever keep potatoes in fridge unless you want sweet and gritty potatoes. Low temperature can turn the starch content of potato into sugar more quickly and this conversion will affect the flavor, texture and cooking method.
Store them in a paper bag and keep it in a dry and cool (NOT COLD) place. Don’t use plastic bags for storage since it is not breathable and can increase the rotting process of potatoes. The best temperature to store them is around 45 degrees.
Tomato –
Although, it can be stored in fridge but it will lose its flavor. What the fun without taste? The best part of the tomatoes is their flavor which increases with the ripening process and the cold temperature of fridge arrest this process. Fridge storage can also change its texture as the cold temperature can break the internal membranes of the fruit means it will look intact from outside but it will become mealy or mushy.
Onions –
put them in fridge and you will get soft and moldy bulbs. The best place to keep them is a cool (again telling you it shouldn’t be cold) and dry place. According to the National Onion Association in the U.S., unpeeled onions need air exposure for their optimum shelf life so if you have brought them in a plastic bag then remove it before storing the onions. Although, fridge storage can reduce the unpeeled onion shelf life but you can store the peeled onion in fridge by keeping it in a container.
Garlic –
if you want sprouted garlic then please go ahead and keep them in a fridge but if you like the garlic in its original form then store them in dry, dark place and it will be like that for almost two months!!!! The moisture of fridge can make them rubbery and moldy. If you want to grow garlic green then you can place its bulb in fridge until it sprout and then place the bulb into the soil in a pot. See, everything has a positive side too. You can also store leftover garlic or chopped garlic in fridge by keeping them in a container.
Bread –
it can get dried easily if stored in fridge but it is intended to use within 3 – 4 days then wrap them in a foil and then store in the fridge. The bread will not lose its moisture in this way. When you are going to use the stored bread, remove it from the fridge 15 – 20 minutes before use and let it thaw slowly. You can then use that bread for eating or toasting.
Honey –
it can crystallize if stored under low temperature like in fridge. It can remain good for years if it is tightly sealed and stored at room temperature.
Olive oil –
the cold air of fridge can condense the oil into hard substance which has butter like consistency. Therefore, you should store it in cool and dark place like your pantry.
Whole melons –
According to study conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), watermelons lose their antioxidants such as lycopene and beta-carotene content when these are stored under low temperature. If fridge storage is necessary for sliced melon then you should first cover it properly with a foil before keeping into it.
Winter squashes –
generally many of its varieties like acorn, butternut, delicata, and spaghetti have shelf life of about a month and more if it is kept in cool and dry place such as pantry but they can easily decay if stored in fridge.
Avocados –
the cold temperature can halt the ripening process of fruits like avocado so keep it in pantry if you want them to ripen but if you have bought an already ripe avocado then you can straight away store it in your fridge.
Coffee –
the environment of fridge can alter it’s flavor and there are chances that it absorbs some other existing odors in the fridge which is totally undesirable. Therefore, store it in a cool and dark place to keep it fresh and tasty. If have large amount of coffee beans then you can put them in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for months.
Green leafy veggies –
the green leaves of veggies like spinach, coriander, and basil wilt faster in cold temperature and also absorb the other odors existing in the fridge. You can store them outside by putting them into a container with one cup water just like you do with cut flowers.
Fruits like Bananas, Kiwi, Peaches, Plums and Mangoes –
the cold atmosphere of fridge can change the color, flavor and texture of the above mentioned fruit. Bananas become mushy and black when stored in fridge. Mango, kiwi, peaches and plums got wrinkles and shrink when stored for long in fridge.
Milk made sweets –
Indian sweets like ladoo, burfi and other milk made sweets can turn into stone when they are stored in fridge for days and lost their original taste as well.
Till now we have talked about edible things but some people have habit of storing non edible things in fridge as well like
Nail polish –
yeah, some ladies do that but let me remind you that the cold air of fridge can thicken your favorite nail paint and then it will be of no use.
Batteries –
cold temperature can drastically affect its performance so if you don’t want to spoil the batteries then please keep them in drawers.
Medicine –
some medicines need cold storage but most of the medicines need to be kept in cool and dark place. Don’t misinterpret the storage instruction as it can affect the contents of medicine like syrup, tablets or pills.