From basil and bread to tomatoes and watermelon: The foods you should NEVER keep in the fridge

  • Many people feel the fridge is the best place to keep food to make it last
  • But in fact, keeping it there can make some things go off more quickly
  • From basil to bread, FEMAIL rounds up the foods you shouldn't put inside
  • Tomatoes, bananas and open cans all go bad quickly in the refrigerator

By Sophie Haslett For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

It may seem as though the best way to make your food last longer is to throw it all into the fridge.

But did you know that some foods lose their taste and texture, go off more quickly and sometimes blacken when refrigerated?

From basil to bread, and coffee to watermelon, FEMAIL rounds up the things you should keep far away from your fridge.

Not for everything: While many people think keeping things in the fridge (pictured) makes everything last longer, this isn't true of every item 

Not for everything: While many people think keeping things in the fridge (pictured) makes everything last longer, this isn't true of every item 

TOMATOES

Ever bitten in to a tomato and found it doesn't taste all that nice? Chances are you've been keeping it in the fridge.

Tomatoes lose all of their flavour in the fridge, while the cold air stops the ripening process.

The temperature also alters the texture of the tomato, leaving the fruit soft and pitted on the surface.

Keep your cherry tomatoes on the counter in your kitchen, and enjoy them at their best. 

Wasted fruit: Tomatoes (pictured) lose all of their flavour in the fridge, while the cold air stops the ripening process and alters the texture of the fruit 

Wasted fruit: Tomatoes (pictured) lose all of their flavour in the fridge, while the cold air stops the ripening process and alters the texture of the fruit 

BASIL

While many people are guilty of keeping their basil in the side compartments of the fridge, research shows that this is actually not good for it.

Refrigerating basil will not only make it wilt faster; it will also absorb all of the other smells around it.

If you want to store the herb in the best way possible, sit it inside a cup of fresh water, like flowers.

POTATOES

Keeping a potato in the fridge turns its starch into sugar more quickly, so then you'll be left with a sweet, gritty potato when cooked.

Instead, they do best in a paper bag in a cool place like a pantry. 

BREAD

Many people think keeping bread in the fridge is a shortcut to making it last longer while staying fresh.

But, in fact, the cool temperature causes the starch to crystalise far more rapidly than it would at room temperature, speeding up the process that makes bread hard and stale.

While freezing bread really does delay it going off, bread fares best when left out of the fridge. 

Not true: Many people think keeping bread in the fridge makes it last longer, but it actually causes the starch to crystalise far more rapidly than at room temperature, making it hard

Not true: Many people think keeping bread in the fridge makes it last longer, but it actually causes the starch to crystalise far more rapidly than at room temperature, making it hard

COFFEE

Want coffee that's fresh, strong and filled with flavour? Avoid the fridge like the plague.

Coffee actually loses its flavour inside the refrigerator, taking on some of the odours of other foods.

Keep it in a cool, dark place like a cupboard, and if you have large quantities put it in your freezer. 

OPEN CANS

According to the National Health Service in Britain, you should never put an open can into the fridge.

Doing so could cause metals from the can to leach into the food.

Transfer the leftover contents of your baked beans, Diet Coke or lentils to a glass or storage container. It will keep your things fresher and healthier.

Warmer climes: Cold temperatures interrupt bananas' ripening process for good, meaning that a green banana refrigerated will mean a green banana for life 

Warmer climes: Cold temperatures interrupt bananas' ripening process for good, meaning that a green banana refrigerated will mean a green banana for life 

BANANAS 

Bananas are a tropical fruit, so they work best in warm temperatures. 

Cold temperatures interrupt their ripening process for good, so many say that green bananas refrigerated means green bananas forever.

As well as this, when refrigerated, bananas' skins will turn black. Invest in a fruit bowl if you're partial to the yellow fruit. They don't just look pretty.

WATERMELONS

Last but not least, a study from the US Department of Agriculture found that watermelons kept at room temperature had significantly more antioxidants than melons stored in the fridge.

Researchers also say that the fruit last longer outside of the fridge than they do inside. 

They might taste nicer juicy and cold having been in the fridge for a few days, but they'll be better for you having been in the fruit bowl.

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