Food Items That You Shouldn’t Refrigerate | Episode 99

In episode 99 of Don't Eat POOP! A Food Safety Podcast, Matthew Regusci and I are going through the things we put in our refrigerator that don’t actually need to be in there.

Prepare to be surprised about some of the 20 food items we cover. We for sure thought they had to be refrigerated, but it turns out they don’t.

In other cases, you’ll discover that putting these items in the refrigerator is not only unnecessary but can actually lower the quality of the product, so that’s a big no-no.

In this episode:

• [01:19] Here we are at episode 99. Wow!
• [04:11] A recap of the holidays and the passing of dear ones
• [06:36] The inspiration for today’s episode
• [10:02] #1 Ketchup and #2 potatoes
• [12:41] #3 Mayonnaise (you heard that right) and #4 mustard
• [16:13] #5 Soy sauce and ?Worcestershire sauce
• [17:28] #6 Tomatoes and #7 hot sauce
• [21:59] The long-lasting consequences of working in a restaurant
• [25:43] #8 Avocados and #9 fresh basil
• [27:31] #10 Stone fruit and buying in bulk
• [29:31] Potatoes and acrylamide
• [30:20] #11 Nuts and #12 chocolate (Francine’s favorite)
• [34:55] #13 Coffee and the cry once mentality
• [38:09] #14 Apples and apple trivia
• [41:32] #15 Nutella and peanut butter and #16 honey
• [42:39] #17 Cucumbers and #18 citrus fruit
• [43:12] #19 Fresh peppers, #20 onions, and crying

Beware!

In episode 99, we talk about 20 food items that don’t need to be refrigerated. Well, it turns out that for some of them being in the refrigerator is actually detrimental.

Here they are:

?? Potatoes

You are not supposed to refrigerate potatoes!

When potatoes are refrigerated they start to convert their starches into sugars, making them sweeter and with a gritty texture.

The other problem is acrylamide, which has been found to be cancerous.

Acrylamide is a chemical that is produced when you cook starches at a high temperature and fast.?

This means that if you refrigerate your potatoes and then cook them by trying to get them up to temp fast, you’re going to end up creating more acrylamide than if they were originally at room-temperature.

Lastly, keeping potatoes in the refrigerator may cause them to sprout prematurely.

?? Cucumber

Did you know you can actually damage your cucumbers by refrigerating them?

Cucumbers are sensitive to temperatures lower than 50oF (10oC).

If exposed to such temperatures for more than three days they can suffer “cold injuries”, which include accelerated decay, pitting on the skin, and wateriness.?

Because of that, the recommendation is to store cucumbers at room temperature.

Keep Off The Refrigerator Until Ripe

There are a lot of fruits that only ripen properly at room temperature, including some that masquerade as vegetables.?

Once they’re ripe, you can put them in the refrigerator so they will last longer. If you put them in before that, you’ll end up with a product that’s lower in quality because their flavor is stunted and their texture suffers.

?? Tomatoes

?? Avocados

?? Stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines, and cherries)

?? Apples

?? Fresh peppers

?? What about you? Do you refrigerate any of these food items?

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