Six Fresh Foods Not To Refrigerate

Nali Consulting were featured as food scientists on the website Well + Good. Our food consultant Natalie Alibrandi explains which 6 fresh food items she would keep out of the fridge and why.

Publisher: Well + Good

Full Article: ‘I’m a Food Scientist, and These Are the 6 Fresh Foods I Wouldn’t Refrigerate’

Date first published: October 4, 2022

Food and Beverage Journalist: Maki Yazawa

Image credits: Well + Good, Stocksy/Nataša Mandić

Contributor at Nali Consulting: Natalie Alibrandi, Linkedin

Key contributions from Nali Consulting:

Bananas

Although you may think that sticking a bunch of bananas in the fridge is a harmless act, this food storage expert says otherwise. According to Natalie Alibrandi, a London-based food scientist and CEO of Nali Consulting, bananas should not be refrigerated… especially if they’re unripe. “Normally, when you purchase bananas at the grocery store, they are unripe. Therefore, it’s best to keep them on the counter so you can actually allow them to ripen,” Alibrandi says.

Low temperatures in the refrigerator can slow the chemical ripening process and prevent green or hard bananas from ever reaching their ripe—softened, sweetened—potential. That being said, once they’ve been able to ripen to your liking at room temperature, they fall under the category of “pantry items you can refrigerate.” Just don’t be alarmed if the peels turn dark brown or black within a few days—they’ll look off, but know that this won’t affect the interior of the bananas.

Avocados

Like bananas, Alibrandi recommends keeping avocados on the counter for similar reasons. “For starters, if you buy an unripe, rock-hard avocado, storing it in the fridge will only keep it inedible for even longer,” she says. Again, the cool temperatures in the fridge slow down the ripening process. “Most refrigerators are kept at 40°F or below, which doesn’t create the ideal environment for an unripe avocado to become creamy and flavorful.”

Research shows that avocados should be kept at or near 68°F—so a cool, dry place in your kitchen; not next to the stove—once they’ve ripened to optimize postharvest quality.

Garlic and Onions

Alibrandi also recommends keeping alliums, like garlic, out of the fridge. “Moisture creates a good environment for sprouting, which isn’t harmful, but shows the garlic is past its point of peak ripeness,” she explains.

Alibrandi says that onions are best stored on the counter, too. “When storing onions in the fridge, they are bound to absorb the moisture in the fridge, leaving them less crunchy and more exposure to spoilage.”

Tomatoes and Peaches

According to Savannah Braden, a biological scientist and the associate director of technology at food storage tech startup Apeel, you should never refrigerate climacteric fruits. This includes bananas and avocados, but also peaches and tomatoes.

“Climacteric fruits continue to mature after they’ve picked—think of a green banana—so keeping them in a cold environment will not only slow down the ripening process, but it can also affect the flavor, texture, and other characteristics of the fruit,” Braden explains. However, as Alibrandi previously mentioned, once your fruits are ripe, it’s okay to refrigerate them to help prolong their freshness.