Fridge or Cupboard

[Bizzy Lizzy]

The programme I watched on bread recently said (emphatically) that bread should never be kept in the fridge. Mine is kept in the fridge as when I tried a bread bin for a short time the bread seem to go mildew very quickly (warm and damp conditions?) This got me wondering what others things this applies to and I read on the internet that certain food products are much better kept out of the fridge - onions, garlic, potatoes, eggs to name a few. I really would love to know what others think about this and what they do.

[Plantaholic]

I store my bread in the fridge because I don't use it fast enough. I wouldn't, store onions or garlic in the fridge but I do store eggs in the fridge.

[aggie]

It is very hard to drop the habits of a lifetime , things told me by so called experts , and go with every new thought . I keep eggs milk cheese in the fridge but not tomatoes bananas or bread . I found for myself that bread went stale in the fridge , my Sister swears by keeping hers in the fridge . Mine is in a cupboard above the work top , no breadbin just in an open wrapper

[ZIZI]

I don't keep bread in the fridge, I have a wooden based ceramic bread container. I buy my bad fresh from the baker once a week and it seems to last well. Tomatoes are kept in a crystal dish not in fridge, onions apart from spring onions in another crystal dish. Potatoes in hessian sack like bag. Eggs in a wire fronted egg safe which I have had for donkeys years. Bananas in another crystal dish but have stopped buying them so much since I am not office bound any more as they were getting wasted too often. I always used to take one in for breakfast but now have breakfast at home.

[Clover]

I keep my bread in a bin .Eggs are kept in the fridge but I always have 6 or so out in a dish to be at room temperature for immediate use. I also keep apples in the fridge as I think it keeps them crunchy but OH always complains that they are cold!! I think tomatoes are supposed to be kept at room temperature but mine are in the fridge!

[WeeGranny]

Bread is in bin(wooden), eggs on a rack on work top, tomatoes,cheese, milk in fridge, some vegetables too. Bananas should be at room temperature and separate from other fruit.

[Oma]

Bread I keep in a basket in the cupboard above the worktop , Onions Garlic Potatoes other root veg in a basket in a lower cupboard that is cool and dark, Cucumber , spring onions tomatoes lettuce in the fridge along with Apples, grapes, soft fruit , eggs . Bananas I keep separate in the utility on a hanger but I always wrap the tops in tin foil it stops them ripening too quick .
I think everyone finds what is right for them . I also keep Tin fruit in the fridge as I like them nice and cold when I eat them

[ZIZI]

Wee granny bananas also need to be away from cut flowers as they give off a gas which makes the flowers wither quickly. I also keep vegetables in the fridge, Garlic is in a terracotta garlic pot but I need a new one as it has a crack in it which is sad as I have had it for 30 years. I also keep stock cubes in a polythene container which I have had for the same amount of years. If I buy fresh herbs for cooking such as coriander which I don't grow in the garden me have so,e left (usually I do) I chop it and open freeze it and then vacuum freeze it in a big bag so that I just have to snip a corner and reseal.

I store left over wine, NO I LIE there is NEVER any left over wine, if it is wine I don't particularly like I store it in ice cube bags to use in gravies and sauces and also left over gravy gets the same treatment.

I like to make a cafetière of coffee some times, usually at the weekend when I am reading the papers in the mornings. Because husband doesn't drink coffee and the fresh coffee packs are quite big I also decant the coffee from the bag and vacuum it and keep it in the fridge. I cut off the identification label and stick it on the front of the pack as I have several different flavours. They last really well once they have been vacuumed.

I know I am a mucky Trollope but at least I am a frugal mucky Trollope ........

[Elisi]

If I ever, which is rare have left over wine, it goes into cooking something.

Eggs I was told can change consistency when in the fridge so they are in a cupboard. Bread is always in the fridge as it seems to go mouldy fast. I detest modern packaged bread, and get mine from a baker who doesn't use many preservatives in the flour so it can go off quickly.

Salads and veggies go in the fridge in the bottom trays. Fruit in the big wooden bowl.

Cheese gets taken out at least an hour before eating.

[Nanto2girls]

I keep bread in the freezer, and just take out a few slices at a time.Eggs are in the fridge, but I take them out a few hours before I want to use them.Tomatoes go in a glass dish on the worktop, but that is only when hubby's homegrown tomatoes are ready.Very rarely do I buy them any other time.To be honest, I can't remember the last time I bought bananas, but when I do, we only get a couple at a time.I don't care much for fresh fruit, but hubby like apples and oranges which we keep in the fridge.Onions and potatoes are stored in an outbuilding.Cheese is kept in the fridge, but like Elisi I take it out an hour before hand.

[Grauntie Mag]

Good grief you are all so very organised! If I make a cake I try to remember to take eggs out earlier but if I don't it's hard luck. The cake is made with. cold eggs. Bread is generally in the freezer, take what you need when you need it. I didn't know that tomatoes shouldn't be kept in the fridge! They last longer cold, and should you want them soft leave them out has always been my motto.

[aggie]

My bread made in the breadmaker keeps for ages without any preservatives

[Mimi]

Half of a loaf of bread in the bread bin the other half in the freezer. Veg in the salad/veg basket in the bottom of the fridge. Fruit in the wooden fruit bowl. Mushrooms in the mushroom bag. Potatoes in the potato bag in the cupboard. Eggs in the fridge, but take out of fridge half an hour before use. Dried pasta, spaghetti and rice in air tight containers on the corner shelf at the end of the kitchen cupboards. Cereal in air tight containers.

[ZIZI]

I had zillions of tomatoes last year from my little crop, hopefully same this year. I always grow my own but buy them if I need to. Grauntie if you buy toms from a proper greengrocer you will find they will last very well outside of the fridge, the supermarket ones have been living for much longer so have a shorter life at home. They will also taste better for being room temperature. Only my opinion of course but many of the top chefs say the same thing.

I have never really thought about myself being an organised person around the house.........

[Bizzy Lizzy]

Interesting comments. I do have bread in the freezer as I buy three large loaves each Sunday morning and they last the week. Bring out a few slice at a time sounds better so I am going to try that in future. Otherwise the loaf goes mouldy outside the fridge. I have been trying onions outside the fridge (in the pantry) for a few weeks and they seem to sprout just as much as the ones in the fridge did. Tomatoes go in the fruit bowl until ripe but then, if I am not careful, they are suddenly overripe and squidgy. Eggs always in the fridge just because my cupboard/worktop space is limited and I like things to be as tidy as possible. I put potatoes in the bottom of the pantry in a hessian bag but keep meaning to get a proper black potato bag (does Lakeland still sell these?) as a certain amount of light is still getting to them. Eggs get used at fridge temperature most times as I tend to forget to take them out for cake making until it is too late although I believe this is wrong. All dried produce in airtight plastic boxes and flour in poly-bags held with those plastic clip-together things. I like to buy in reasonable quantities but we don't use as much as we used to when we were four obviously. Hence more need for proper storage.