As more people moved into cities and further away from food sources, household refrigerators became a necessity. So in 1834, the world got its first working vapor-compression refrigeration system. The first commercial ice-making machine was invented in 1854. And in 1913, refrigerators for home use were introduced.
But as we learned how to preserve our resources more efficiently, we got more and more creative with it, too. So when Reddit user Monk_Never_Dies asked everyone on the platform, "What is something commonly refrigerated, [but] actually doesn't need to be?" the replies came flying in. Here are some of the most popular ones.
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People who put honey in the fridge should be charged as criminals
Nutella in the fridge should be a major felony. Who tf wants rock hard Nutella?
Saw this somewhere that someone would spread Nutella on the parchment paper. About a dozen or more, they shaped them in a nice thinly board. Chilled it overnight, then they used it to crackle its bits for ice cream. For me I would have eaten it in one sitting.
Tomatoes. They'll stay edible longer in the fridge, but they'll instantly lose all their flavor when chilled.
My mother grew up relatively poor and so has it ingrained to never risk wasting food. She'll always refrigerate tomatoes (and even bananas!) despite my attempts to convince her otherwise.
Bread. We put it in the fridge bc my precious little douche bags (cats) like to take chomps out of the bag.
Us too, but it's only because we don't eat it fast enough.
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Yes! A sturdy wooden one, with a lid that's relatively heavy so only a human can open it.
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I'm beginning to think my cats are total outliers. None of them mess with my bread... Guess I'm just lucky. But yeah, chilling bread dries it out faster.
Dries it out instantaneously. If you want week-old bread on the same day it's baked, just put it in the fridge.
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I have to put mine in the fridge because I live in a hot country. I don't want weevils! Same with dried pasta....anything with flour in really.
Same. Just one cat, the other can't be bothered to jump so very far up to the counter. She'll run off with bread, rolls, buns, garlic toast, anything.
Chase her hard if she runs off with garlic toast. With many cats, even a small amount of garlic can be toxic as hell.
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Fridge makes it stale and hard. Freezer keeps it in perfect condition. It thaws quickly, too, when you need some.
For us, the counter makes it moldy, the fridge (in it's plastic bag twisted and clipped) keeps it fresh and soft, and the freezer is for extras. And oddly takes almost all day to thaw, too.
Load More Replies... Invest in a wooden bread box with a relatively heavy lid only a human can open.
That's what I do with packaged bakery items like doughnuts and bread.
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That on the picture has nothing to do with bread. I always buy real bread in a health food store. If you keep it in a linen bag and not in the fridge, it will keep for a week. And tastes like bread.
Amen! My cats will take a bite out of every piece of bread! The only thing they love more is catnip!
I feel your pain. I have to keep all treats for my brats in the microwave as they've figured out how to open the cupboards and fridge.
Soft soggy white bread is both an abomination of taste and an abomination of health.
In the fridge it'll get dry much faster. Put it in the freezer and get what you need every time.
I have had this happen. She learned to open cabinets and could press the button on the microwave, too, so into the fridge it went.
If I'm going to eat bread soon , but want to protect it from cats, I put it in the microwave.
I had a fur baby, that would grab the bag, and get slices out. As she got older, I guess she decided, she wasn't going to take her time going in the bag. She would tear a hole in it, and get a few slices out. Sara Lee honey wheat was the only one she would do like that.
We used to use the microwave - called it the "food safe". Kept the cats away LOL
What in the Texas toast is that bread in the picture? I wish store bread looked that good.
Either freezer or in the bread bin/cupboard. Putting bread in the fridge makes it lose its freshness immediately. If you don't mind your bread tasteless and stale, then keeping it in the fridge should be fine.
Thought my car was the only one that did that! I also out bread in the fridge to keep it from molding.
I put it in the fridge to keep it longer. Just let it warm up before you make into sandwiches, works a charm.
I thought I had the only cat who would chew through the bag to get the bread. He crossed the rainbow bridge 15 years ago, but bread is still stored in the microwave to keep it safe...
Cats love to chew plastic bags and wrapping. I think it's the equivalent to a human sucking their thumb.
Used to make, no machine, bread. 6-12 loaves. We froze the extra. Kept two out to eat up. Store bought breads stay out on counter top unless the mold fast. Wal-Mart has a "store made" bread that molds within 4-5 days. that's a nope bread.
Buy a bread box or put up with dryer out bread because refrigeration sucks moisture out of bread
I leave it I the cupboard for about five days, then throw it in the freezer.
They have this great thing known as a breadbox that you can store your bread in so that pets cant get to it and destroy your bread. Just saying!
Cold tightens up bread and makes it tougher. Get a bread box. And look into your cat's diet. That's a weird thing for cats to eat. If you're feeding super cheap food or homemade food to an indoor only cat, it may not be geting all the nutrients it needs.
I miss bread.😢. Haven’t had it in over a year. (Abstaining from carbs til the holidays of course lol)
How do you get through the day without a sandwich?
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If it is really humid then bread will get mouldy faster unless refrigerated....
I store it in fridge, then as I'm about to use it, I give it 5-8 seconds in the nukulator. Freshener long enough to eat.
I leave avocados out until they’re the perfect ripeness, then I put them in the fridge and they last ages in the perfect state
Peanut butter. Why people do it, I don't know.
We buy the kind you have to stir- just peanuts, no hydrogenated oils, sugar etc-and it will separate if we don't keep it in the fridge.
Store-bought mayonnaise.
I was raised in the South, and my mother (born in 1924) was kind of obsessed with the idea that mayonnaise left out of the refrigerator would "turn" and grow a bunch of salmonella. We were repeatedly cautioned to be sure to return the mayonnaise jar to the fridge immediately. (When Mom was a girl, mayonnaise was homemade out of raw egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cooking oil.)
Then I took a food safety course (I was an RN and got assigned to be the safety inspector at my hospital) and to my great surprise the county food safety instructor told us that unrefrigerated commercial mayonnaise only very rarely was ever a problem.
I still don't trust it though. (My mama never steered me wrong, I don't care *what* the county food safety guy says.)
Just checked my mayo jar and it says to refrigerate after opening. I think I'll follow the directions.
Onions or potatoes. Honestly most produce doesn’t necessarily need to go in the fridge but it does help it last longer
Eggs - in the US you have to refrigerate eggs. You don't always in Europe.
When I got married my wife showed me that butter can just sit there right on the counter, even right next to the stove, forever. What is this conspiracy to make people think butter needs to be refrigerated? Is it by the margarine makers to sell their stuff as a softer alternative to butter?
Bananas
Bananas are good frozen, covered in chocolate sauce, and rolled in cereal crumbs.
Molasses
In the refrigerator, Grandma's molasses turns to "sludge."
Ketchup but I like mine cold
Depends. Once the bottle is opened it will het sour over time. I used to put mine in the fridge, but thats not necessary anymore since we have kids.
Maple syrup
Growing up it was always in the fridge. When my husband and I met he questioned me on it. I had no idea it wasn’t needed.
Maple syrup definitely needs to be refrigerated, says a woman who was also told this and watched mold grow on a $40 bottle of pure maple syrup. Pancake syrup does not.
Keeping onions in the fridge greatly reduces tears when cutting onions
Sharp knives are a better way to cut down on the tears. The more you damage the onion, the more it makes your eyes water.
Hot sauce. All the restaurants leave it out but I feel like most people stick it in the fridge.
I leave Louisiana style, like Crystal's for example, out after opening but all the other stuff goes in the fridge. Louisiana style has so much vinegar and pepper it's not gonna turn.
Strawberries go bad much faster once refrigerated. Grocery stores greatly reduce shelf life by refrigerating them before you even get the chance to buy the darn berries
Strawberries tend to go bad because of mold around here, so refrigeration slows that down.
Pineapples, my mom tried to refrigerate a whole pineapple once and i had to lecture her about how you are supposed to leave them out
Pepto Bismol. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated but it tastes just awful if it isn’t.
It tastes like pink liquidated chalk, no matter what temperature it is.
Most cheeses are fine to be left out - you just cut away any moldy/dried-out bits, and you’re good to go. NOTE: this does not apply to intentionally moldy cheeses like blues and Gorgonzola, or softer cheese like Brie. It’s for hard cheeses only (Parmesan, cheddar, etc.), which can still last longer when refrigerated too
I don't know if its commonly refrigerated but I do remember getting in an argument with my college roommate about needing to refrigerate jelly/jam.
You don't. It'll last a long long long time in the pantry.
Only if it’s not opened! Don’t do this with open jam or jelly. Especially if you’re double dipping your knife between spreads.
Orange juice. I found out they don't refrigerate it over in France. That freaked me out.
This list doesn't take climate into consideration. I'm Australian, it's hot, fruit, vegetables, bread and condiments don't last in the heat so they have to be refrigerated. I'm more than happy to loose a bit of flavor so my food lasts longer.
Plus a greater risk for nasty bugs if you leave those things out in warmer climates.
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In Europe it's quite easy: whatever is refrigerated in the supermarket, you keep in the fridge. Everything that isn't, stays out. When opened, check the label where to store it.
SO many of these foods will last a while out of the fridge, but (1) they won't last nearly as long as if they're refrigerated, and (2) can go dangerously bad if something non-sterile has been introduced (like a knife or a spoon that has some food traces on it) and (3) even airborne particles can get at them.
Another post stolen from Reddit. This is not journalism, it’s plagiarism and it’s lazy.
Most of the posts here originally came from other sources. There even once was a post that went from Reddit to here to Twitter and back here lol
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A huge difference in storing closed jars, tins and cartons, and storing it once opened. Honey, peanut butter etc are exceptions. Produce, like onions, may be stored in a cellar if you have one (but they’ll be fine at most temps). Greens: in the fridge. Tomatoes: room temperature. Bread: in your belly.
I can only eat slow sourdough artisan bread because I get unmentionable side effects otherwise. For old sourdough sprinkle with water and microwave for 20s
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"It doesn't do anything but helps it last longer" Yeah, that's why I put it in the fridge...
This list is stupid and wrong. The climate is not taken into account. The special features of the kitchens are also not taken into account. Do you have a cool, dark pantry? Perfect. Don't have a cool, dark pantry? So you have to store a lot of things in the fridge. In addition, the storage also depends on consumption, if you drink a liter of milk a day, the opened pack does not have to be put in the fridge. The fridge is a cool and dark place (when the lights in the fridge actually go out!), such a place keeps food from spoiling quickly.
Well the basis of the list is accurate. Very accurate. Personal taste buds play a big roll though. Just because you don't have to refrigerate something doesn't mean that it doesn't taste better when it comes out of a nice cold fridge
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Wow this list's entries were mainly written by people who must also appear on a "your worst bout of food poisoning" list.
Now that is a celebrity cooking show I'd watch. This week we have two celebrities cook a 5 course meal and the judges will decide if it's safe to eat, inedible or "stomach pump time".
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While not valid in all cases, in general tropical fruits should not go inside a fridge.
I THINK it also dep3ends on how close the shops are and how often you do the shopping. If you 'work in town' and stop off to buy things on the way home -- no real need for most refrigeration. However some things out of the fridge will not keep out of the fridge more than a few days. (And that is not counting cockroach, and fly contamination.) it can get very expensive making special trips of over and hour just to get a handful of groceries But it gets fearfully expensive to need to go to the shops daily if it is half an hour or more drive away. However some things out of the fridge will not keep out of the fridge more than a few days. (And that is not counting cockroach, and fly contamination/)
The other one: if you wash your produce you have to refrigerate it or use it immediately. The bacterial ecosystem on them protects it from fungi and oxidation that starts the rotting. That bacteria might be harmful to you which is why you should always wash your produce before use, but as soon as it gets home is unnecessary. (Edit: spelling error)
Did I miss the one about not refrigerating the bodies of their enemies...*rolls eyes
I just laughed thru this whole thing. We haven't had a refrigerator in over a year and a half. We just can't stock up on food like we could with a working fridge and we don't buy milk by the gallon during the hotter months. Anything that needs to stay cool goes in a cooler-no, we don't always have ice either. Neither of us has gotten sick or even had a tummy ache. So my point is, nothing needs refrigerated if you use it in a timely manner. Don't get me wrong, I miss having the option to refrigerate but what I miss most is having a freezer to keep ice in! Edited to add: This way of living might not work in humid environments since mold loves that sort of climate. We live in the desert.
A lot of these things seem to be saying that the items don't HAVE to be refrigerated. Yes, you're correct, they don't HAVE to be, but that doesn't mean choosing not to refrigerate has no effect. In many cases, it makes the items last longer or slows down the spoiling process. That's kind of the purpose.
For most of the condiments, they taste better could, and it's nice to have them all in one place. Plus, I don't have much cabinet space, and there's not much else that would fit in most door shelves anyway.
I heard of some people putting it in the freezer, but never the fridge.
Load More Replies... This list doesn't take climate into consideration. I'm Australian, it's hot, fruit, vegetables, bread and condiments don't last in the heat so they have to be refrigerated. I'm more than happy to loose a bit of flavor so my food lasts longer.
Plus a greater risk for nasty bugs if you leave those things out in warmer climates.
Load More Replies... In Europe it's quite easy: whatever is refrigerated in the supermarket, you keep in the fridge. Everything that isn't, stays out. When opened, check the label where to store it.
SO many of these foods will last a while out of the fridge, but (1) they won't last nearly as long as if they're refrigerated, and (2) can go dangerously bad if something non-sterile has been introduced (like a knife or a spoon that has some food traces on it) and (3) even airborne particles can get at them.
Another post stolen from Reddit. This is not journalism, it’s plagiarism and it’s lazy.
Most of the posts here originally came from other sources. There even once was a post that went from Reddit to here to Twitter and back here lol
Load More Replies... A huge difference in storing closed jars, tins and cartons, and storing it once opened. Honey, peanut butter etc are exceptions. Produce, like onions, may be stored in a cellar if you have one (but they’ll be fine at most temps). Greens: in the fridge. Tomatoes: room temperature. Bread: in your belly.
I can only eat slow sourdough artisan bread because I get unmentionable side effects otherwise. For old sourdough sprinkle with water and microwave for 20s
Load More Replies... "It doesn't do anything but helps it last longer" Yeah, that's why I put it in the fridge...
This list is stupid and wrong. The climate is not taken into account. The special features of the kitchens are also not taken into account. Do you have a cool, dark pantry? Perfect. Don't have a cool, dark pantry? So you have to store a lot of things in the fridge. In addition, the storage also depends on consumption, if you drink a liter of milk a day, the opened pack does not have to be put in the fridge. The fridge is a cool and dark place (when the lights in the fridge actually go out!), such a place keeps food from spoiling quickly.
Well the basis of the list is accurate. Very accurate. Personal taste buds play a big roll though. Just because you don't have to refrigerate something doesn't mean that it doesn't taste better when it comes out of a nice cold fridge
Load More Replies... Wow this list's entries were mainly written by people who must also appear on a "your worst bout of food poisoning" list.
Now that is a celebrity cooking show I'd watch. This week we have two celebrities cook a 5 course meal and the judges will decide if it's safe to eat, inedible or "stomach pump time".
Load More Replies... While not valid in all cases, in general tropical fruits should not go inside a fridge.
I THINK it also dep3ends on how close the shops are and how often you do the shopping. If you 'work in town' and stop off to buy things on the way home -- no real need for most refrigeration. However some things out of the fridge will not keep out of the fridge more than a few days. (And that is not counting cockroach, and fly contamination.) it can get very expensive making special trips of over and hour just to get a handful of groceries But it gets fearfully expensive to need to go to the shops daily if it is half an hour or more drive away. However some things out of the fridge will not keep out of the fridge more than a few days. (And that is not counting cockroach, and fly contamination/)
The other one: if you wash your produce you have to refrigerate it or use it immediately. The bacterial ecosystem on them protects it from fungi and oxidation that starts the rotting. That bacteria might be harmful to you which is why you should always wash your produce before use, but as soon as it gets home is unnecessary. (Edit: spelling error)
Did I miss the one about not refrigerating the bodies of their enemies...*rolls eyes
I just laughed thru this whole thing. We haven't had a refrigerator in over a year and a half. We just can't stock up on food like we could with a working fridge and we don't buy milk by the gallon during the hotter months. Anything that needs to stay cool goes in a cooler-no, we don't always have ice either. Neither of us has gotten sick or even had a tummy ache. So my point is, nothing needs refrigerated if you use it in a timely manner. Don't get me wrong, I miss having the option to refrigerate but what I miss most is having a freezer to keep ice in! Edited to add: This way of living might not work in humid environments since mold loves that sort of climate. We live in the desert.
A lot of these things seem to be saying that the items don't HAVE to be refrigerated. Yes, you're correct, they don't HAVE to be, but that doesn't mean choosing not to refrigerate has no effect. In many cases, it makes the items last longer or slows down the spoiling process. That's kind of the purpose.
For most of the condiments, they taste better could, and it's nice to have them all in one place. Plus, I don't have much cabinet space, and there's not much else that would fit in most door shelves anyway.
I heard of some people putting it in the freezer, but never the fridge.
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