If eggplants could speak, they would beg us to release them from their prison sentences in the drawer of your refrigerator. Like many other vegetables, eggplants are susceptible to chilling injury. Pitting, bruising, brown seeds, and flesh result from storing eggplant at or below 41 degrees for an extended period.
Flavor and texture are both negatively impacted; plus, eggplants can overripen if they are stored in close proximity to bananas, apples, melons, and other fruits with high ethylene production. If you have too many to prepare and need to keep them in the fridge, try to use them within three days.
Spare Your Bread From the Cold, Dark Fridge!
Refrigerating bread will not only ruin the texture but keeping it for so long will make it go stale and chewy as the cold air facilitates this process. Leave your bread on the counter or in the pantry. Store it in a cool, dry place, away from windows or heat.
A bread box is best, but most people keep bread wrapped in plastic, which is fine. After a few days, however, wrap it up and pop it in the freezer to keep it fresh. Bread is best the first day it is baked, but keeping it properly will optimize its quality.
Need Some Fridge Space?
That big old jar of pickles can sit out. But many people like to eat pickles when they are cold and crunchy straight out of the fridge. Some don’t. Since pickles are a preserved food item, they can be stored either in the refrigerator or at room temperature without any issues.
That's why when shopping at the deli, we often see a large barrel of individually sold pickles sitting out on the counter. So why not leave your jars of pickles out at home? Pickle jars are filled with vinegar, which is high in acetic acid and naturally prevents bacteria from growing.
Don’t Ruin a Good Watermelon
Ummm, this is a tough one. Watermelons are packed with antioxidants, beta-carotene, and a significant supply of other nutrients. Health benefits include preventing cancer and sun-related skin damage. But you might want to know that a 2006 study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that refrigerating watermelons saps those helpful nutrients away.
The bright red flesh of watermelon also contains more lycopene than any other fruit or veggie. But those, too, diminish with refrigeration. But cold watermelon tastes so much better! So it’s okay to chill before serving, that way you can enjoy your watermelon chilled. It is the prolonged refrigeration that deprives the fruit of its natural nutrients.
Leaving Salad Out Is Fine
A bowl of mixed greens kept on the counter before serving is not a problem. But after a couple of hours, you might want to refrigerate it before it goes soggy so that it retains its crispness. In general, lettuce and other vegetables sit out when they are busy growing outside.
But once they've been cut and removed from their source, they will soon begin to wilt. So the sooner you use them, the better, but weather permitting, you can probably leave them out for a while. Unless it’s very warm or anything over 80 degrees, the salad greens will start to wilt.