Fridge or cupboard: where do you keep these foods?

Eggs

Eggs should be stored at a constant temperature below 20°C – and the fridge is the best place, according to British Lion eggs. But try and take them out of the fridge half an hour before you use them for the best results when cooking.

Fruit

• Bananas go bad very quickly in the fridge – but won't ripen in the cold. Bananas are best stored at room temperature – and separated from other fruits if you do not want them to ripen quickly, as close proximity can cause bananas to ripen faster.
• Punnets of strawberries should be kept out of the fridge until they're ripe. You'll know when it's time to refrigerate them because they'll smell sweet.
• Oranges also need to be ripe before they're put in the fridge, as the levels of antioxidants and vitamins increase as oranges ripen.
• Tomatoes won't ripen in the fridge by themselves, so it's best to keep them at room temperature and then refrigerate them once they're soft and juicy.

Vegetables

• Potatoes should never be stored in the fridge – instead keep them in a cool dark place like at the bottom of a cupboard. If kept in the fridge, the starch in uncooked potatoes turns into sugar – making them oddly sweet when cooked. The Food Standards Agency says that when baked or fried, these sugars combine with the amino acid asparagine already present in the potatoes and produce the chemical acrylamide. Acrylamide is a genotoxic carcinogen that’s been linked to an increased risk of cancer.
• Onions go soft in the fridge so are best stored in a cupboard. They also have a tendency to make everything in the vicinity taste like onions when they are stored in a fridge, which can be unpleasant!
• Like onions and potatoes, Garlic is better off in a cool dark place.

Spreads and sauces

• Although ketchup is traditionally a preserve, food manufacturers have cut the amount of salt in recent years reducing its natural preserving powers. So these days it's best to keep it in the fridge, and eat it within 8 weeks.
• Honey won't spoil in a fridge or cupboard, but it's best kept at room temperature as it crystallises in the fridge.
• Olive oil is best stored in a dark place like a pantry as light decreases the antioxidant activity in it.
• Peanut butter doesn't need to be refrigerated and will spread easier if left in a cupboard.
• Jam doesn't need to be stored in the fridge, but it's best to as after being open for a few weeks it can go mouldy.

Read more:

• How much sugar is there in fruit juice?
• Expert suggests children should only drink water
• What foods are not safe to eat in pregnancy