10 Everyday Foods You Should Never Store in the Refrigerator

You might think the refrigerator keeps everything fresher longer, but for some foods, it actually does the opposite. From mushy tomatoes to gritty potatoes and flavorless coffee, certain everyday items can lose their taste, texture, and shelf life the moment they hit cold air. Before you open the fridge again, check out the foods that should always stay on the counter or in the pantry instead.

Tomatoes

Cold temperatures make tomatoes mealy, mushy, and flavorless by shutting down their ripening enzymes.

Onions

Refrigeration causes onions to absorb moisture, turning them soft, moldy, and quick to spoil.

Potatoes

Cold converts potato starches into sugar, leaving them gritty and overly sweet after cooking.

Garlic

Garlic in the fridge becomes rubbery and sprout-prone. Store it somewhere dry and cool instead.

Bananas

The peel turns black quickly in the cold, and the inside becomes mushy and flavorless.

Honey

Honey crystallizes and hardens in the fridge, making it gritty and nearly impossible to pour.

Bread

The fridge accelerates staling, causing bread to turn dry and tough far faster than at room temp.

Coffee Beans

Refrigerator humidity dulls the aroma and flavor, leaving coffee flat and lifeless.

Olive Oil

Cold temperatures make olive oil cloudy and sludgy, disrupting texture (though still safe to use).

Fresh Basil

Basil wilts, blackens, and loses aroma in the fridge. Treat it like fresh flowers instead.