Want your food to last longer? Here’s what to put where.
Food Storage: Fruit, Part One
Store on/in: counter, fridge
Peaches, plums, pears, honeydews, cantaloupes, mangoes, bananas, and tomatoes (yes, they’re a fruit) keep on ripening whether they’re on the plant, in the store, or in your fruit bowl. To help these fruits ripen faster, keep them on the counter for 2 to 5 days. Once they start turning soft—or you’ve sliced them—relocate to the fridge.
Tip: While the cold turns banana skins brown, the inside will still be fresh.
Food Storage: Fruit, Part Two
Store in: fridge
Citrus fruits, pineapples, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, and cherries don’t get any riper once they’ve been picked—they just go bad. To slow the spoiling process, stash them in the fridge immediately. Apples may get a bit riper but at a super-fast rate—they soften 10 times faster at room temperature. Take them straight to the fridge, too.
Food Storage: Bread
Store on/in: counter, cabinet
Bread will stay fresh for up to 4 days at room temperature—depending on humidity—if sealed in its original wrapping. Although bread can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months, steer clear of the fridge: It’ll dry bread out, making it go stale faster.
Food Storage: Coffee
Store in: cabinet
Yep, get that coffee out of the cold! Putting your coffee in the fridge or freezer exposes it to fluctuating temps and therefore condensation. It’s like your coffee is brewed a little each time it’s exposed to water, and that diminishes the flavor. For a better brew, keep coffee in an airtight canister in a cabinet.
Food Storage: Potatoes, Onions, Garlic
Store in: cabinet
After these veggies are plucked from the cool, dark soil, they should be stored in a similar environment in your home—but not together. Stow spuds on their own—their moisture rots onions faster. Store garlic solo so its scent won’t permeate other eats.
Food Storage: Olive Oil
Store in: fridge, cabinet
Olive oil needs to be away from light, and the fridge will work as a dark place. If your cabinets are fairly cool, oil should be fine there, too. In a fridge or a chilly cabinet, it’ll keep about 1 year opened and 2 years unopened.
Food Storage: Flour
Store in/on: fridge, counter
Grab an airtight container and plant your flour in the fridge. The cool temperature helps keep white flour fresh for 2 years; whole-wheat flour will last about 6 months. If you go through your white flour in less than a year, you can safely keep it on the counter in an airtight jar or canister. But stash wheat flour in the fridge no matter how fast you use it. The oils it contains make it more susceptible to spoilage.
Decadent (yet smart!) desserts
