According to the Australian Institute of Food Safety, your refrigerator should be 5°C or colder. At this temperature, any bacteria present on or in food can only develop very slowly, so keeping food this cold is a good way to prevent cooked or prepared food from spoiling for as long as possible. (Freezing food virtually stops bacterial growth, but it also significantly changes the texture of many foods.) Still, keeping some foods that cold isn't a good idea or even necessary. Cold can stop the ripening process of fruits, and in a few cases, the temperature in your refrigerator can break down the cell walls in fruits or vegetables, turning them mealy. Many fruits and veggies keep best when kept cool and prefer warmer rather than colder conditions.
Important note: The following guidelines for vegetables and fruits apply to whole, intact items. Once they get overripe or develop even one soft spot, or if the skin is broken, they need to be eaten, cooked, or refrigerated/frozen ASAP.
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Avocados
Avocados ripen best at room temperature and sulk in the refrigerator. Once ripe, they need to be used promptly, as even the slightest bruise acquired during shipping will cause a fruit to spoil rapidly, even if refrigerated. Thankfully, you can even use overripe avocados to make the most out of your favourite produce.
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Bananas
Bananas hate the cold. They will not ripen in the fridge, and the cold will turn their skins brown prematurely (though the flesh will still be fine to eat).
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Basil
This tender leafy herb will cringe and develop black spots when exposed to cold temperatures, so keep it out of the fridge and store on the counter, with cut ends standing in a glass or jar of fresh water.
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Bread
Bread tends to get stale in the fridge. Keep bread that you will eat within a few days in a cool, dry place, and slice it only when you're ready to eat. For longer storage, either dry it for bread crumbs or slice it, place it in an airtight container, and freeze it. Remove only as much as you need at a time, and thaw it slowly and completely before eating or toasting to enjoy optimal flavour and texture.
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Coffee
The high moisture levels in most refrigerators can play havoc with your morning brew fixings. Store a small quantity of whole beans or ground coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark spot to retain maximum flavour and freshness.
If you have a good, local source for coffee, buy only as much as you can use in a week or two. If not, freeze what won't be used within a few days in an airtight container, removing a week's worth at a time as needed. (And make sure your coffee isn't harbouring mould!)
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Eggplants
These heat-loving fruits (yes, they're fruits!) store well at room temperature.
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Honey
Store honey, tightly covered, in a cool, dry place. Most honey will crystallise over time, and refrigeration seems to speed the process (re-liquify grainy or solidified honey by setting the jar in a pot of hot water until the honey melts). Honey's colour or flavour may change gradually as it ages, but that's OK.
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Melons
Keep whole melons, including watermelon, rockmelon, and honeydew, on your counter for best flavour and to help preserve antioxidants.
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Onions, shallots, and garlic
Onions, shallots, and garlic hate refrigerators-the high humidity tends to make them soft or rubbery and encourages them to sprout and/or mould. Find a cool, dark, dry place for them.
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Capsicum
Capsicums, especially ripe or ripening (red, orange, yellow) ones, will stop ripening when refrigerated, cheating you of some of their goodness. Just leave them on the counter or in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.
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Pineapples, papayas, mangos, kiwis, and other tropical fruits
Chances are good that if it grows in the tropics, it will store best at room temperature.
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Potatoes
Temperatures below about 7°C will make potatoes turn unpleasantly sweet and gritty; if they're roasted or fried, they will contain significantly more acrylamide than potatoes stored at warmer temps, so keep them out of the fridge. Store them in a dark place so they won't turn green; they need high humidity to stay firm and plump, so a plastic bag inside a paper bag is a good option.
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Sweet potatoes
These heat-loving veggies may develop discoloured patches when stored in the fridge. Keep them in a cool place and, as they need reasonably high humidity to stay firm and plump, inside a plastic bag or some sort of a container.
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Tomatoes
Tomatoes get sad and mealy in the fridge. Keep them on the counter or in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.
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Pumpkins
Pumpkins last the longest in a dry, cool, well-ventilated place and do not need to be refrigerated.
In general, if your local supermarket doesn't display a food in a cooler case, you can store it at room temperature at home.
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Apples and pears
Fresh apples and pears store well for a couple of weeks (and look pretty) on your counter. If you won't be eating them in that time, they might last a little bit longer in the fridge.
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Beans
Green beans, especially snap and fresh shelled beans, can suffer cold damage in the chilly depth of the fridge and will last longer in a cool (not cold) place. But if it's very hot in your house and there is no cool place available, you may want to store them in the warmest part of the refrigerator if you can't eat them right away.
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Eggs
In most countries, eggs are sold and stored at room temperature. Fresh, clean eggs from your own hens or a local farmer's hens will keep safely on your counter for a week or two. In fact, keeping fresh eggs at room temperature for a few days before cooking will make them much easier to peel when hard-boiled. Dirty or cracked eggs should be refrigerated and used as soon as possible. Once eggs have been refrigerated, they should be kept refrigerated until you are ready to use them.
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Grapes
Grapes will last for a few days on the counter; for longer storage, or if they are very ripe, they will last longer in the refrigerator.
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Maple syrup or honey
Maple syrup and honey can be refrigerated or kept in a cool, dry place after the seal is broken. Properly prepared maple syrup will not freeze, making the freezer an ideal long-term storage place.
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Okra
This heat-loving veggie (and cravings-crushing food) can get brown spots if it gets too cold. Store it in a cool place unless your house is very hot, in which case you should store it in the refrigerator.
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Olive oil, walnut oil, flax oil, and other vegetable oils
Oils may or may not be hurt-or helped-by refrigeration. It all depends on how delicate they are, how warm your house is, and who you talk to. The issue is flavour versus shelf life. Purists say refrigeration causes condensation to form on the inside of the container, which may harm the taste of a very delicately flavoured oil.
Oil may also become cloudy and slightly solid at cold temps, and while it will liquify when returned to room temperature, repeated solidifying and melting may change the flavour. On the other end of the debate is how fast the oil will become rancid (definitely harming the flavour and nutrition) at room temperature. Most oils will eventually go rancid-especially at very warm room temperatures. In general, buy small amounts of oils, especially the most finely flavoured or costly ones, from a store that has a rapid turnover. Store them in a cool, dark place, and use them promptly. In very hot or humid conditions, store oils in the refrigerator.
Important note: Any fresh herbs or vegetables packed in oil should always be refrigerated, as the oil seals the air away from the moist material, creating the perfect conditions for cultivating botulism.
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Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes
Citrus fruits store well for a couple of weeks on your counter or for a bit longer in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.
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Peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums
Allow peaches, apricots, nectarines, and plums to ripen at room temperature. Once they are soft and ripe, you can store them in the fruit bin of the refrigerator for a few days.
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Soy sauce and high-salt condiments, including fish sauce
Salt prevents the growth of food spoilage organisms, so there's no need to refrigerate salty condiments.
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Vinegar and high-acid condiments, including mustard, hot sauce, and tomato sauce
Because of their natural acidity, which inhibits the growth of food-spoilage organisms, these products can be safely kept at room temperature. Still, it won't hurt them to be refrigerated.
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