Food expert warns against keeping bread in the fridge

Have you ever popped your bread in the fridge in an effort to keep it going for longer? If the answer's yes, you've apparently been doing it all wrong.

A food expert has actually advised against keeping it in cold temperatures, and it's far from the only item she urged against keeping in the fridge.

Foodie Lora shares all kinds of tips for saving money on her Instagram, including storing your foods in the correct way.

While there are plenty of things you might think keep fresher from being kept in the fridge, she suggests otherwise. If anything, it’s some new expertise to back you up next time you’re engaged in a fridge or cupboard war at the pub.

“Are you still putting your bread in the refrigerator?” Lora asks, with her own head peeping inside the fridge.

So while a lot of people believe that keeping their loaf inside the lower temperatures can help it stay soft and fluffy for longer, she reveals: “It can stale twice as fast in here.”

And she’s right. Lisa Young, a nutritionist and adjunct professor at New York University in New York City, explained to marthastewart.com that the cold temperature in the fridge makes the starch recrystallise and then become dry.

This process makes the bread develop a stale flavour and texture – which you can slow down by wrapping it tightly in plastic.

One option that is better than putting it in the fridge though is freezing it.

Freezing your bread prevents it from going stale and stops the spoilage microbes from developing at all.

Lora also offers advice on storing other items, such as tomatoes.

“Tomatoes do best between 65 and 85 degrees [18 and 29 degree Celsius]. So the last place you want to leave these guys as well in here [the fridge],” she says.

“Grab a paper towel and store these guys stem side down"

The foodie leaves the fresh produce in a wire basket on the kitchen counter, at room temperature to keep them in better condition.

She also says: “The potatoes can end up a little gritty and even a little sweet, which is kind of strange.

“Toss those guys in a bag and wrap it up.”

Lora also advises against keeping garlic, onions, honey and olive oil in the fridge.

More room for all that chocolate if you're one of those people.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@lorafied/Crispin la valiente/Getty Images

Topics: Food And Drink

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_