Things we refrigerate

[Hawthorne]

My mother-in-law told me vermouth should be refridgerated. Is that true? I never even thought to put vermouth in the fridge.

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If you're drinking it maybe ... java script:emoticon(':laugh:')

Mine lives in the cabinet with the wine ..

[s_sevilla]

fridge:

-apples

-citrus fruits

green, leafy produce (sometimes with the cut ends sitting in water)

-homemade mustard, fancy whole seed mustards.

-open mayonnaise

-opened pickles

-milks, juices, etc.

-butter

-yeast and sourdough cultures

Out of the fridge:

-eggs, but usually only when someone has made the mistake of buying too many cartons to fit in the fridge, or if we know they're be used within a few days.

-tropical fruits

-spuds, onions, garlic, ginger

-yellow "french's" style mustard.

-vinegars, oils (except home infused)

-soy sauce

In the freezer:

-nuts

-bread that will not be used for a few days

-puff pastry

-red meat, pork, chicken.

-open cans of tomato paste

-homemade stock

[Hawthorne]

PB gets refrigerated in my house because it says to on the label (it's natural, so the cold helps keep it emulsified once I've stirred it back together).

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Precisely. If your PB doesn't separate at room temp, then it's got more than peanuts in it. (Probably some form of bean gum or guano gum. Yummy stuff.)

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Commercial PB seems to keep in the pantry indefinitely; if you look at the label you'll find it's been violated with hydrogenated fat and sugar, apart from the chemical preservatives.

You don't have to stir the stuff or refrigerate it, but you don't want to eat it, either! lol!

[little ms foodie]

With cheese if you speak to an expert, they suggest that as it is a living organism, it should never be put in the fridge or wrapped in cling film, but rather that it should be stored ab 10-14 degrees celsius wrapped in muslin or waxed paper, and any mold should be cut off prior to eating.  Chilling cheese reduces its flavour (same with chocolate which also is apparently not meant to be chilled).  I believe a recomendation for the best storage is eiter in a cheese cellar if you have one, or otherwise in a wine cellar which apparently is also perfect in terms of temperature or humidity.  Most people and restaurants do still refrigerate chees however, as there are strict health and safety rules about the storage of all items that go out to diners - they therefore remove from the fridge at least 1 hour before serving.

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the wine fridge is an excellent recommendation! The top shelf of mine is the warmest and I may move my hard cheeses in there.

we just came back from italy and brought back cryovac'd salami and hard cheese without a problem ( for the products that is, customs is a different story!)

[Franci]

This is a very interesting subject

I do refrigerate

eggs (I have high cholesterole and try to use little eggs)

butter (I don't spread it on bread)

cheese (I wish I had a cellar for the little cheese I use)

milk

green vegetables

stocks

sauces (especially tomato sause)

my fridge is always pretty emty I like to buy daily

Outside the fridge

Oil

fruit (unless is 40 Celsius)

tomatoes

potatoes/onions/garlic

bread (would not even cross my mind to refrigerate)

cakes (unless has pastry cream or cream)

left overs (unless is something with stock)

Who said that Italians don't refrigerate fresh tomato sauce , concentrato yes could be kept outside with oil on top.

Difference is that in Italy a lot of people have a cellar to keep wine, cheese, underoils etc. except when I was leaving in NH I never been so luck to have a place for storing food.

[H. du Bois]

Odd things I keep in fridge:

Nuts (keeps 'em fresher longer)

Paprika (keeps it fresh, too)

Cereal & bread (because when I first moved to NYC, there were these freaky things called cockroaches)

[rooftop1000]

I now keep all my spices in the freezer with the oatmeal and Italian style pre-seasoned commercial bread crumb...........Moths

tracey

[Bueno]

Not in fridge, although the label instructs me to do otherwise:

Ketchup (cold ketchup on hot fries is insipid to me).

Oyster sauce

Soya sauce

Sriracha

BBQ Sauce

[freshherbs]

i recently learned that two items should go in the fridge once opened, rather than back on the shelf:

vermouth

red wine vinegar

anyone have any others to add to this list?

[srhcb]

i recently learned that two items should go in the fridge once opened, rather than back on the shelf:

vermouth

red wine vinegar

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I've read that all vinegar should be used within 3-6 months after opening, but have never heard of the need to refrigerate it.

What is it about red wine vinegar that causes it to require special treatment?

[david coonce]

would suggest put anything in the fridge ASAP if you're not going to use it quickly. It's such a perfect dry and cool environment. Obviously, tomatoes, some fruit and avocados are exceptions. With all my vinegars, I fill a small squeeze bottle about half-way and put the rest in the frdge. And I use a fair amount of vinegar in my cooking.

With Vermouth, I think it's just a matter of never, ever using it. I don't drink Martinis and don't use it much in cooking, so the fridge is just a convenient place to forget about it for months or more.

[russ parsons]

that's odd. I've never put my vinegar in the refrigerator and i've never noticed any problem with it (and i'm pretty particular--i make my own). on the other hand, i do keep my nut oils in the refrigerator. they are especially prone to going rancid and the chill does help them.

[GordonCooks]

i recently learned that two items should go in the fridge once opened, rather than back on the shelf:

vermouth

red wine vinegar

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I've read that all vinegar should be used within 3-6 months after opening, but have never heard of the need to refrigerate it.

What is it about red wine vinegar that causes it to require special treatment?

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If you leave if out for too long, it turns into wine.

[Fat Guy]

I have decided that I will not be refrigerating my next jar of peanut butter.

[cbread]

OK - I refrigerate olive oil in the summer if I am not going to use it for quite a while.

My theory is that refrigerating olive oil is discouraged since too many people would use added heat as in microwave etc. to rewarm it, thus ruining it, rather than letting it take it's time at room temperature. I have heard nothing that the cold is an issue, but repeated warnings that heating good oils will ruin them.

I would be pleased if anyone more knowledgeable could confirm or refute my guesswork.

[Domestic Goddess]

While I leave our soy sauce and vinegar out, I always put the oyster sauce in the fridge. Hubby also insists that we refrigerate eggs and flour (to keep the bugs out).

We also keep the bread, bananas, peanut butter (I used to refrigerate this but Hubby said that the Skippy spreads better room temperature).