Chocolate should also be stored in a cool, dry place. The optimal storage temperature is 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Chocolate should be sealed inside a container. But, most importantly, chocolate should not be refrigerated. The cold air can cause the sugars to rise to the top and discolor it.
Which you may have seen if you’ve stored your Hershey’s Kisses in the fridge. However, this does affect the flavor as chocolate is absorptive, and storing chocolate in the refrigerator will contaminate the candy with other flavors in the fridge. Leftover salmon or garlic chicken will not pair well with your chocolate.
Should You Refrigerate Potatoes?
If you want your potatoes to last a long time, you can store them in the fridge. However, it should be known that you are selling the soul of your spud by doing so. The cold air inside the fridge creates a chemical reaction inside the potato that proves detrimental to taste.
Starch turns to sugar, and spots, premature sprouting, and a bitter taste result. Potatoes are known for storing well, only growing sprouts after a long time. So, to make the most out of your potatoes, you can keep them in your pantry, in a cool, dark place above 50 degrees.
Vinaigrette Salad Dressings Can Sit Out
There is no reason to refrigerate vinaigrette salad dressing. Refrigeration causes it to congeal and thicken, making it inconvenient to use. If you don’t remember to take it out of the fridge before your serve dinner, it’s a blob of unusable gel. Besides that, dressing tastes better at room temp.
Ingredients like vinegar work as a great preservative; however, one thing to consider is that the shelf life of vinaigrette is shortened significantly by ingredients like garlic and lemon juice. It gives your dressing a tangy zip, but it will only last a few days, whether refrigerated or left out.
Cans of Tuna Stay in The Pantry
It probably goes without saying, but there is absolutely no need to store cans of tuna in the refrigerator. Canned tuna is made to last a long time. So not only will they take up space, but they will stay past their expiration date in the pantry just as long.
Tuna fish was canned in order to preserve it without refrigeration in the first place. The only reason you'd need to keep it in the fridge is if you love eating cold tuna; who knows? Maybe it's summer, and you'd much rather have a cold tuna salad than a warm one.
Soy Sauce is Preserved by Fermentation
Don’t worry about storing soy sauce in the fridge; it can last a year just sitting out on your table or in the pantry. Because soy sauce is fermented, its chemical composition allows it to withstand warmer temperatures without spoiling, which is why those little Chinese takeout packets do just fine in your office desk drawer.
Fun fact: the fermentation process preserves the condiment naturally, and an opened jar will keep its flavor for up to a year and a half. So, there is no need for your soy sauce bottles to take up space in the fridge; you can keep them in the pantry, and they'll be fine.