Almost every home in America has a bottle of ketchup, and that’s largely thanks to Heinz, the company that started selling their ketchup in 1876. Ketchup is a condiment made of tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar. Vinegar and sugar are natural preservatives. Its natural acidity means an unopened bottle can still be used up to two years after its sell-by date.
If you love ketchup and enjoy having ketchup with most meals, feel free to leave it on the table, especially if you prefer it at room temp. That’s what they do at restaurants, after all. Ketchup can sit out for well over a month. In the fridge, it lasts forever.
Don’t Chill Your Red-Hot Chilies
Chili peppers are believed to have come from South America and grow best in warmer climates. This is why they do best sitting out at room temperature, as they can stand the heat! Storing them in the refrigerator will extend their shelf life, but the cold temperature will sap their flavor.
To keep your chilies as spicy and flavorful as they were when they were first picked, keep them on the counter in a bowl where everyone can appreciate their fierce and fine colors. Many people also choose to dry them, which will preserve them for longer and make them even spicier.
Pineapple Is a Tropical Fruit
Pineapples, which are native to the Caribbean, Brazil, and Paraguay and are a major Hawaiian export, have some incredible health benefits, however, they are ill-suited for the refrigerator. Especially during its vital ripening stage. If you want to serve your pineapple at its sweetest, let it stay out on the counter to ripen.
Once it gets to the perfect ripeness, a stage that you can detect by the sweet aroma emanating from the base of the fruit, cut it open. Eat it right away or store the pieces in an airtight container in the fridge. There is nothing like a perfect, sweet, and juicy pineapple!
Refrigerators and Bananas Don’t Mix
If you want to ruin a perfect banana, stick it in the fridge or the freezer. It will turn black as death and develop a texture like mush. Native to the tropics, bananas are made to sit out and slowly ripen. They get sweeter with ripeness, like many fruits, and should be eaten at your desired ripeness.
Once they have turned that corner and your bananas have started to blacken, you can peel them and place them in an airtight container in the freezer, which can then be used to make smoothies or banana bread in the future. The darker, the sweeter, making overripe bananas great in many recipes.
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is a winter favorite, but there's no reason you can't enjoy a butternut squash throughout the year. The skin works well to protect the flesh, so whole butternuts should be stored at room temperature as moisture from the fridge can ruin the vegetable's quality and even wreak havoc on the pulp.
Once it's been cut, though, it's an entirely different story, and the smaller pieces should be placed in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days before being prepared and eaten. Just don't leave the prepared butternut in the fridge for too long otherwise the pieces can start to go mushy.