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normiss

Products you refrigerate...and why?

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Here in New Zealand they don't refrigerate eggs. They are sold unrefrigerated in the grocery store and most people keep them that way. I found it very strange when I got here but I'm used to it now, doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it (though I've heard that if you DO refrigerate them at any point then you should keep them refrigerated, so I guess it wouldn't work in America). The shelf life is shorter I think but I do a lot of baking so I can go through a dozen in a week no problem.

"Perhaps she saw before her a lifetime of walking on the ruined earth and chose instead a single moment in the air." -Carolyn Parkhurst

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ketchup in the fridge, syrup in the fridge (but I use only real maple syrup - not the processed sugar filled stuff), butter in the fridge.

i use those items so seldom i usually throw them away before they are 1/2 gone.

bread will go stale faster in the fridge.



Bread needs to go in the freezer as soon as you get it home from the bakery. It'll be fresh as the day you got it when it thaws out in 2-3 mins. I usually get cuban or french bread and cut it up into 6-8" lengths and bag it for the freezer. Hard rolls, too. Don't really know how long it lasts in there since I've never let it go more than a week or so before it gets eaten. PB stays in the cabinet. Anything else that is opened except for SOME spices and maybe cereal goes in the fridge.

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Peanut butter - in the fridge (for three reasons - 1 - Mom always did it so I'm used to it cold 2 - I buy natural and I don't like having to reintegrate the oil slick on top every time I want to use it and 3 - the container sez so:D.) I'll take it out before I use it to soften it up, though.

Ketchup (and similar stuff like BBQ sauce or hot sauce) - in the fridge once they've been opened b/c I don't use it often enough and it'll last longer in the fridge

Syrup - in the cabinet

Bread - not in the fridge - that just dries it out! Either on the counter if it's going to get used quickly, or in the freezer if it's not.

Butter - in the fridge till I need it since I probably don't go through it fast enough to keep it on the counter.

Everything else is in there because it needs to be (dairy, meat) or because I prefer it cold (beverages) or because I'd like it to last longer (most fruits, as long as they're already ripened, and most veggies).

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Eggs last for weeks without refrigeration but you do have to turn them every few days.

Mayonnaise will keep fine at room temp, just don't contaminate it with your nasty ass knife/spoon/fork.

Most things, except raw meat, lasts for much longer than we think if it's properly handled.

There are lots of folks out there sailing around in boats with no refers that keep food for long periods.
SmugMug

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Somebody better tell the trees and the chickens that they are growing and roosting in the wrong place.
It's called the Hillbilly Hop N Pop dude.
If you're gonna be stupid, you better be tough.
That's fucked up. Watermelons do not grow on trees! ~Skymama

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I heard Europeans don't refrigerate their eggs. Any truth to that? Ours are on the top shelf.



Correct... we don;t put eggs in the fridge here (mom used to ... don;ty know why) but they are not klept in the chiller section at the supermarket (they're at room temp;) so why would I do it at home?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

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I'm still amazed when I visit 3rd World countries and see meats in the open air markets without refrigeration. The American in me gets a little nauseous at the sight.:S:D



The breeze from the flapping of the hoards of flies' wings must keep it cool enough.:ph34r:
The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

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Eggs last for weeks without refrigeration but you do have to turn them every few days.

Mayonnaise will keep fine at room temp, just don't contaminate it with your nasty ass knife/spoon/fork.

Most things, except raw meat, lasts for much longer than we think if it's properly handled.

There are lots of folks out there sailing around in boats with no refers that keep food for long periods.



I am well aware that most of the stuff I put in the fridge doesn't have to be in there... even then I don't use things quick enough and have to throw stuff out all the time because I can't buy smaller packages. (Not because the date on the package says so either, but because it smells rancid or tastes off)

I also have no issue with eating something thats sat out for a few days as long as it cooked... I have a friend that refuses to eat anything if it has been out of the fridge for more than a few hours. I'll recook yesterdays dinner for todays lunch after its been out all night without even thinking about it.
"Damn you Gravity, you win again"

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Temperature affects the discharge rate of batteries,

That being said alkaline batteries hold their charge fairly well at room temp, (but discharge much faster as the temp increases)

Rechargeable batteries benefit much more from the colder temps.
"Damn you Gravity, you win again"

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I never understood putting syrup in the fridge. My roommates in college did that. You have to wait for 5 minutes with the bottle turned upside down before it finally starts to come out. It's thick enough when room temperature. When it's cold it flows like molasses.



Bunch of philistines. Just buy proper maple syrup, and you can (and should!) refrigerate it after opening, and it still flows perfectly. Who the hell eats that fake syrup stuff anyways???????



The real maple syrup is expensive, especially the ones that come in the tin cans.
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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I've heard people refrigerate some things I don't get.

PB???? nah, cabinet here.



We keep our PB in the fridge to keep the oil from re-separating. When you buy all-natural PB, you have to stir the oil in. Once I have gone through the trouble, I do not like to stir it again.

Other things I keep refrigerated:

Red wine.
Fruit.
Condiments (ketchup, soy sauce, hot sauces, hot mustards).
Sometimes nuts.

Because I like them cold.
Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

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Who ruins a good steak with sauce???
:S



I used to, not for the last 15 years. Steak, properly seasoned and grilled, tastes great without sauce.
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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When you buy all-natural PB

Same here.

If I buy the standard Kraft or Skippy, that goes in the cupboard. Hydrogenated oils will not separate.

However, on occasion, when I do buy the 100% All-Natural peanut butter (NO HYDROGENATED OILS), putting this in the fridge actually is more convenient because the peanut oil keep pooling at the top if I don't put it in the fridge. Fortunately, the 100% all-natural peanut butter remans soft when refrigerated, yet it 'spreads much easier' than room-temperature 100% all-natural peanut butter. Refrigerated 100% all-natural is as convenient as non-refrigerated factory peanut butter.


To everyone else reading: So rule of thumb....
Factory Peanut Butter (Kraft, Skippy) -- don't bother refrigerating
100% All Natural Peanut Butter -- more convenient & easier to spread if refrigerated

I like both kinds, for different reasons, but the natural is obviously healthier and actually tastes better, less fattening (and healthier fats), and I can use more of it (pig out a little more on peanut butter) with less health worry... But people HATE THE OIL SLICK AT TOP OF NATURAL HOME-MADE-STYLE PEANUT BUTTER .... refrigerating after shaking or mixing the container, solves this problem! (It just simply stays mixed when refrigerated -- meaning, refrigerated natural PB has the same 'convenient' consistency as unrefrigerated factory PB)

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Re: Sugar.
Sugar keeps indefinitely at room temperature, if stored in a closed container or tin. While bacteria and fungi need sugar to thrive, *pure* sugar, like the kind that culinary-barbarians always put in their coffee, is too concentrated and actually toxic for micro organisms.

Re: Batteries.
I've heard these must be stored at room temperature as well, as the moisture in the fridge will actually make the batteries lose their charge more quickly.
But batteries don't make for a great sandwich anyway.
"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

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