30 foods you should never store in the fridge

Avocados will achieve peak ripeness quicker when stored at room temperature.

Your basil is best left at room temperature with the stems submerged in water. This goes for other herbs as well.

The skin of the peppers loses its crunch when stored at low temperatures.

It's a common mistake, but storing cucumbers in the fridge will make them watery and pitted. If you do choose to refrigerate them, it's best to wrap them up in plastic to minimise the moisture.

They're already preserved. Save the room in your fridge.

Ever notice your onions getting soft and mouldy in the fridge? It's caused by the moisture. Store them somewhere cool and dry, but not in a plastic bag or near .

Like onions, garlic is best kept in a cool, dry place. Refrigeration causes it to become rubbery.

It's best to store potatoes in a paper bag. The added moisture from the fridge makes them gritty and sweet.

Keeping your tomatoes at room temperature will ensure they'll have optimal flavour and juiciness.

Bananas need warmer temperatures to ripen, which means the fridge is definitely not the right place for them.

Your berries have a better chance at staying fresh at room temperature. Refrigerator moisture will ruin them. It's also recommended to only wash them when you're going to eat them.

Keep on the counter and make sure to get rid of the ones that mould. The mould can quickly spread to the others.

If they're still whole, melons should be left out at room temperature so they can ripen. They should only be refrigerated once they've been sliced.

Olive oil should be kept in a cool, dark place. It hardens if left in a refrigerator.

The vinegar in hot sauce keeps it preserved. Only creamy condiments need to be refrigerated.

This one is debatable, but the acidity in ketchup means that you can keep it out of the fridge, and it'll stay fresh for about a month. If you'll take longer than a month to use up the bottle, make some room in your fridge.

Thanks to fermentation, you're good keeping soy sauce in a cabinet for up to a year instead of the fridge.

Yes, dairy should be kept in the fridge ... but storing butter makes it harden and tough to spread. You can actually keep sticks of butter out for about a week (in reasonable temperatures) so it maintains an enjoyable consistency.

Honey will never turn on you no matter where you keep it.

You've got three months to get through that jar (like it's a challenge) before you should store it in the fridge.

Don't mess with the flavour of your nuts by keeping them in the fridge. They should be stored in an air-tight container in a place that isn't too warm or cold.

Freezing your bread and then toasting it is fine. Refrigerating it just makes it go stale.

Wait, do you really have leftover pastries? If you're saving them for later, your best bet is keeping them in a paper bag at room temperature.

Unless you're into dull flavor and grainy consistency, do not keep chocolate cold in your fridge. It tends to have maximum flavour at room temperature and should be stored somewhere dark and dry.

Coffee belongs in the pantry if you're looking to keep all of the flavour in your morning cup.

These will do fine on the counter for at least a week — if not two.

Aged cheese (rule of thumb: that's anything hard like parmesan or gruyere) can last out of the fridge for a couple of months. Store it in a cool, dark place.

You know how you pick this up from the unrefrigerated section at the supermarket? That means it can stay unrefrigerated until you open it up.

This stuff's already nearly impossible to scoop. Store it in the fridge, and getting a spoonful will be like working out — really, really hard.

This veggie can lose flavour in the fridge, but it'll only last on your counter for a couple of days — so eat it soon after you buy.