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I've always put basil and my other spices, e.g. thyme, rosemary in the fridge in the veggie drawer. Maybe that's why my basil always go bad so quickly! Now that it's summer I'm growing some on the deck so I don't have to buy it and see it go before I can use it.
I refrigerate onions once they're cut. I've never refrigerated them uncut, nor potatoes. Same with melons, I cut them as soon as I get them home, so they go in the fridge. It never occurred to me to put honey in the fridge, I assume it would get hard and stiff and even more difficult to squeeze out of the bottle than it already is.
I will admit I keep my garlic in the fridge. Never thought about why or why not to.
I've always put basil and my other spices, e.g. thyme, rosemary in the fridge in the veggie drawer. Maybe that's why my basil always go bad so quickly!
I put cut basil in a glass of water this Sunday, and it still looks perfect today (Tuesday). No fridge.
As for onions, instead of saving one I've already cut, I put it in Marcella Hazan's tomato-butter-onion sauce. It's just tomatoes, butter, and an onion you peel, but only cut once. You remove the onion after you cook the three ingredients together with salt and optional sugar for 45 minutes. Simplest sauce I know of, and extremely delicious.
Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic (on the rare occasion we buy it), hot sauce and bread usually go in the refrigerator. I don't like melons (so I don't buy them) and I rarely buy alcohol. Honey goes into the cabinet, as does the coffee. Basil does wilt. (I'll freeze bread too.)
I have a TINY kitchen and I don't even have a full-sized stove---I put things where they seem to best fit and work for me. I don't really have much in terms of counter space so I try to keep it clear, sans a Mr. Coffee.
I put cut basil in a glass of water this Sunday, and it still looks perfect today (Tuesday). No fridge.
I do the same thing with parsley. Easily lasts a week or more if I cut the stems and add water every other day. It looks pretty on the counter while reminding me to use it up. Basil lives in the garden until I need it. BTW, I don't refrigerate citrus either. I keep lemons handy in a shallow bowl filled with about 1/2" water to keep them juicy, changing the water daily.
My attic is accessed by pulling the cars out of the garage, assembling the tallest ladder we have and climbing up through a little hole in the garage ceiling ... and it's hotter than Hades up there, so I'd never put food up there.
I tried putting the potatoes under the sink too - they also sprouted quickly though my mom did the same thing and hers were OK.
When I had the space, onions were hung in mesh bags in the attic. They need cool and dry with air circulation. You take a few out at a time.
Potatoes my mother always kept under the kitchen sink but if I do that they sprout. Other people kept them in the basement in barrels.
I never refrigerate a good tomato but if it's starting to over ripen, yes.
I guess I'm right by not refrigerating except for melons. I don't want a warm cantaloupe.
but we don't have attics in many houses here. I never even thought about that when we lived in VA. Like you, we do not put tomatoes in fridge unless they are getting over ripe. I would rather put them in the fridge than have them spoil. Say what they want, but melon belongs in the fridge if you live in our house.
We keep our potatoes under the sink and yes, because we use so few, they do, sometimes start to sprout: In the winter they can be stored in the garage.
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