9 foods you should NEVER put in the fridge

The warmer weather may make it tempting to keep your food as fresh as possible but putting bread, tomatoes and even cake in the fridge is a bad idea, according to experts.

Not only does it fail to make some foods last longer but can even ruin the taste of others such as coffee, the new guide warns.

And if particularly pungent items such as onions are stored there, it can affect other items already in the fridge, says the advice from the Good Housekeeping Institute.

In the guide called 'Nine Things You Shouldn't Store In The Fridge' the GHI warns that soaring temperatures can lead to fridges overstocked with food and drink as we fret about it going off in the heat.

It explains: 'During the summer our fridges are crammed full of extra goodies but there are some shelf hoggers than need to be evicted.

'Or worse, are there foods that you keep in the fridge that would be far better, and last far longer, at room temperature?'

So what are the nine things that should not be kept there and why? Here's the rundown:

1. Bread It dries and goes stale faster in an airless fridge than in the bread bin. To keep it fresher for longer, use a bread bag in a cool, dry, place.

2. Onions Ditch the salad draw and pick a dry, ventilated area and keep it dark to avoid them sprouting. In the fridge, their aroma can taint other foods.

3. Garlic Also needs to be kept in a dry, ventilated area to last longer. The fridge does nothing to help it stay fresh for longer.

4. Avocados Best kept in open brown bags if you don't want them to ripen too quickly. If you do want to speed up the ripening process, put them in the fruit bowl next to a banana instead.

5. Tomatoes The colder they get, the more of their natural taste they tend to lose. The best tasting tomatoes are those kept at room temperature.

6. Honey Literally the only food that never goes off, so there is absolutely no need for it to go anywhere except in the food cupboard.

7. Cake With the exception of those made with real cream, almost all others will last for just as long in an airtight container.

8. Melons Uncut, the fruits do not need to take up all that space on a fridge shelf. Once it's been cut, wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge - but not before.

9. Coffee Although some foodies insist on having it stored cold, coffee actually absorbs the smells of other foods around it in the fridge. Best kept in an airtight container instead.

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