Storing food the wrong way doesn’t just waste space—it can actually make your groceries spoil faster. Some foods release natural gases or moisture that speed up the ripening (or rotting) of everything around them. Pair the wrong items, and you’ll end up with mushy veggies, funky smells, and food that goes bad way too soon. This list will help you avoid the most common mistakes and keep your kitchen fresher and longer. Small changes in how you store things can save you time, money, and frustration.
Note: The content of this article does not reflect the Writer’s personal beliefs, nor is it medical advice.
Meat And Vegetables
Without a doubt, the worst thing you can do is store raw meat on the same plate or bowl as vegetables. This is a quick way to get cross-contamination happening on your watch.
Bacteria from vegetables can grow on meat and vice versa. The best place to store raw meat is below ready-to-eat meals that have been sealed. Vegetables should be on the crisper or up top.
Mushrooms And Fragrant Foods
Mushrooms might be a fungus, but they're famously versatile in recipes. The reason for that is simple: mushrooms absorb flavors like few other ingredients can.
Unfortunately, that absorption quality also makes them troublesome to store. If you store them near onions, garlic, or fragrant spices, they will end up absorbing those aromas. It can ruin a recipe.
Apples And Oranges
It's not just a euphemism for comparison. Apples and oranges are another famous pair of foods you shouldn't store together. Why? It's another example of the ethylene gas issue mentioned above.
Sadly, people often ignore this when they put apples and oranges in a fruit bowl. They just assume they look good together.
Bananas With Anything
Bananas are one of those foods that seem to rot at the drop of a hat. This is because they are insanely sensitive to and produce ethylene gas.
The easiest way to extend their life is to store them solo, ideally on a banana rack with a plastic wrap around the stem.
Potatoes And Onions
If you're like many people, chances are that you store potatoes and onions in the same place. While this is fairly common, you shouldn't do this. It can burn a hole in your wallet.
Because of the ethylene gas onions produce, potatoes tend to age faster. Worse, this pairing can also turn into an all-you-can-eat buffet for certain pests. Keeping them separated can help save your food supplies.
Onions And Apples
Onions (and any onion-like vegetable) tend to be fairly famous for their fragrant aromas. This makes them hard to store with many other vegetables, particularly those that tend to absorb odors.
Believe it or not, apples can absorb aromas pretty well. Unfortunately, storing them too close together might result in onion-flavored apples. That doesn't sound too appetizing, does it?
Spices With Anything
Spices are famous for their aromas, which is why we add them to food. Unfortunately, that means you get the same problem you get with onions: Other foods nearby can absorb them.
Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to store spices with any other foods nearby. They're best left alone, in a dark area, in their own special containers next to a box of baking soda to absorb the odor.
Cold Cuts And Raw Meat
You might be a fan of a good charcuterie board, but let's be honest: cold cuts deserve their own section in your fridge. One thing you don't want to do when you are sorting your fridge space out is to place cold cuts next to raw meat.
Raw meat may contain bacteria that can infect cold cuts. If you're unlucky, that could lead to a serious case of food poisoning.
Raw Meat And Cooked Meat
Are you hoping to have a nice turkey dinner soon? If so, you need to keep an eye on where you keep your turkey as it thaws. It can't be near your already-cooked meats.
Raw meat should be stored below cooked food. The juices from the raw meat can mingle with cooked food, potentially contaminating it all. Raw poultry is best stored on the bottom shelf of your fridge so that any spills won't contaminate your food.
Tomatoes and Cucumbers
Tomatoes and cucumbers might be a perfect match in salads, but not in storage. Tomatoes release ethylene gas, a natural ripening agent that can cause cucumbers to soften and spoil much faster than they should. When stored together, the cucumbers absorb the gas and quickly lose their crisp texture. To keep both veggies fresh longer, store tomatoes at room temperature and cucumbers in the fridge—just in separate spots.
Lemons And Tomatoes
Lemons and other citrus fruits are surprisingly sensitive to ethylene gas. Tomatoes are ethylene-producing machines. While these two ingredients are a staple in Mediterranean cuisine, storing them together is a bad idea.
It'll make your lemons rot. It might also negatively affect other items in the area.
Garlic With Anything
The strong flavor of garlic may be good in your Italian meals, but it is definitely not good when it starts flavoring other things in your pantry. A garlic-flavored peach or a garlic-flavored apple may not taste very good. Keep your garlic in a cool, dry place and away from all your other foods.
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