Avoca-dos and don’ts – what you actually need to store in your fridge

Adulting is hard. We all know that.

And one of the hardest things we have to deal with is knowing what food goes in the fridge and what food goes in the press. We just don't know. Are avocados meant to be chilled? What about bananas? Eggs? Because they're never in the fridge in the supermarket. Well, Wren Kitchens has teamed up with registered nutritionist at Push Doctor, Will Hawkins to shed some light on the information we should all probably know. For avocados, Will says: "Most importantly, do not refrigerate your avocados, at least not initially. Once picked from the tree, avocados, much like bananas, produce ethylene, which triggers the ripening process. The optimal temperature for this is 20°C. "Fresh-picked avocados should ripen under these conditions within three to six days. When ripe, the avocado should yield gently to pressure, but not be squishy. "If you want to accelerate the ripening process, place the avocados in a paper bag. This concentrates the ethylene gas. If you add other fruits, such as bananas and apples, they will all ripen more quickly together." Another tricky one is soy milk, as it can be found in both the refrigerators in supermarkets, and on shelves, but Will says: “To maximize the shelf of opened soy milk, do not store it on the fridge door, as the temperature is too warm - the opened soy milk will last longer when stored in the main body of the refrigerator, in its original package.” Will also notes that you should not store berries, nut butters, tomatoes, garlic and onions in the fridge as they can lose their flavour and be "more susceptible to mould." At least we know a few more things now...