12 surprising items that keep longer when refrigerated

Sure, the dehydrated version of normal fruit doesn’t spoil as quickly as its more moisture-filled compatriots, but by placing wrinkly prunes, pears, figs and peaches in your fridge can maintain their bumpiness for up to six months.

Discover 13 foods you should never, ever eat past the expiration date.

Sure, some wine connoisseurs poo-poo the idea of cooling your Cabernet before you drink, but Wine Spectator’s ‘Ask Dr Vinny’ says that most red wines are drunk too warm. “I personally enjoy my reds with a slight chill on them…the equivalent of about 30 minutes in the fridge.”

Like your tipple? Check out what happens when you drink wine every night.

Sir Isaac Newton’s favourite fruit can keep the doctor away, whereas only you can prolong the life of your Pink Ladies by tossing them in the fridge – rather than tastefully arranging them in a bowl atop your kitchen bench – thus increasing their eat-by-date by upwards of a week.

Learn 11 secrets of people who always have an organised fridge.

Fresh ginger will last up to three weeks if kept unpeeled, wrapped in a paper towel, and enclosed in a ziplock bag in the crisper of your fridge. Better still, pop it nude in the freezer. It not only lasts longer but makes it easy to grate.

On the other hand, here are 20 foods you shouldn’t put in the fridge.

Keep your bouquets fresh for longer by storing them in your fridge overnight. The cold will prevent your buds from wilting.

Now check out another 7 pro tricks to make flowers last longer.

The hamburger’s number one helper does have a high acid content which fends off bacteria for a bit, but cool temperatures help maintain flavour and freshness for up to a whopping six months.

Here are 12 fresh foods you should never store together.

By storying ripe avocados in the fridge, they will keep fresh longer than leaving them in the fruit bowl. To keep half of an avocado fresh for longer, keep the pit in it and sprinkle it with lemon juice before popping in a container and storing it in the fridge.

But what if you need that unripe avocado for a meal right now? Here’s how to ripen your avocados in 2 minutes.

If nuts are left out at room temperature the oils become rancid and encourages insect growth. If you keep them in the fridge, nuts can stay fresh for up to a year. And, if you store them in the freezer, up to two years.

Nuts are identified as one of the high-fat foods you should be eating.

Olive oil can turn bad much quicker when it is exposed to oxygen, light and heat. Keeping the olive oil you cook with in the fridge can help prolong it’s shelf life. However, it’s best not to store extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) in the fridge as it will solidify and become cloudy, so you’ll need to warm it up to room temperature before you can use it. The best spot for EVOO is in your pantry.

If Mexican cuisine has taught us anything, it’s that fresh is best. Once you break the seal on a bag full of burrito or soft taco wraps, toss ’em in the fridge to prolong the packaging’s expiration date.