Categories
All Posts Guides

Fruits and Veggies That Don’t Need to Be Refrigerated

While most fruits and veggies fare fine in the refrigerator, there are a number that don’t need to be stored in the fridge at all.

Vegetables

Cold temps can cause some produce to lose flavor and become mealy (tomatoes and stone fruit, below), while other vegetables shouldn’t be stored in the fridge ever (shallots, onions, garlic). Very soft avocados could be stored in the fridge to make them last a few days longer, but cold temps could affect flavor. Thick-skinned squash and hardy roots like potatoes are totally fine on the countertop for weeks—sometimes months!—at a time, as long as they’re kept out of direct sunlight. A cool, dark place is best. (But not so cold as to keep them in the fridge.)

Here are all of the vegetables that don’t require refrigeration before eating:

  • Garlic scapes
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Tomatoes
  • Winter squash: acorn, butternut, delicata, and kabocha
  • Fresh herbs: parsley, mint, and basil*

*Store in a jar of water like a bouquet of flowers

Fruit

Though most fruits fare fine in the fridge (mangoes, apples, ginger), many fruits do better when stored outside of the fridge, whether on the counter or stored in a pantry. When stored at room temp, some fruits tend to be softer and juicier—and more enjoyable—like melons, stone fruits, and mangoes. Other fruits loose their crisp texture faster in the fridge, like apples and pears. While they can be stored in the fridge if you enjoy chilled fruit, they’re totally OK to hang out on the counter, too.

Here are all of the fruits that don’t need to be stored in the refrigerator before eating:

  • Citrus
  • Ginger
  • Apricots
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Plums
  • Avocados
  • Kiwis
  • Mangoes
  • Nectarines
  • Peaches
  • Persimmons
  • Pineapples

Related: The Ultimate Fresh Produce Storage Guide

Sources:

Farmers’ Almanac

Bon Appétit

Green Van Go

Get your groceries delivered with Misfits Market. Sign up now!

Tags

If you made it this far...

Something tells us you would appreciate our newsletter: dinner ideas, pics of funny fruit, and a bunch of other useful stuff.

Comments (57)

Great information. I store everything in the fridge. No wonder my fruits & veggies taste bland!!!! Bravo.

Im sooo happy I found you all. I Im without a car now and where Im at the bus system is not so great. And Im older and cant seem to do many of the things I used to do. This dounds so wonderful. I cant wait to start and put an order in. Thanks so much. I will tell my friends also.

I wasn’t happy with my box this time. It was very space. I received 4 small potatoes, a package of cherry tomatoes,a spaghetti squash. 3 dinky sweet potatoes, 2 small avocados. 1 small butter a squash. That was all.

Oh no, Deborah! We’re so sorry your assortment of food didn’t meet your expectations. Our customer support team is always happy to help, so we invite you to reach out to them by simply going to your account page, clicking through to My Orders, and clicking Report Issue. Alternatively, we welcome you to submit a request through our contact form at https://www.misfitsmarket.com/contact-us by selecting the nature of your request or “Other” from the drop-down menu. They will look into making it right and use your feedback to better the Misfits Market experience!

Please stop delivering more fruit and vegetables still have some from the last time Only 2 people in household I will order again when ready Thanks

Hi, thanks for reaching out! We’re happy to help explain how our storefront works a little more: how often you receive orders is up to you. Customers have a 3-day shopping window to review/edit their order before their charge date, however, if you don’t want to receive an upcoming order: simply make sure your shopping cart is empty by 11:45pm ET prior to your charge day. Unwanted orders can also be skipped in advance from your customer account, and you may choose to pause or cancel anytime from your Account page at https://www.misfitsmarket.com/account/manage.

Please feel free to check out our help center article regarding how to skip your upcoming boxes: https://help.misfitsmarket.com/how-to-skip-an-upcoming-order-SkwdwgXuP.

We hope this helps, and if you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to submit a request using our contact form: http://www.misfitsmarket.com/contact-us. Our support team is always happy to help!

Thank you for this feedback, Judy! We’re glad to hear you found this helpful. ????

My son and daughter in law had an organic food co-op for several years. Did not ship, but delivered by van. They got excellent produce, same as the grocery stores in the area. We are pleased with your selections and pricing. Thanks for the service.

Got my first order this morning, a big box of produce. I’m very pleased! It’s 10 degrees now, and while there was some frost inside, there is nothing that is too frozen to use. Good job, Misfits!

Yay! We’re so happy to welcome you to our community, Janice. We hope you have lots of fun enjoying your first haul of Misfits! ????

Yay!! We’re so happy to hear this, Sue! Welcome to our Misfits Market family. ????

I absolutely love Misfits!! I’ve been with you a while now, and reading others comments, I can relate to some. However any issue I’ve had has been taken care of be the best customer service staff on the planet!! You’ve been very fair when I’ve received broken veggies or whatever. I’m a lifetime customer and love the fruit, veggies and poultry and general groceries that I’ve received. If there has been a problem, you’ve been more than generous in making it right. That’s why I’m a lifetime customer!! Thank you all!!

Thank you so much for sharing this great feedback, Patti! We truly appreciate your kind words, and we’re so happy to have you as a member of our community. This wouldn’t be possible without your continued support along this journey with us, rescuing food and reducing food waste! ????

My son and daughter in law had an organic food co-op for several years. Did not ship, but delivered by van. They got excellent produce, same as the grocery stores in the area. We are pleased with your selections and pricing. Thanks for the service.

We’re so happy to hear this, Lanora. Thank you for your continued support. ????

Hi, I’ve been receiving boxes now for almost two years and this is an invaluable service to us in the Ozarks, so thank you for that!
If Misfits has a suggestions box … I’ve asked for watercress on multiple occasions and was wondering if you could start offering watercress, even if it’s prepackaged. I would buy it every week in my box. I see you have a hydroponic lettuce sometimes, so why not watercress? And if not fresh, then at least prepackaged please!

Great suggestion! We will definitely send this over to our team for future consideration. Thank you! ????

I, too, have been a misfits fan/customer for quite a while now! I love it!! I moved to a new state last year and was SO glad that misfits still delivers to my new home. I tell everyone I know about it. Even when I have selected my own items for my box, the day it’s delivered feels like produce Christmas. I have fun deciding what I’ll make next with everything. Definitely eat more veggies now!

Aww! This is so great to hear, Gail. Thank you for being such a valued member of our community. ????

Thank you for the refrigerator info. Learned something new! Herbs like a bouquet of flowers on counter and apples don’t need to go in fridge.

Thanks for this helpful guide! I never know what are the best practices for refrigerating fruit.

I tend to change my refrigeration policy with the season. In winter, things last longer on the counter than they do in summer (no central a/c). In August, I’ll gladly refrigerate peaches and sacrifice some flavor if it saves them from turning to mush in 2 days.

Thanks again for these posts!

This was my second time ordering. I am grateful for the reasonal prices. The service is incredibly convenient. / I do wish that you didn’t sell out of certain things. I missed out on the bosc ???? pears.

I would like to say that everything I have got from you has been great. I still have a lot of the frozen food, a little of the rest. I will be ordering again I just have to get back to work. Car accident ( broken foot) has me in a pinch at the moment but I REALLY LIKE THIS EXPERIENCE SO FAR SO GOOD ???? LOL THANK YOU

Oh no! We’re so sorry to hear about your foot, Christine. We look forward to your return and better health. ????

Misfits is indeed a great service. Love the convenience and the produce is usually good. Occasionally, some disappointments but mostly am very satisfied. The bread selection is great! The addition of cold items is wonderful … have been receiving my regular box of produce in a lovely insulated box which kept my oranges cold so am wondering why we cannot add some cold items like eggs, cheese, etc in the same box. That would really be convenient as ordering a separate cold box is too much. Also, would like some organic white flour and canned goods.

Thank you so much for this feedback, Kerban! We truly appreciate your kind words and continued support. ????

Hi, Virginia! Thanks so much for your interest! While we are currently unable to offer SNAP/EBT as a payment option, we are actively looking into adding it on through a pilot program. To be notified when this launches, please sign up for our email newsletter.

Love the mushrooms, oranges and pears. Easy ordering and delivery. My only suggestion is that you figure out how to use last plastic. Cardboard cartons and paper bags can be used in our gardens. I do recycle what I can. We need to take care of the planet for future generations.

We truly appreciate this feedback and suggestion, Eileen! We will definitely pass this along to our team to better our service.

I’m loving misfits! I try to eat fresh produce but can’t make it to the store that often . So far I’m loving the convenience and loving the rightly farmed meats and organics . Would mind some pretty flowers sometime.

We love you too, Laura! We’re so glad you’re enjoying it. Do you have favorite items? ????

Just wanted to say that I’ve had a few orders from your company now and I’ve been very happy with almost everything. There have been a few things that got moldy a little too quickly but that could be my fault. All in all, I’ve been very satisfied. I’ve even shared some of my boxes with a friend of mine who’s single and doesn’t use a lot, so easier for me to share with her. Thanks again for the great service and products.

We’re so happy to hear our team was able to help and that you’re loving your goodies, Aurora! Thank you so much for sharing this feedback and for your continued support. ????

You guys are awesome! I live in a rural area with a very minimalistic grocery store. Having access to order all this fresh produce without having to drive an hour to the nearest larger grocery store is such a game changer.

This is so awesome to hear, Denise! We think you are pretty awesome too. ????????

I just received my third order today. We’ve enjoyed the food. Love the customer service. When items haven’t been good we’ve received a prompt response and a full refund. Thank you so much.

We’re so happy to hear our team was able to help, Jan! Thank you for your kind words and continued support. ????????

I generally like my boxes but I don’t like the editing process. I would like to be able to remove all the unwanted preselected items before I add the items that I want to reach the required dollar amount. Right now this is not possible ☹️

We truly appreciate this feedback, Brigitte! We are so sorry for the added step and will definitely be sharing your suggestion with our team for consideration. Thank you!

Me too! I have been with you since the beginning and I really look forward to each delivery. I agree that anytime there is a problem it is dealt with immediately and such nice people!! To be able to have organic products is so wonderful! Thank you!

I always pay for 2 boxes. Sometimes I get two sometimes I get one. The food is usually fine but we forget to order and we are not big fans of avacados. Love other greens.

So weird because my name is Denise and I can just ditto what the other Denise wrote above (I really thought that I had already left a comment and forgot, lol). All I would add is that the game changer for me is that the produce is also organic! Love you guys!

That’s such a funny coincidence! ???? Thank you for sharing, Denise. We love knowing that our service is helping provide you access to organic groceries! ????

Really looking forward to my first order. My order window opens tomorrow. YEAH! We are big veggie and fruit people, and yet, I hate going into the grocery store. Fresh anything delivered to my home sounds like a little slice of heaven.

Thank you for this guidance and information!! I have struggled with certain items lasting in the past, so now I have a better understanding of why!! I have had great luck with the wonderful produce I receive. The price and convenience keeps me smiling! I will be glad when the shipping delays are a thing of the past as I rarely receive my orders on my chosen delivery date and I have changed it several times hoping I could make things better but to no avail! Shout out to customer service for keeping me informed, answering my emails in a timely manner and providing compensation when appropriate. Those reasons keep me a Misfits Market Subscriber ????
So glad I can help farmers prevent wastefulness!!

Question: Is the newsletter free and how often do you email it out?

Thank you for this feedback, Renée! We are so sorry to learn of any delays your orders have experienced. Of course, we intend for our customers’ orders to be delivered successfully and on time whenever possible, and we hope this will greatly improve going forward. That said, we appreciate that you’ve contacted our team so they can help with this, and we’re so glad to hear they were able to help. Thank you so much for continuing to be a member of our Misfits Market community! ???? To answer your question, our email newsletter is free, and typically, you will receive this once a week. Feel free to sign-up for our email newsletter by filling out the form in the bottom left-hand corner of our website here: https://www.misfitsmarket.com/!

Comments are closed.