# Which of these items are in your refrigerator(s) (not freezer) right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2024, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652 "2024-09-24T10:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/61 "2024-09-25T11:34:19Z")
You should try Italian mortadella. It’s higher quality meat and has bits of fat in it for extra flavour, but otherwise a similar taste to bologna. Makes a decent sandwich with Dijon mustard and some crisp lettuce on it, and mayo on the other slice. [![](https://sharemastro.com/wp-content/uploads/TOR_081411_Mortadella_Classica_175g_3D-scaled-2.jpg) ](https://sharemastro.com/wp-content/uploads/TOR_081411_Mortadella_Classica_175g_3D-scaled-2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/62 "2024-09-25T14:16:55Z")
See, i think mortadella is like bologna , but even grosser. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/63 "2024-09-25T14:30:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t keep bread in the fridge. But i have some in the freezer. Mostly, i buy a load of bread and eat it in a day or three, and leave it on the counter. If i haven’t been to the supermarket recently, i don’t have fresh bread. (Unless we made some.) But i also keep a loaf of sliced sandwich bread in the freezer. It’s plenty good for a quick pb&j sandwich, which is a quick and easy lunch when i don’t have any leftovers and don’t want to cook anything. That’s _close_ to what I do. I usually buy two loaves of bread, then put one in the fridge and the other in the freezer. When the one in the fridge is eaten I take out the one in the freezer and let it defrost overnight. Mostly I use it for peanut butter sandwiches, typically for breakfast. For whatever reason I usually don’t have much of an appetite when I wake up, plain peanut butter is a good “food as fuel” option to get something in my stomach anyway. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/64 "2024-09-25T14:32:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why the hell do people keep pnut butter in the fridge? Or Bread? Because we don’t use it fast enough to keep it from spoiling if it’s left out. > [@DrDeth](#): > > 3 or 4 kinds of that. Mustard will keep longer if left out of the fridge than either bread or peanut butter will. Especially if the bread and peanut butter aren’t full of preservatives. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Our only source of fresh bread is Whole Foods, which is a good half hour away. So yeah, when we go, I grab a loaf- and eat it, usually all that day. I eat bread nearly every day; sometimes more than once. I’m not remotely willing to only have bread available one day every couple of weeks or more. > [@SuntanLotion](#): > > My peanut butter, Smuckers Natural has no preservatives. The oil would go bad! > Or would it? Not immediately; but eventually. How long does it take your household to use up a jar once it’s opened? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t keep bread in the fridge. But i have some in the freezer. Bread does indeed freeze well; and a couple of slices can be tossed in the toaster to thaw it out in a hurry. The slices can usually be pried apart with a dull knife. If it’s not sliced, though, it’s hard to slice while it’s frozen. > [@wolfpup](#): > > You should try Italian mortadella. It’s higher quality meat and has bits of fat in it for extra flavour, but otherwise a similar taste to bologna. Thanks for the warning; while I like some versions of salami, I dislike bologna, so don’t want something that tastes like it. > [@Alessan](#): > > I like living in the city. There are advantages. I prefer the advantages of living out in the country. People vary (this is a good thing.) ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/65 "2024-09-25T14:53:08Z")
My PB lasts about a week. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/66 "2024-09-25T15:07:55Z")
In my fridge: vegetables from my garden. Milk, yogurt and chevre from my goat. Eggs from my hens, although there really is no need to refrigerate unwashed eggs. Butter, penicillin for animals, insulin for daughter-in-law who tends to forget hers, bottled Italian lemon juice, home made soup and bean stew, Home-made jam (my brother in law sends us a crate every year), miso, peanut butter, tahini, pickled ginger, fresh sauerkraut, water in steel bottles, a few beers, yeast, rennet, a variety of aged and speciality cheeses, And that’s about it. We only eat out on special occasions, and we avoid commercially processed foods by and large, so the fridge looks a little different than most. We don’t keep fruit, bread or wine in the fridge. Note that peanut butter that is nothing but ground up peanuts (no sugar, no preservatives, no salt, no homogenizing agents) will go rancid fairly rapidly if not refrigerated. That’s the kind we get (you can grind your own at the co-op I shop at), so it is in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/67 "2024-09-25T15:32:28Z")
You can probably leave it out, then; even if it’s no-preservative. Maybe not if you live somewhere really hot and have no or poor air conditioning. I’m likely to have a craving for peanut butter sandwiches that lasts long enough for a couple of lunches, after which the remains of the jar may hang around for weeks or months before that particular craving recurs. So I keep mine in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/68 "2024-09-25T15:47:50Z")
You’re right. I do have to take it out of the fridge and let it sit a bit before its spreadable, at least toward the end.🥜 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/69 "2024-09-25T18:06:33Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > It’s charcuterie for children, basically. Except also good for adults (now that those of us who grew up on them are adults). I’d never heard of charcuterie until less than two years ago, so I’d heard it the other way around - that charcuterie is Lunchables for grownups! > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I _do_ have peanut butter, but not in the fridge; I use it often enough that it doesn’t need to go in there. Same here - a jar rarely lasts a week around here, so no need to refrigerate even though I only buy the natural stuff. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/70 "2024-09-25T18:14:13Z")
I have two fridges (“Well aren’t you a fancy lad!”). One in the kitchen and and old beat up one in the basement. The basement is primarily for drinks (beer, soda, seltzer, juice primarily) and the kitchen one is for everyday stuff. Almost everything on the list, but my kids are varied and voracious eaters, so it goes fast. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/71 "2024-09-25T18:17:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Bread dries out faster in the refrigerator - the starch crystallizes at low temps and turns the bread stale. Never put it there. > > You should buy new bread every day or two, anyway. Any bread that’s still edible 48 hours after it came out of the oven was never really edible in the first place. I’m not going to the grocery every day or two. And how long does it take to go stale in the fridge anyway? Probably typically takes us 4-5 days to get to the end of a loaf, and I sure can’t tell the difference. (Yeah, I know - it’s not edible in the first place so how can I tell, amirite? 🙄 ) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/72 "2024-09-25T18:26:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But stuff like fresh bread and milk we have delivered to our door every morning. > > I like living in the city. You’re in Israel, so it’s not just the city, it’s the country. I’m not sure if there are any American cities where milk and bread are delivered to one’s home, aside from services like GrubHub where it’s a separate order each time you want something delivered. (I’m sure my fellow Dopers can fill me in.) I wouldn’t be surprised if there are European cities where delivery like yours is available. I remember we used to get milk delivered three times a week when I was growing up in the NoVa 'burbs of DC sixty years ago, but that went the way of the dodo not too long after. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/73 "2024-09-25T18:32:04Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > I have two fridges (“Well aren’t you a fancy lad!”). One in the kitchen and and old beat up one in the basement. The basement is primarily for drinks (beer, soda, seltzer, juice primarily) and the kitchen one is for everyday stuff. Same here. One thing that differs between different parts of the U.S. is whether the refrigerator is one of the appliances that stays with the house. Up here in southern Maryland where I am now, the fridge stays with the house. Down in Bristol on the VA/TN line where we moved from, you took your fridge with you. So when we got up here, we had the fridge that stayed with the house we were moving into, and the one we’d brought from Bristol. The one we brought with us was the better fridge, so it went into the kitchen, and the one that had been there went to the basement and became our ‘beer fridge.’ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/74 "2024-09-25T20:01:18Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > You’re in Israel, so it’s not just the city, it’s the country. I’m not sure if there are any American cities where milk and bread are delivered to one’s home, aside from services like GrubHub where it’s a separate order each time you want something delivered This isn’t some old tradition - it’s a start-up some guys founded a couple of years ago. You enter what you want in their app and they hang it on your doorknob before 7 AM the following morning; you can also set a weekly schedule. There’s a fairly limited selection, and there’s something like a 15% surcharge over retail prices, but it’s totally worth it. Of course, it only really works for them economically if they get a whole bunch of customers in the same block or even the same building - I doubt they could pull it off in an American suburb. Too much ground to cover. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/75 "2024-09-25T20:05:17Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Here it is, with mayo on white bread, just to complete the picture. If I can get Hebrew national Bologna (the only kind i will eat now)- I will make that same sandwich, with mayo on one side, yellow mustard on the other, and maybe pickles and a single slice of lettuce. It is what I used to eat as a kid. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > See, i think mortadella is like bologna , but even grosser. I like it on an Italian Combo sub sandwich. When you put bread in the fridge, it changes the taste and texture. If you put pnut butter in, it gets hard to spread. as said here- > [@Alessan](#): > > Bread dries out faster in the refrigerator - the starch crystallizes at low temps and turns the bread stale. Never put it there. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/76 "2024-09-25T20:06:20Z")
I can get milk and a number of other products delivered from the local dairy farm, but only once a week. It’s only 2 miles from my house. Sometimes I walk or bike over to pick up a few items. I live in a suburban area (Boston area) with some semi-rural lean. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/77 "2024-09-25T20:13:13Z")
I wonder if there should be an ‘inventory your fridge’ thread alongside this one… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/78 "2024-09-25T20:19:23Z")
I can also get milk and some dairy products delivered. I don’t, but some of my neighbors do. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/79 "2024-09-25T20:28:51Z")
I get milk delivered in pint glass bottles - have done all my life - it’s more expensive than buying milk from the supermarket, but there’s something about the experience of milk in glass bottles that is worth the extra pennies. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652/80 "2024-09-25T20:38:07Z")
I’d be nervous about dropping one and having to deal with a cleanup of milk and glass shards all mixed together. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-items-are-in-your-refrigerator-s-not-freezer-right-now/1007652.md?page=5)