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Comment on Don't store your cucumbers in the fridge (2012)

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I am always amazed at how ignorant I am about simple things in my life like this.

Some basic things like this are counterintuitive.

For instance bread stored in the fridge will go stale; bread in the freezer will not.

I love this for bread. I normally give a huge pack from Costco and remove two slices for my lunch every day. It acts a small ice-pack for the 20 minute trip to work for the rest of the sandwich bits and by the time I eat it for lunch it's perfectly thawed and not stale.

But bread (and most things) in the freezer can get freezer burn! Discovered it when I was finally desperate enough to use the spare frozen bread. Now I simply keep them on rotation, use the oldest one at any time.

Ugh, you sound like my mom - never would let us have any of the delicious soft fresh bread if there was still old bread left.

haha, it's sliced bread, I find it's good enough after toasting. if I keep it out, half of it goes bad before I can get to it. I only have two slices in the morning.

I do like putting other bread in the oven for 5 minutes to breathe some life back into them though.

For instance bread stored in the fridge will go stale

Unless it's in an airtight container.

I don’t think this makes much of a difference. AFAIK retrogradation of the starches is the major culprit of staling. This process is advanced by the cold inside the fridge, not moisture or air contact.

Freezing stops the process; cooling quickens it.

I don’t think this makes much of a difference.

From practical experience, it really does. To a huge extent.

It's why most major supermarkets (unless forbidden by law) will wrap their home brand breads in packaging with holes in it. Higher sales because the bread is always hard as a rock 2 days later unless placed in an airtight container.

That's in southern and middle (east) Australia's climate anyway. :)

I make a lot of bread at home, and bread in an airtight container, at room temp, goes moldy within 48 hours where I live. I can imagine this wouldn’t happen in the fridge.

Store bought bread follows its own rules though. Given the sheer quantity of additives they have.

Where I have lived, if you put traditionally made bread (just water, salt, flour and yeast) in an airtight container at room temperature it’ll be covered in mold within a day or two.

... it’ll be covered in mold within a day or two.

Wow, sounds like a super active biosphere in your part of the world.

In East Coast Australia I've not had things go like that. Mold is pretty rare on bread unless something weird is going on.

I think it's more because 1. you are storing it in the fridge (which would speed up the staling, but retard the mold formation), and 2. because I only eat bread that's just made with wheat, flour, water, salt, and yeast.

Shop bought bread takes a lot longer to stale and to mold, because it has plenty of additives designed to do just that.

... it has plenty of additives designed to do just that.

Um, isn't it just the US whose bread is full of additives?

Other countries I've been to don't, and Australia doesn't commonly either.

Then parts touching the condesation get soggy.

I don't recall seeing that happen.

Why would there be condensation?

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