The refrigerator is one of the greatest inventions of all time. It provides a safe and convenient place to store food, and it puts ice-cold beverages at your fingertips. You already know that your fridge is great for preserving leftovers and dairy products, but you might not know that some food items actually go bad when kept at cold temperatures. Keep reading to find out which things you should never put in your fridge.

Tomatoes

If you don’t want your fresh tomatoes to taste like cardboard, don’t put them in the fridge. Once harvested, tomatoes continue to ripen and develop flavor, but only when kept at room temperature. A big chill stops the ripening process and dulls the flavor. Store fresh tomatoes on the countertop, out of direct sunlight. If you grow your own tomatoes, snip off a bit of the vine when harvesting. The attached vine helps keep the tomato fresh longer and gives it better flavor.

Uncut melons

Chilling whole melons—whether watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew—takes up way too much room in the fridge. More importantly, keeping these mega fruits in the icebox halts the ripening process, meaning they won’t be as tasty as if they’d been kept at room temperature. Chilly temps also reduce the healthy antioxidants found in melons. Keep these fruits on the countertop until they’re ready to eat. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Raw Potatoes

Don’t dump that bag of spuds in the crisper drawer! Frigid temperatures alter the starchy complex carbohydrates found in raw potatoes, giving them a sweet taste and a gritty mouthfeel when cooked. For the best flavor and texture, store raw potatoes in a well-ventilated basket or drawer, out of direct sunlight.

Unripened Mangoes

Let whole, uncut mangoes hang out on the counter to ripen. Once they’re ready to be cut and eaten, you can store them in an airtight container placed in the fridge.

Honey

Due to its high sugar content, honey, a natural preservative, needs no refrigeration. In fact, popping that honey bear in the fridge virtually guarantees you won’t be able to squeeze out the golden goodness. When refrigerated, honey hardens and crystalizes, so store it on a shelf in your pantry. If you already made the mistake of refrigerating it, don’t toss it out. Place the honey bottle in a pan of hot (not boiling) water until it returns to its liquid state.

Onions

The chilly temps and high humidity of the fridge wreak havoc on onions, breaking down their fibrous structure, and leaving them mushy and prone to mold growth. For the best flavor and texture, store onions in a well-ventilated, dark, and cool (not cold) spot. An open-weave basket in the pantry is optimal.

Bread

Store your bread in a bread box or on a cabinet shelf, but not in the fridge. Refrigerating bread slows mold growth but makes the bread tough, chewy, and stale-tasting. If you know you won’t use the whole loaf before it goes bad, wrap the excess in freezer paper and store it in the freezer for up to one month.

Green Avocados

Many avocados available at the grocery are green and hard, and need a couple days to ripen before they’re ready to eat. They’ll only ripen, though, if you keep them out of the fridge. The only time you should refrigerate an avocado is when it’s completely ripe but you’re not ready to use it. Then, refrigeration will give you an additional day or two before it goes bad.

Fresh Garlic Bulbs

Nothing adds flavor to Italian dishes quite like fresh garlic, but if you store the bulbs in the fridge, don’t be surprised if they sprout bitter green shoots. Another danger, garlic bulbs are prone to mold growth in the humid conditions of the fridge. For the best taste, store fresh garlic in a dark, well-ventilated spot. You can store leftover minced garlic in the fridge for a day or two, but the flavor can’t compare to freshly minced cloves.

Open Food Cans

Once opened, don’t store a partially filled food can in the refrigerator. While the cold temps will keep the product from spoiling for a little while, the food can develop a metallic taste due to metal acids that leach into the food from the can itself. The best way to store unused canned food, is to transfer it to a separate airtight plastic food container and then refrigerate.

Unripe Bananas

Like other fruits on this list, bananas will continue to ripen at room temperature—but when put in the fridge, the ripening process stops. Store unripe bananas on the countertop, out of direct sunlight. You can put a fully ripe banana in the fridge for a couple of days, but don’t be alarmed when it turns black. The blackening occurs due to the banana skin’s ethylene content, which undergoes a chemical change when subjected to cold temperatures.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is stable at room temperature for up to two years, so there’s no need to store it in the fridge where it becomes hard and virtually impossible to scoop out. Unlike some oils that remain liquid at cool temps, coconut oil contains a high percentage of saturated fats, which causes it to solidify in the refrigerator.

Basil

To keep your basil fresh, leave it on the counter with its stems submerged in a cup or vase of water as you would with cut flowers. If you were to stick basil in the fridge it would absorb the smells of the other foods, and its leaves would turn black.

Cucumbers

The saying might be “cool as a cucumber,” but cukes are actually quite sensitive to the cold. The crisp greens fare best when left at room temperature.

Peaches

Unripened peaches should be left on the counter until they are slightly soft and have a sweet fragrance. After that you can keep them in the refrigerator, but only for a day or two. Juicy peaches dehydrate when left in the fridge for an extended period.

Coffee

If you want to savor your cup of aromatic coffee in the morning, don’t store the beans in the fridge. An open package of coffee is subject to condensation in the cold temps of the fridge, which zaps flavor. Additionally, fresh grounds will absorb the odors of other refrigerated foods, making your coffee taste off. For the best tasting cup of Joe, store your coffee in an airtight container at room temperature in a dark place, such as inside a cabinet.

Frozen foods to avoid at all costs

Frozen waffles or pasta are go-to favorites when you’re on a time crunch in the morning or evening. These guilty pleasures, like other frozen foods, allow you to eat without the hassle of cooking. However, the nutritional content can be lacking or leaning toward too much sodium or fat. These guilty pleasures, like other frozen foods, allow you to eat without the hassle of cooking. However, the nutritional content can be lacking or leaning toward too much sodium or fat

These guilty pleasures, like other frozen food, allow you to eat without the hassle of cooking. However, the nutritional content can be lacking or leaning toward too much sodium or fat

Pasta dishes

Those ready-made spaghetti Bolognese and creamy pasta dishes are comfort foods at their finest, but they’re not the best for your body. Skip the frozen dishes, which tend to be loaded with sodium and fat, and throw your own healthy pasta recipe together, suggests Jodi Greebel, RDN, pediatric dietitian and founder of Citrition. Not only is boiling pasta quick and easy, but you also have more control over what goes into the sauce and sides. Load yours up with nutritious veggies for a healthier twist on your guilty-pleasure pasta. To start, give this healthy spaghetti recipe a try.

Fruity breakfasts

Don’t be fooled by the fruit in items like blueberry pancakes and strawberry waffles. “Parents think that because there is fruit in them they must be healthy,” says Greebel. Au contraire. The berries speckled through these carb-heavy breakfast items are far down the ingredient list—way below sugar—making these treats high in sugar and sodium, but low in the nutrients you were looking for, like fiber. You’re better off adding a healthy handful of fresh or frozen berries to the top of plain frozen pancakes and waffles, says Greebel.

Stir-fries

Frozen Chinese foods like stir-fry or beef with broccoli are loaded with sodium, thanks in part to the sauces they come in. Luckily, a healthier version is just as easy and freezer-friendly. Buy a pack of plain frozen veggies—some stores even sell stir-fry vegetables without the sauce—and throw them in your pan with chicken or beef, suggests Greebel. Use just a bit of low-sodium soy or teriyaki sauce to keep the salt to a minimum. 

Breakfast sandwiches

No matter how much time they save you at breakfast time, those frozen egg sandwiches shouldn’t be your go-to morning meal. You’re loading up on sodium and additives instead of some plain protein-packed eggs. Breakfast sandwiches are “almost as quick to assemble on your own and so much healthier,” says Greebel. If you don’t have a minute to spare in the morning rush, do your breakfast prep work over the weekend and make some egg muffin cups, suggests Bowerman. You can even freeze them for later, popping them in the microwave before you head out the door.

Two-serving meals

When you’re looking for a quick and healthy single-serving dinner, buyer beware: Some frozen foods look reasonable in calories, fat, and sodium at first glance, but they’re actually two servings disguised as one. Double-check the portion size before you dig in to make sure you’re not biting off more than you’d want to chew. Swap the poser out for a single-serving meal, or set half aside for leftovers. 

Smoothie base mixes

Smoothies can start your morning on the right foot with an immediate serving (or more) of fruit, but be careful when shopping for base mix in the frozen aisle. Those that are just portioned-out fruit and veggie mixes are A-OK, but others don’t deserve their health halo, RD, director of worldwide nutrition education and training at Herbalife Nutrition. “Some are just a ‘base mix’ for your smoothie, which means they have no fruit at all, but instead are loaded with sugars, gums, flavorings, etc.,” says Bowerman. She recommends skipping those mixes and hunting down another freezer aisle staple: whole, unsweetened fruits. Add some veggies if you’d like, along with protein powder and milk (dairy or non-dairy), for a healthier start to the day. Curious about other dairy substitutes? 

Waffles

You don’t need to let go of your waffles entirely, but if frozen waffles are a big part of your diet, you’ll want to consider making an update. Whip up a big batch of homemade waffles with whole grain flour and protein powder, suggests Bowerman. The fiber-rich

Low-protein veggie burgers

Skipping the traditional cheeseburger for a meatless option can be better for your belly and the planet, but there’s a catch. “A lot of people look at all plant-based burgers as healthy protein substitutes, but many of them are much higher in carbohydrates and fat than protein,” says Ilana Muhlstein, RD, creator of the 2B Mindset nutrition program. “Protein is important for keeping us full and preventing overeating.” Leave it on the shelf if the nutrition facts say just five grams of protein, and hunt down another veggie patty with ten grams or more, she suggests.