My fridge is full. It is pulling double duty – not just for my perishables and things that are meant to be in the refrigerator, but it serves as a storage facility. In my refrigerator you can find flour, legumes, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, various ground spices, long-life-shelf milk in cans and cartons, nuts, pasta, certain oils, like my toasted sesame oil and potatoes. Many of the items in the preceding line, I never used to store in my fridge, but with the earth heating up and the temperatures on average in the 90s daily, I had no choice.
Room temperature is not a precisely defined term, it can vary anywhere from 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Here in the Caribbean, where the weather on average is a daily 80 degrees Fahrenheit and higher, this spells trouble particularly when it comes to storage and bringing cold or frozen things to room temperature. Goods and produce can perish quickly, fruits ripen rapidly, and it can cause things like butter and cheese to melt and turn to oil if not carefully monitored.
