Keeping condiments and veg cool when fridge space is at a premium

[Todaynotalways]

I was thinking of getting a large plastic box with a click and close lid to put veg and condiments in. Then storing it outside the back door for Christmas.

Our house is warm. Our fridge will be full. And there are some things that benefit from cool, but don't require cold (for a few days).

Does that sound like a reasonable idea? Even if it's 9 degrees - it's still cooler than even our coolest cupboard.

let’s assume no one keeps vinegar in the fridge! In mine at the moment there’s at least……Mayo, ketchup, brown sauce, a large jar of gherkins, jalapeños, pickled onions, mustard, 2 jars of jam, hoisin sauce, salad dressing, garlic purée, ginger purée…..

We've often done this. Though as winters get warmer/later it becomes less useful.

Still, nice and cold this year, so perfect!

Alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water so that's unlikely to be a problem.

We put the drinks etc outside, condiments like ketchup are fine outside but keep anything with eggs in in the fridge

I think if they're in a box they'll be fine outside. We put ours in a carrier bag on top of the freezer, it's in an unheated room attached to our garage.

Unless I'm using a different kind to everyone else, surely soy sauce doesn't need to be refrigerated at all? Mine lives in the cupboard and never goes near the fridge. Tahini in a jar ditto.

Boot of car for me (and lots of going up and down stairs) .Must be so nice to have a back door or a porch .

From your list, the only things that go in the fridge are mayo, salad dressing, garlic and ginger purée.
But everything else is manufactured as a preserve - brown sauce and ketchup will never go off in the cupboard!

Jam definitely goes mouldy if not in the fridge.

Jam definitely goes mouldy if not in the fridge.

But not within days.

Growing up condiments and jams were kept in the sideboard, we didn't have a fridge. Lower sugar and salt 'healthy' products may not be as durable as the original recipes though.

The one sauce I've been caught out with which goes mouldy even in a fridge is some sorts of salsa.

At Christmas our fridge ends up holding mostly just meat/fish/dairy - most other things get shipped out to the garage. Before we had a garage, yes outside the back door or in the car boot!

Agree with pp though, a lot of condiments don't actually needed to go in the fridge

A jar of jam last me months and does go mouldy if it's not in the fridge!

Careful with keeping alcoholic drinks in the car, you wouldn’t want to be wandering outside after a few wines with your car keys in hand, might be misconstrued!

Careful of cats and wildlife but otherwise, yes, keep things outdoors. Watch out if it’s too cold though, not just for drinks - root vegetables and potatoes etc tend not to taste good if they’ve been frozen raw so you might need to give them some insulation.

Same. All sauces go on a tray in the porch for 2 weeks!

Drinks with a high alcohol content won't freeze outside in the U.K. - here's a handy calculator

shotgundentist.com/blog/usefull-tools/alcohol-percentage-to-freezing-point-calculator/

(Now curious what other useful tools this oddly named site might have...)

We use the garden shed

Spirits probably won’t freeze in an average UK winter but soft drinks, beer and wine might.

Sprits absolutely won’t, it’s a thing to store vodka in the freezer and it doesn’t freeze.

But anything high enough to not freeze doesn’t really need to be kept cold. Unless you’re drinking neat vodka, which most people don’t.

No, it doesn't - I assume people who keep alcoholic drinks in the fridge are doing so because they want to drink them cold, not at room temperature. If the fridge is too full, then putting them outside in typical British Xmas weather will usually serve the purpose.

We also have a fridge/freezer in our shed - 'leftover' from when we had our new kitchen installed. It's a very useful overflow! But beware if you're considering this - not all freezers are designed to work in very low temperatures. Info as to whether they're designed to operate in outdoor situations will be buried somewhere in the product spec.

Tahini doesn't need to be in the fridge but tahini sauce does IMO. Soy sauce doesn't go off in the cupboard but I feel like it loses some flavour over time, though I could be imagining it. For mental categorisation and wipeability, soy sauce just seems to belong among the other fridge condiments in my house, and cupboard space is at as much of a premium as fridge space anyway.