Know your onions! The definitive and surprising guide to organising your fridge

For a long time, the government’s position was that raw potatoes should not be chilled. This was to avoid “cold sweetening”, the formation of additional cold-induced sugars that, when potatoes are fried, roasted or baked, convert into a chemical called acrylamide, which is thought to pose a cancer risk to humans.

But a recent study has shown that, as the Food Standards Agency put it in its latest update, “home storage of potatoes in the fridge doesn’t materially increase acrylamide-forming potential when compared to storage in a cool, dark place”. Not only is the fridge fine after all, but it makes spuds last three times longer.

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