While it’s tempting to simply put your groceries in the fridge quickly when you get home from the store, if you follow some simple organizing tips, you’ll allow your food to last much longer.
This guide goes through every compartment in your fridge, including the door shelves, the crisper drawer, and the deli compartment, to let you know which food items should go in each of them. If you follow these tips, you’ll reduce food waste and decrease the chances of you and your family getting sick from food-borne illnesses.
While different refrigerators have different shelf setups, this guide should give you some good ideas for how to organize your fridge regardless of which make and model you own.
Let’s start with the door shelves.
The door shelves are the best place to put items like butter, condiments, drinks, and cooking oils. This is because the temperature is slightly warmer so isn’t suitable for items like eggs and milk but is ok for items that won’t be damaged if their temperature goes up and down a few degrees regularly (for example, when you open the fridge door).
If your refrigerator has a meat/deli compartment, it is an excellent place to put all of your meats, cheeses, and other deli items. On some models, you can adjust the temperature in the meat/deli compartment to help keep your meats and cheeses fresher for longer.
Crisper drawers are where you should keep your fruit and vegetables. They have been specially designed for fruit and vegetables to help keep them fresher for longer. Many refrigerators have low-humidity crisper drawers and high-humidity crisper drawers that are suitable for different types of produce. For example, vegetables like lettuce and spinach that wilt are best in a high-humidity crisper drawer and fruits are generally best in the low-humidity drawer.
The low-humidity drawer is best for fruits and vegetables such as:
The high-humidity drawer is best for fruits and vegetables such as:
The lower shelf is ideal for food items like eggs, milk, fish, and meat as it’s the coldest part of your fridge. This means those items will stay cooler, which helps reduce the chances of bacteria developing which can cause you to get sick.
The upper shelves in your refrigerator tend to be a little bit warmer than the lower shelves so are the best place to put items like yogurt, hummus, jam, jelly, peanut butter, and leftovers. Don’t put eggs and milk on the upper shelves as they will go off quicker.
There are a few food items that you shouldn’t keep in the refrigerator. This is because refrigeration can cause them to spoil quicker, stop them from ripening, stink out of your fridge, and absorb flavors and smells from other items in your fridge.
Here are the main food items that you should store in your refrigerator:
Garlic. Keep your garlic in a cool, dry spot like in the pantry or on the kitchen counter.
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