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How To Organise Your Fridge
We all keep certain foods in our refrigerator or American style fridge freezer to keep them fresher and help them to last for longer. But did you know that incorrectly storing your foods in the fridge can shorten their shelf-life and even cause food poisoning? In order to prevent this it’s worth considering how best to organise your food onto the right shelves and drawers in your fridge to keep things efficient, tidy and safe.
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Top and Middle Refrigerator Shelves
The top shelves of your fridge are the warmest, so they are best for keeping your pre-prepared foods. Dairy products like butter and cheese are best kept here. If you have any cooked meat or leftovers, store these in sealed containers on the middle shelves.
Bottom Refrigerator Shelves
Any raw meat or fish should be stored on the bottom shelf of your fridge. There are two reasons for this. The first is because this is the coldest part of the fridge, so will keep your raw items fresher for longer. The second is because there’s a lower risk of raw juices that can cause food poisoning dripping on to foods that are ready to eat.
The Salad Drawer
As you’d expect, this is the best place to store your salad, vegetables and fruit. Some salad drawers have humidity controls that help salad items like lettuce and cucumber and veg such as cauliflower, broccoli, beans, carrots and leafy veg to last longer.
Fridge Door Racks
It’s best not to store anything that needs to be kept really cold in the fridge door rack because the temperature can fluctuate quite considerably when the door is opened. Many people keep milk here but it’s not the best place to maximise the shelf life. You’d be better off keeping eggs, condiments, jam and fruit juices here.
Tips for Optimum Fridge Storage
Fridge Temperature
Always keep your fridge temperature below 5 degrees celcius (41 degrees farenheit) to keep your food items cool enough. If things are getting frosty, move them away from the coolest areas (close to the back or on the bottom shelf) to somewhere that’s not quite as cold. Your fridge will use less energy and keep at a more constant temperature if it is kept well stocked, so it’s best to use a fridge that’s appropriate to the amount of food you usually keep rather than having one that’s much bigger than you need. If you have a big family, a spacious american style fridge freezer is ideal as long as you store enough to keep it fairly full most of the time.
Refrigeration Time
When you’re preparing food that’s best kept refrigerated, try to work as quickly as possible. Keeping it out of the fridge for the minimum amount of time will help it stay fresher. If you have leftovers that you want to keep, make sure you refrigerate them within 90 minutes and consume them within 2 days.
Use By and Best Before Dates
Make sure you avoid food poisoning by understanding the dates on your food. Use by dates are only added to food that can go off quickly. It can be dangerous to eat foods past their use by date so treat them with caution.
Best before dates are added to foods with a longer life. They are an indication of when the food will be at its best. If a food has passed this date it doesn’t necessarily mean that the food will be harmful. The flavour and texture may have changed making the food less enjoyable.
No kitchen is complete without a fridge freezer to keep your food fresh. Whether you have a freestanding, integrated or even an American style fridge freezer, our food needs a home that will help our food last longer.
Did you know storing food incorrectly in your fridge can shorten their shelf life and even cause food poisoning? In order to prevent this, it is worth knowing the best way is to store food in a fridge.
So, let’s explore how to organise your fridge!
Shelf By Shelf
The ways we use shelves & drawers can all affect the efficiency, tidiness and safety of your fridge.
Top Shelves
The top shelves of your fridge are typically the warmest, so they are best for storing pre-cooked foods and ready-to-eat meals.
Keeping pre-cooked items up here removes any risk of cross contamination as they are nice any far away from any raw meat (we’ll get onto storing meat soon!).
Pre-cooked meats and leftovers will benefit the most from being stored in a sealed container when placed on the top shelf.
Middle Shelves
A fridge’s middle shelf is the perfect spot for storing dairy products like milk, cheese, butter and yogurt.
While it might seem appropriate to store milk in the fridge door, this is actually the worst place for it! The fridge door is the warmest place in the fridge due to its consistent exposure to warm, outside temperatures. Place your milk on the middle shelf and you will notice it lasting a lot longer!
The middle shelf is also a safe bet to store eggs too.
Bottom Shelves
Raw meat and fish is best stored on the bottom shelf of your fridge.
This is the coolest part of the fridge which helps to keep your food fresher for longer.
Storing fresh meat & fish here stops cross contamination and reduces your risk of food poisoning by preventing raw meat juices from dripping down onto other items.
Drawers
The crisper drawer at the bottom of your fridge is reserved for fruit, vegetables and salad. These drawers protect sensitive foods from temperature fluctuations and extends their flavour and lifespan.
Plenty of fridges will have humidity control for drawers, creating the optimum cooling environment that is sure to help fruit and veg stay fresh for even longer!
Door Shelves
Door shelves are the perfect spot for drinks, condiments and fruit juices. Due to its frequent exposure to warm air, this spot best fits foods with natural preservatives that won’t cause you harm if not consistently cooled.
Eggs can also be stored here if you need some extra room on your middle shelves.
Fridge Storage Tips
Follow these tips to make the most of your fridge!
Fridge Temperature
Setting your fridge to the correct temperature can help to reduce food waste, saving you money while lowering your environmental impact. The ideal temperature setting for a fridge is between 0°C and 5°C, which is cooler than the average fridge temperature in the UK!
Most fridges will have a built-in thermometer that provides an accurate temperature reading. If you do not have a built-in thermometer, you can use a mercury thermometer to track the temperature instead.
While a well-built fridge will maintain your fridge temperature, you can give it a helping hand by:
- Keeping your fridge well stocked.
- Not leaving the door open for too long (especially in summer!).
- Avoiding placing hot or warm food in the fridge. Give it some time to cool down first.
