It can be tempting just to throw your everything you bring from the grocery store into your refrigerator and assume it’ll all be “cold enough”. The thing is that some parts of your refrigerator are cooler than others, and are more appropriate for different types of food. If you want to get up to speed on which food should go where in your appliance, follow this handy guide.
Top shelves
It’s a little warmer at the top of your fridge, so foods that don’t need cooking are best put here. This includes things like cooked and cured meats, and leftover or pre-cooked meals.
Middle shelves
This is the ideal spot for dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Eggs also like this shelve because it provides a nice, constant temperature.
Bottom shelves
The bottom shelves of your refrigerator are the coldest, so they’re the best place for raw meat and fish. Keeping all your raw meat on one shelf also help prevent any cross-contamination.
Drawers
This is where you should store you fruit, veggies, salads and herbs.
Door racks
This is the warmest part of your refrigerator, so items with natural preservatives like jams and condiments are best kept here.
Top food-storage tips
- Keep cooked and raw foods separate, and keep raw meat and fish wrapped.
- Use glass containers whenever you can as glass retains cold better.
- Set your refrigerator temperature to 40°F or below.
- If you want butter and soft cheese to stay soft, you can keep them on the door shelves.
- Keep salad and herbs away from the back wall of the fridge. The cold can actually freeze them.
- Avocados, bananas, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums and tomatoes should all stay out of the fridge because they release gases which can cause other foods to spoil.
