Properly tidying up your refrigerator: not that simple!

After shopping, we often tend to want to shorten the chore as quickly as possible and not pay too much attention to how we store the food in the refrigerator. By wanting to be rid of or by ignorance, and without necessarily stuffing the device, we do not always place the products in the most appropriate places. And yet, well-organized foods keep better and longer. And you can even hope to extend the life of your equipment.

Some technical considerations

As we pointed out more than 10 years ago, current refrigerators use three major cold technologies, No Frost cold, brewed cold and static cold. And despite technological advances, these still do not offer a uniform temperature throughout the compartment. Thanks to the fans that circulate the cold air, we can hope not to suffer this phenomenon too much in a device using brewed cold and No Frost cold. On the other hand, entry-level refrigerators with static cold are more subject to temperature disparities: the difference can sometimes reach 5°C between the upper zones (the hottest) and the lower zones for the least efficient models. One could speak of the hot air balloon effect, since hot air is lighter than cold air and it is this phenomenon that allows balloons to climb in altitude.

Keeping this in mind, we therefore prefer to store “at risk” foods (fish, meat, etc.) at the bottom of the refrigerator. The manufacturers have also made no mistake about it and offer long-lasting storage drawers in the lower areas to store fresh and fragile food longer without freezing it. In the upper zones, where the temperature is less low, it is possible to store less demanding foodstuffs such as dairy products (cheese, yogurts, etc.) but also what has been cooked; during preparation, the rise in temperature has (theoretically) destroyed a good number of bacteria.

A dose of common sense

Looking at your fridge can also give you some clues about how best to store food. The best place for uncooked vegetables and fruit is…in the crisper drawer. Eggs can best be stored only in the supplied egg box, often housed in door shelves. It is also in these shelves that the bottles will be kept; it is indeed the only place which makes it possible to keep them upright and to prevent a residue of white wine from touching the cork.

For a few more tips…

You can still improve your storage by applying a few simple rules. The first, of course, is to limit the time the refrigerator door is open and not to leave food that needs to be kept cold outside for too long. We therefore hurry to remove all the over-packaging present on a product. Typically, yogurts are removed from their cardboard gangue before refrigerated. It’s much more hygienic and much more practical when it comes to finding the right perfume. In the case of bulk products (and especially for meat and fish), store cooked and raw products separately, in airtight containers, in order to avoid cross-contamination; pathogens from raw foods, not yet destroyed by cooking, may indeed contaminate cooked foods.

Note that leftovers should be eaten quickly. And so as not to forget them, the best method is to put them in plain view, in the front row on the shelves. This is also the case for products whose expiry date is approaching. This is how we fight against food waste. A peccadillo do you think? It represents 30 kg per year and per household, according to the latest official figures.

Finally, the maintenance of your refrigerator is not to be neglected. Ideally, the interior should be cleaned with soapy water at least once a month. A more in-depth maintenance, with a rinse with lightly bleached water (pure bleach creates crevices in the walls where viruses and bacteria love to hide) must take place at least once a year .