Fridge Shelves: Our Guide on Which Shelf Should You Store Your Food & Drinks
Organizing your fridge is critical in the food industry as it ensures that the professional kitchen has access to fresh ingredients without wasting time in between. However, homeowners typically don’t pay the same amount of attention to their fridges at home, resulting in storing food in a Jenga-like mess.
Not only does organizing your fridge make all ingredients accessible, but it also ensures that no food or beverages go to waste. It also prevents rotting food from spreading inside from one meal to the next.
One way to keep your fridge neat and tidy is to know which shelves in your fridge should your food and drinks be on. With that in mind, the guide below should clue you in on the best spots to store leftover meals and beverages.
Top and Middle Shelf
When storing leftover meals, meal plans, packaged foods, cooked meats, prepared salads, or all dairy products, it should always be sealed tightly to keep it fresh. In addition to slowing down its inevitable demise, keeping it in a tight container should also prevent contamination from spreading in case one of your stored foods goes terrible.
With that in mind, be sure to store cooked and other ready-to-eat foods at the top shelf of your fridge and keep it as far away from raw meats as much as possible.
Bottom Shelf
There should also be room for your fruits and vegetables, which you can do by placing them at the bottom shelf of your fridge. While leafy greens have fewer chances of rotting as fast meats, it can still get contaminated, especially when left to wilt for days or when drippings from your leftovers get on it.
In that regard, you can keep your prepared salads wrapped in paper or plastic with air holes to prevent them from becoming contaminated. Greens like lettuce for salad or herbs are best kept in a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out too quickly and maintaining its crispness.
Other Golden Rules to Consider When Refrigerating Food
1. When cooking meals, it’s always a good idea to serve what you and other people can finish. This is because making a feast for just two people means you will have to cram more leftovers in the fridge, which is never a good idea unless you’re doing meal preps.
For one, overloading your fridge can compromise its cooling unit and the air circulating it, which can run the risk of spoiling other foods in your refrigerator.
2. When you do have to store leftovers, always put new stock behind the old ones. This is to prevent forgetting about certain foods until it goes beyond its best-by date, so always organize according to its use-by tags.
3. When keeping cans in the fridge, be sure to remove it from its container and place it in a sealed one if the can is open. This is because open cans can invite chemical contamination, especially in diced tomatoes or canned fruits.
The Bottom Line
Organizing your foods and beverages ensures you can maximize the space and avoid food wastage. It’s also a smart way to make the most of units like a mini-fridge, along with keeping the cooling units in good working condition.
If you’re looking for reliable mini-fridge reviews and advice, get in touch with us today! We’re happy to help.