Food Safety

Chill Hacks Unveiled: Mastering Your Fridge's Microzones for Fresher Foods

 From Crisper Drawers to Door Dilemmas - Your Complete Guide to Optimizing Refrigerator Storage and Banishing Food Wastage

Ever wondered why your refrigerator seems like an enigmatic labyrinth of varying temperatures? Brace yourself for a surprising revelation: your fridge isn't the uniform cold box you think it is. Instead, it's a tapestry of microclimates, each with its own purpose and ideal use. Buckle up for a journey into the hidden world of fridge dynamics, where thermodynamics and food storage collide to challenge common assumptions.



Prepare to unravel the mystery behind why your leftovers might fare better on one shelf than another, why your greens shouldn't cozy up with your meats, and why that jar of jam ended up frozen solid in the back. Join us as we break down the misconceptions about your refrigerator's temperature zones and unveil the secrets to optimizing freshness and food safety within its chilly confine



Refrigerator Revelations: Unveiling the Myth of Uniform Temperatures



Let's start with breaking down a common misconception: your refrigerator is not all one temperature. We know it's a strange thought. Most of our clients are very shocked when they discover this. But it's true. 



Instead, your refrigerator is made up of many different microzones. Now, your microzones work based on the concept of thermodynamics. We know, we know, that's not something any of us want to try and dive into on a Wednesday night. And to be frank, it's beyond anything we need to go into. What matters is understanding that heat rises. Even in a cold environment like your refrigerator, heat will always rise*. So, the warmest portions of your refrigerator will be the top shelf of your refrigerator because of that principle, and also the door of your refrigerator because it's constantly being exposed to warm air as you open and close your refrigerator throughout the day. No matter how fast your refrigerator returns to temperature, there is still fluctuation. That fluctuation will directly affect whatever you store on the door of your refrigerator. We'll go into more of that later on in the article. For now, it's enough to understand that it's an issue. 

 

The Secret Behind Microzones: How Your Fridge Works on Thermodynamics



The different zones in your refrigerator are  your door, top shelf, middle shelf, bottom shelf, and any drawers you have, like a crisper drawer, cheese drawer, or deli meat drawer. Each of these different zones has been engineered for a different purpose, and the shape of the drawer directly impacts how temperature and humidity affect the food inside the drawer.  



Crisper Drawers Decoded: Optimizing Humidity for Fresher Produce



Let's take a quick side note to explain the different drawers that might come with your refrigerator. Your crisper drawer is typically one to two drawers on the bottom of your refrigerator. Whether you have a French door, a single door, or a top-of-the-line Sub Zero refrigerator, the bottommost drawer or drawers is for fruits and vegetables. The reason for this ties into the microclimates like we talked about earlier. This is the coldest part of your refrigerator, and it fluctuates between cold and colder. Now, your fridge's design might be two drawers side by side or one on top of another. We have worked on both varieties. It doesn't matter for the most part. Either way, there is typically a small flap or a slider that allows you to set which one has lower humidity and which one has higher humidity. 



Lower humidity is typically for fruits, and higher humidity is for vegetables. This is where we will get into some exceptions in just a minute. These drawers work on humidity as well as temperature. Your fruits need lower humidity, which the slider or air flap on the drawers allows them to adjust. Just because it's not extra fancy or has dials or switches that you need to work to learn doesn't mean that it's not effective. Companies have discovered what works and, for the time being at least, are sticking to it. Higher humidity allows your vegetables to maintain the most moisture, keeping them from wilting for longer. 



Mastering Middle Shelves: The Stable Haven for Dairy and Deli Delights



But Blogger, you say, what about the shelves in the middle? What are those for? Oh dear, reader, those shelves are, in what we said earlier, the most stable portion of your fridge. This is the section that is most likely to stay at the temperature for what you've set your refrigerator to. These drawers, whether you have one or two, sometimes even more, will be where you store your cheeses and deli meats. Cheeses and deli meats need to be kept away from fluctuations in temperature to ensure that they stay tasty and free from bacteria for as long as possible. They also don't need to worry about humidity like your fruits and vegetables, which is why they are just drawers. 




Strategic Food Placement: Where Every Zone Shines in Your Fridge



Now that you understand how your refrigerator works and how some of the more specialized sections should be used let's look at your fridge as a whole. This breakdown for storing your food comes from years of research into maximizing space, freshness, and food safety. So, at the top of your fridge,  as we mentioned earlier, that is going to be the section that fluctuates the most, and therefore, is the section where you should store already cooked foods; this is your leftovers,  this is the rotisserie chicken that you're going to have tomorrow night for dinner or the green bean casserole that your neighbor brought over because they had a little too much. Things like that. 



Your middle shelves are where you should store your dairy products. Cheeses, butter, eggs, and other things that need to be kept as stable as possible. 



Your bottom shelves are where you store raw meats and fish. If you really wanted to, all of the other shelves, ,could be swapped around. If you follow the other tips we will talk about, your food will stay fresh. Maybe not for as long as they could, but they will stay fresh for about the average length of time that you might expect. For your raw meats and fish, you store them at the bottom of your refrigerator not just to keep them fresh for longer and to butkeep them in that cold air that doesn't fluctuate as much. It's also for food safety. Raw meats tend to leak. You don't want that getting on the rest of your food.  



Now, we're not saying you should just throw a hunk of raw meat or the fish your cousin caught for dinner tonight onto these shelves. You store these on the bottom shelf because they won't leak into the drawers when wrapped properly. Your crisper drawers are designed so things from on top, unless they spill or overflow, won't get into the drawers. Instead, they drip around and under. Your shelves, though, say the top and middle shelves aren't designed the same. Put meat on those shelves, and you will contaminate the shelves below.   




Decoding the Door Dilemma: What to Store (and Avoid) on Your Fridge Door 



The one thing we haven't talked about yet is your refrigerator door. On your refrigerator door, it is good to put things like condiments. They're not bothered much by fluctuating temperatures. Salad dressing falls into the same category. Even the ones you might make yourself can still be stored in the container and left on your fridge door. Soda, water bottles, sports drinks are great to put on your refrigerator door, so they're easy to grab. 



Things that maybe shouldn't go on your door that you wouldn't consider: 

Nut butters

Milk 

Glass bottles 

We've all done it. Heck, in your Blogger's fridge right now (or at least right now as of the time of this initially being written) is a container of milk. The reason you don't want to store it there normally is because it will go bad faster. In our household, however, it doesn't typically last long enough, so we choose to take that risk. Which is what you can do as well. Nut butters, however, and glass bottles are less conditional. Nut butters like almond butter and cashew butter will start to separate when kept at unstable temperatures. They start to either become hard or oily, they don't taste as good, and they're harder to spread. Then you've got glass bottles, which is more of a practicality issue. All it takes is one slam of the door, and there goes all that lovely wine you were planning on sharing. 

A refrigerator with some things stored properly and some not. How many can you find?

Courtesy of the USDA

Versus, this refrigerator which has taken into consideration the various tips and safety measures that we talked about, and the size and design of this particular refrigerator.

Courtesy of the USDA



The FIFO Method: Saving Money and Maximizing Freshness in Your Fridge



How do you save money then? The answer is the First In First Out method. It is a very simple concept, but it does take a bit of thinking as you implement it. You put the newest foods at the back of the shelf and bring the oldest foods towards the front. You can do this with everything or just things you buy duplicates of. An example would be putting an already open pint of sour cream at the front and a new one at the back of the shelf. 

 We aren't saying you have to do this every day. That would be ridiculous, and you would end up wasting electricity and letting in all the hot air you're trying to avoid. But once a week or so, when you go grocery shopping, do this, and then you have all of the oldest food towards the front automatically when you need to go and plan for meals or just need a quick snack. The First In, First Out method is utilized by restaurants and other corporate-level food services. It's a way to ensure your food is used long before it spoils.  



The Perils of Overstuffing: Why Air Circulation is Key in Your Refrigerator

 

A final important note that we think cannot be overstated is that you should not be overstuffing any section of your fridge. Your refrigerator cannot do its job properly if it can't breathe. If the air cannot circulate around your refrigerator, the microclimates we discussed will go to extremes. The coldest section, that bottom shelf, and your crispers will end up freezing. Meanwhile, your top shelf and door will be much warmer than they should be, causing things to spoil. This is how you end up pulling out the jar of jam from the back of a shelf and finding out that it's frozen solid in the time that it's been in your refrigerator. While sections like your crispers have an optimum level of food in them, say 67%, the rest of your fridge is more a matter of air being able to move around. That one does take a little bit of trial and error. It becomes much easier if you pay attention and start with the tips we've taught you today. 



Keeping Cool: When to Call for Professional Refrigerator Assistance



Remember, your refrigerator is not just a glorified cold box—it's a meticulously engineered system of microzones. By understanding its nuances, from the fluctuating temperatures of the top shelf to the humidity-controlled crisper drawers, you hold the key to prolonging the freshness of your groceries and minimizing food waste.



So, bid farewell to haphazard food placement and embrace the art of organized refrigeration. Employ the 'First In First Out' method, keep meats low, dairy mid, and condiments on the door, and most importantly, avoid overstuffing to let your fridge breathe. By following these simple strategies, you're not just managing your fridge; you're preserving flavor, maximizing space, and ensuring a longer shelf life for your groceries.



However, if you encounter issues beyond the realm of organization—such as temperature inconsistencies, malfunctioning water lines, or any other fridge-related quandaries—don't hesitate to reach out for professional help. Appliance Rescue Service is here to assist you, whether it's a troubleshooting call or a need for expert maintenance. Contact us today via our website or give us a call to schedule an appointment and ensure your refrigerator runs smoothly, keeping your food fresh and your kitchen hassle-free.

Website

Call: (214) 599-0055 






Additional Reading: 



The Hidden Messages Behind the Odors in Your Refrigerator





Why Is My Refrigerator Making Weird Noises!? 




* If you are a physicist, or other scientist who studies thermodynamics and we have gotten this wrong in certain instances, please understand that we are talking solely about heat in a refrigerator.



Lets Talk Turkey In EVERY Method

Yeah, we know it's overdone, but how often do we get to use such a fowl pun?

Cooking methods

  • Slow Cookers (breast or small roast)

  • Instant Pot (breast)

  • Air Fryer (breast)

  • Convection Oven (whole turkey)

  • Traditional Oven (whole turkey)

  • Deep Fry (whole turkey)


Have you ever wondered what the differences were in how to cook a turkey in your kitchen? We did. So we took all the different ways we could think of and tried them out.

Before The Cooking Begins

Before you start cooking your turkey, we advise taking a few steps. First off, how much turkey do you actually need? Are you doing a whole turkey? A small one? A large one? What about just getting pre-sliced turkey? (For those of you that are skipping the turkey altogether, we aren't really sure we can help with that. At least not in this post.) Unless you're looking at doing a turkey eating contest, estimate roughly 1 lb of turkey per person at your gathering. So if you've got 20 people, get a twenty-pound bird.  If you want to be able to make all sorts of delicious leftovers, estimate at roughly 1.5 pounds of bird per person. 


Thawing a frozen turkey isn't actually that difficult. What matters is that you plan for it leading up to the day you intend to cook the bird. There are three methods you can go about thawing it, depending on the size of your bird. For all of these, we advise making sure the bird is still fully wrapped in order to prevent the spread of germs.  You can thaw it in the fridge for several days prior to Thanksgiving. You can thaw it in the sink, changing out the water every two hours or so. You don't want hot water for this or else the turkey will start to cook. Instead, shoot for lukewarm to slightly cool. Your third option is to use your bathtub as an oversized sink, in the event that you have a very large bird or you're cooking multiple different turkeys. For this one, we strongly advise bleaching and scrubbing the tub both before and after you use it. Again, keep your water lukewarm to slightly cool. The good news is that you won't have to change the water during the thawing process. 


Once you've got a fully thawed bird, it's time to remove the giblets. These are going to be the various organs from the bird. Sometimes they'll be bound together into a small bag, other times you'll need to remove the pieces from either the interior of the turkey or from the neck. You can save or toss these as you prefer. We think they're great for stocks and gravies.  Now pat the turkey dry inside and out with paper towels and set it aside for the time being. 



Now that we've gone through the uniform bits of preparing your turkey, it's time to consider the different ways you might want to cook it. (Admittedly we hope that you'll read the whole article prior to doing the prep, but it is up to you.) 


Slow Cooking That Turkey 

If you're looking at a small bird or a turkey breast, a slow cooker is a  great way to go. You should be able to feed about 8 people with one slow cooker, depending on the size you have. You'll want to mix together the seasonings you intend for the turkey along with water in order to give the turkey plenty to soak up. You can also use different soup mixes if you want to get creative.  One that we've seen suggest is actually French onion soup, or an au jus mix. Your cooking time for this should be about 6-8 hours on low. To check for doneness you're wanting the internal temperature to be 155-160. We know it's supposed to be about 165-170 but, your turkey is going to continue heating after you remove it from the oven. So, look for that temperature, that the turkey has soaked up the juices and the meat is tender. 

A slow cooker is going to result in very juicy, tender meat.


Instant Pot, Instant Turkey? 

Now, the instant pot is obviously not going to fit the entire turkey. For that reason, you're better off using a turkey breast in there rather than trying to figure out if you can fit the whole bird in there. Again, this is going to be a very good for a family gathering  8 or less. Start by putting oil on your turkey. Pat or rub it down, rather than just pouring it on. You can use any oil you find is tastiest, but we suggest either sunflower or olive oils. Now rub on your spice mix of choice. 

With all of that done, pour roughly 1/4 cup of water into the instant pot alongside the turkey breast. Now start the pressure cooker for 25 minutes and use the time for doing something else. When the time is up wait for the full pressure release and allow the turkey breast to rest for 10-15 minutes before you start carving. 

Using an Instant Pot for your turkey is still going to give you a very juicy meal, but it’s not going to be as tender as the slow cooker. 


Air Fryer... for a Turkey? 

We don't quite get why you might want to fry your turkey, but hey, an air fryer might make it slightly healthier? Slightly? Eh, we don't judge. This is still an entirely valid method of making a turkey whether it's just for you or if you're looking to do custom spice blends for different family members. 

These are ideal for 1-2 people at 1-2 pounds of turkey breast. Start by rubbing down your turkey with the spices of choice. Be generous with them and really coat the outside of the turkey.  Put it in for 30-35 minutes at 390*F. Once again you're aiming for an internal temperature of 160*F, but you're not going to have much in the way of continued cooking once you take it out.  Once the air fryer is done, take out the turkey, plate it up and let it sit for 15 minutes before you dig in. 

We’ll point out that this is for using our method. You might have different results if you try a different route or add other elements to the recipe. For this turkey though you’re going to end up with nice, crispy skin with a fairly standard poultry texture to the meat. 


Convection Oven 

A convection oven is much larger than anything we've dealt with up till now. What that means is that you can get creative! You can cook a whole turkey, you can cook several different 'cuts' of turkey or you can do several different varieties of just say turkey breasts. It's up to you,  Fortunately, you can also go back to the 1 lb of bird per person rule, without having to worry that you'll have to do multiple rotations of cooking to feed everyone. 

 Start off by preheating your oven to 350*. Now move your bird over to the roasting pan and grab your favorite spice mix and some oil. Again, you can use whatever type you prefer, we like sunflower because it doesn't add anything to the taste of the bird. Once you've rubbed down the bird with oil, rub in the spice mix you've chosen. Depending on the spices in question you might for a light coating or decide to add a really solid crust to the bird. Once you've got your turkey prepped, it's time to toss it into the oven for 2 - 2.5 hours. You can baste it using the juices or some chicken broth during the process, or you can choose to leave it alone. Either way, you're going to want to use a thermometer to check the temperature of the thigh to figure out when the bird is done. Once the thigh has reached 180* internally, you're good to go. Again we advise letting the bird rest for 15-20 minutes prior to carving it up in order to seal in the flavor. 

At some point you’ve likely had a turkey cooked in a traditional electric or gas oven, this is going to give you a very similar result, although the skin should be slightly crispier. It’s going to still be more tender than a chicken though. 


Traditional Oven….We’ve got nothing for this one. (Leave your suggestions in the comments!)   

Much like the convection oven, you can cook everything up to a whole bird with your traditional oven. You're really only limited by the size of the turkey compared to the internal space of the oven. It's great! Make sure to do a comparison beforehand this way you don't end up with more bird than your oven can handle.  Once again we're sticking with the 1lb of turkey per person, or 1.5 lb if you're wanting to send people home with leftovers. 

This time you'll be preheating your oven to 325*, a lower temperature to allow the turkey to stay nice and juicy. Move the turkey over to the roasting pan and grab your oil and spices. Rub in the oil and then crust your bird to your desired level of spices. We think a nice thick pepper crust is a great way to do a turkey. Once you've done that, grab some tin foil and make a tent for your turkey. You don't need it just yet, but you'll want to ensure that the turkey doesn't end up burning in the last half hour to an hour of cook time. Set that aside for now and pop the turkey into the oven. 


Once again you want to use the thickest part of the thigh to see if the turkey is done. This time you're looking for a range between 165 & 180 when it's done. A good technique to use is to cook the turkey for two hours, check it and if it's not hot enough at that point, to baste it, close it back up and set it for another thirty minutes.  Once the skin has turned a golden brown, that's the point when you put the tin foil over top of the turkey. Make sure that you're not closing the sides, you still want the air to flow through and for the bird to cook. 


When it's done, remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes. 

A traditional oven-roasted turkey is going to result in the most ‘traditional’ flavor. It’s going to be juicy if you treat it right, and the skin is going to be softer than the convection oven. 

Deep Frying The Turkey -

 When you want the really  crispy skin 

We're going to start off this section with a warning. Please read all instructions thoroughly before you do this.  It's a wonderful method for cooking turkey we know, but every year hundreds of people end up injured and at least 1,000 fires are started. It's a delicious way to cook the turkey, but we want all of you to be safe as well. 

You're going to want to use a turkey that's between 10 and 20 pounds for this. Make sure that your turkey is completely thawed before you even consider filling the pot.  Once you've guaranteed that, place the turkey into the pot and fill the pot with water.  Fill up until the water is one inch below the top of the turkey. That's the line you're going to want to go to when you fill the pot with oil later. If you fill the pot over the top of the turkey your pot is likely to boil over during the cooking process.   If your pot cannot hold all of this, you do not have the right size pot. Please consider a different method of cooking. 

If you do, remove the turkey and pat both it and the pot dry.  Back to the turkey, grab your spices or marinades, and cover your turkey. Now grab some butcher's twine and tie the legs of the turkey together and attach those to the stand that came with the fry pot.  Once you've got the turkey and the stand situated into the pot, fill the pot with oil up to the line you noted earlier.  We suggest using oil with a high smoke point like canola, corn or soybean.  Grab the thermometer that came with the pot and attach that to the fryer. Bring up the heat slowly to 350* F. 

Once you have your oil at 350, slowly and carefully raise and lower the turkey several times in the oil to seal the juices into it. We suggest 3-4. It's going to be a messy process so gloves and an apron might be useful.  Once you've sealed the turkey, lower it back into the oil and leave it there. You're going to want to cook it for 3 minutes per pound of turkey. So if you've got a 10-pound turkey you're looking at 30 minutes of cooking time. Not bad in comparison to the other methods. 

When you're checking for doneness, again look to the thickest part of the thigh. This time you want an internal temperature of roughly 180* to 190* F. Make sure to slowly and gently lift the turkey out of the oil so you don't get splashed. 

Let the turkey rest for 10-20 minutes before carving. While you're waiting on that, go back to your fryer and turn off the heat.  Now cordon off where you have it for the next three hours at minimum before you try to move the pot or dispose of the oil. After that point, you can carefully check to see if it's cool, and if not, leave it alone for another hour. 


This is the method to use if you really like your crunch. The skin is very ‘crispy crunchy’ without being burnt or charred. The meat isn’t as tender as other methods, but that’s sort of the point? 


Although we've given you the basics on how to do this, we do also advise this article from Butterball for a more in-depth article. (How To Deep Fry A Turkey | Butterball®)


So, what do you think? What's your favorite method of years past for cooking a turkey? Are you going to try something new this year? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page, we always love to hear from you! 


If you've ended up here because you tried to clean your oven prior to the big meal and found out that your oven devoured itself, it's ok. We can help. Give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or send us a message through our contact page and we'll be happy to help.



Additional Reading 

Self Cleaning Ovens

How To Prepare Your Kitchen For the Holidays


That is a delicious looking spread, and it’s definitely a traditionally roasted turkey. It’s harder than you might think to find good photos of the other methods of cooking.

Organizing Your Fridge for Efficiency and Safety

Or how to keep your food from becoming sentient. 

Have you ever opened up your fridge to have to dig through stacks of leftover food, bags with questionable contents, and a head of lettuce you thought you had thrown out last week? All just to find the one jar of mayo you need for a sandwich. Or what about putting some hamburger onto a plate in your fridge before work, and coming home to find it spilled down all three shelves and now you have a mess to clean up. These situations are ones we all face when we don’t have an organized fridge. Fortunately, there is a way to fix it. 




What Most People Do

Most of us will toss our food into the fridge without any sense of order.  Crushable things might be on top, to keep them away from any damage. On the door, you have the weird and annoying thin shelves that are only good for eggs, drinks, and condiments because what else are you going to fit there? Then you have the drawers at the very bottom that claim that they’re perfect for fruits and vegetables. Except, if you’re like the majority of us, that ends up meaning you have a head of bland lettuce that rolls around for a month, a couple of apples in the other drawer, and one corner that might have been a tomato at one point, but now you’re waiting for it to gain sentience. 




And the rest? The whole great middle of the fridge? That’s Free Territory. That’s where you put leftovers, the meat you’re defrosting for tonight, this week’s lunches, and anything else you can put in there. If it can be stacked, it will be. Of course, that means that if it can be forgotten about, it will be. 

Baby climbing shelves in an open fridge trying to get grapes. Multiple open containers, stacked foods, and spoiled foods.





Why Do I care?

A good question. First off, organizing your fridge will mean that things like the weird semi-sentient tomato are less likely to happen. When you know what you have, you can plan accordingly for your meals, and keep foods from spoiling before they get used.  More importantly, it cuts down on cross-contamination. When you have your foods stacked every which way, and without any clear separation between them, there’s too great a chance for foods to touch things they shouldn’t. There are three different types of cross-contamination that we're talking about.  One might be as simple as one piece of fruit spoiling and then being pressed close to another and causing it to spoil. Or you might go up another level and you’re dealing with two different foods being stored next to each other when they shouldn’t. An example of that is squash and apples. Apples give off ethylene gas which will make the squash turn yellow and spoil before they should have. The third level is the one we hear about in schools, but don’t always think about. Storing raw fish and meat in your fridge, even in the store packaging, is complicated. It doesn’t take much for some of the juices to drip and get onto anything nearby in the fridge. This can be just from you reaching in and grabbing the meat, and it drips off your hand. It can be from overflowing onto lower levels, from any of the edges of the shelf. How it happens, doesn’t really matter. The problem is still that whatever it’s dripped onto, if not properly enclosed, is now unsafe to use. 

Red onions, raw mushrooms, raw chicken, tomatoes, lemon, and garlic all on a cutting board with a large "no' symbol over it.







What You Should Do

You’ve undoubtedly realized that this isn’t a state you want to be in. If nothing else, wasting food bites into your pockets over the long term. How then to organize your refrigerator? With buckets and boxes and time-consuming systems? Sure, you could do that if you have plenty of time, but we certainly don’t. Instead, we looked to the experts to see what they had to say on the matter. 






Let’s start on the door, working from the top shelf down.

The top shelf on your door is best utilized by putting your dairies here. That’s going to mean eggs, butters, and any cheese you use regularly. If you are putting cheeses there, you’re going to want to wrap them in either wax or parchment papers, to keep them isolated from smells. 




The middle shelf should be dedicated to condiments, salad dressings, marinades, and similar concepts. 



Your bottom shelf on the door should be for all beverages, and if it’s large enough, milk. 




There, now your door is all done and dusted. Still with us? On to the body of the fridge. Again, we’ll start at the top and work our way back down. 



The top shelf of the fridge should be used for foods that are ready to eat. This can be everything from foods you’ve already cooked, pre-made meals, salads, pickled foods and fruits, either already sliced or whole. 




Moving on to the middle shelf, or shelves of your fridge. Here is the one thing that doesn’t change much between the original version of your fridge and this new and improved version. Here is where you’re going to put your various leftovers. Tupperware is your friend because then you can put in the other foods on these shelves. Cheeses, that are prepackaged, eggs in a carton, and any cold cuts and sandwich breads.  (Although we will point out that if you are going through a loaf of bread in a week, it’s perfectly acceptable to  keep your bread in a breadbox.) 




Finally, we have the bottom shelf. Here is where you’re going to be putting any meats that are raw. Beef, chicken, pork, fish, it doesn’t matter. It goes here. The ideal method is to store them in sealed containers. So take them out of the store-bought packaging or at least put them into a casserole dish either before you let them defrost or cook them. 



Food Safety stamp in green text.

We’re not ignoring the crisper drawers, don’t worry. However, they’re much easier to deal with because they are sealed. When storing vegetables, there are a few tips for keeping things fresh longer. Start off by washing your veggies before you store them. Wrap them in paper or plastic in order to prevent contamination (better safe than sorry.) For salads and herbs, you’ll want to wrap them in damp paper towels before storing them to prevent them from drying out. 



Now that you know how to organize your fridge to keep your food safe and fresh for the longest amount of time, what do you think? Are you going to make the change or would you rather stick with your current system? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you.

If you’re having issues with your refrigerator, or any of your other appliances, we’d love to help! We’re here to serve, whether your refrigerator has stopped running or your dryer is making a really weird rattling noise. You can call us at ((214) 599-0055) or go over to our website to make an appointment.  We want to help all of our clients in Garland and the surrounding areas.