How Professional Kitchens Organize the Fridge
When organizing the refrigerator, we like to use professional and restaurant kitchens as models since they organize their fridges with food safety in mind. Their way of doing it is to organize based on the temperature the foods need to be cooked to.
Things that need no cooking to be safe to eat (like prepared foods or leftovers) are placed at the top, then everything else is organized downwards based on the temperature it needs to be cooked to, with the foods needing to be cooked to the highest temperature (like chicken) being at the bottom.
When organized this way, any cross contamination that occurs will not be a problem because the food that is contaminated has to be cooked to a higher temperature than the food sitting above it that dripped down.
Some solutions?
Things that need no cooking to be safe to eat (like prepared foods or leftovers) are placed at the top, then everything else is organized downwards based on the temperature it needs to be cooked to, with the foods needing to be cooked to the highest temperature (like chicken) being at the bottom.
When organized this way, any cross contamination that occurs will not be a problem because the food that is contaminated has to be cooked to a higher temperature than the food sitting above it that dripped down.
Some solutions?
- If you have two drawers, make one of them exclusively for veggies and the other exclusively for raw meat.
- If one drawer is above the other, use the lowest drawer for meat. If they were side-by-side, either drawer would be fine. Clean the drawer you are using for meat often.
The 5 Most Important Things to Know About Your Refrigerator
Where would we be without refrigerators? If you have ever lost electricity for any period (as I have recently, thanks to the intense heat and an overloaded electrical grid), you understand quite quickly and keenly the crucial role the refrigerator plays in everyday life. That is why it is one of the five greatest breakthroughs in food science, and rightfully so.
You would think — given how essential the fridge is to cooking and eating — we would know everything there is to know about this amazing piece of machinery, but as with anything we take for granted, little details get lost in the daily rhythm. Wait, at what temperature should it be set. How do the crisper drawers work again? We have the answers to those questions, and more.
You would think — given how essential the fridge is to cooking and eating — we would know everything there is to know about this amazing piece of machinery, but as with anything we take for granted, little details get lost in the daily rhythm. Wait, at what temperature should it be set. How do the crisper drawers work again? We have the answers to those questions, and more.
1. How to check for the correct temperature
- What is the Right Temperature?Your refrigerator's most important goal is to slow the growth of bacteria without freezing your food. Freezing usually does not do good things to the taste and texture of your food, but you want to keep things as cold as possible without actually freezing.
The ideal temperature range for your fridge is 35 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bacteria growth starts tripling around the 40-degree mark and things freeze at 32, so we are sticking with 35 to 38 as a goal.
- How Do You Keep It at the Right Temperature?
So once you set your refrigerator properly, how can you actually keep it at the right temp?
The ideal temperature range for your fridge is 35 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bacteria growth starts tripling around the 40-degree mark and things freeze at 32, so we are sticking with 35 to 38 as a goal.
- How Do You Keep It at the Right Temperature?
So once you set your refrigerator properly, how can you actually keep it at the right temp?
- Minimize the number of times you open the door.
- Check the door seal.
- Try to keep a full fridge.
- Let your food cool down first.
2. How the crisper drawers work.
If you have ever wondered if those crisper (also known as humidity) drawers really do anything, you are not alone. However, there is some science behind those drawers, and they can help preserve your produce if you use them correctly.
If you have two crisper drawers at the bottom of your fridge, designate one for low humidity and one for high humidity. The low-humidity drawer should be used for fruit, and have its vent almost all the way open (or on a scale of eight to nine, if your drawers are numbered rather than labeled) to prevent ethylene gas buildup. The high-humidity drawer should be used to store vegetables, and the vent should be only slightly open (on a scale of two to three).
If you have two crisper drawers at the bottom of your fridge, designate one for low humidity and one for high humidity. The low-humidity drawer should be used for fruit, and have its vent almost all the way open (or on a scale of eight to nine, if your drawers are numbered rather than labeled) to prevent ethylene gas buildup. The high-humidity drawer should be used to store vegetables, and the vent should be only slightly open (on a scale of two to three).
3. How to organize it for ease and safety.
Professional kitchens organize their refrigerators based on the temperature the foods need to be cooked to, with no-cook or prepared foods getting the top shelf and high-temperature foods, like chicken, sitting on bottom.
This strategy applies to home refrigerators as well: Ready-to-eat foods should be kept on upper shelves; meat and raw ingredients should be kept on the lower shelves, and possibly in a separate bin.
In addition, the door — the warmest part of the refrigerator — should be reserved exclusively for condiments, not eggs or milk. (It is too warm for them.)
This strategy applies to home refrigerators as well: Ready-to-eat foods should be kept on upper shelves; meat and raw ingredients should be kept on the lower shelves, and possibly in a separate bin.
In addition, the door — the warmest part of the refrigerator — should be reserved exclusively for condiments, not eggs or milk. (It is too warm for them.)
4. How to make sure it runs as efficiently as possible.
Is your refrigerator losing air, or does it appear to be churning harder than it needs to? The following habits can help maintain and extend the life of your fridge: Check that the door seal isn't weak and releasing cold air; make sure all food is covered and cooled before it goes in, so the fridge doesn't have to work overtime to remove excess heat and moisture; and vacuum the condenser coils periodically to free up the fridge to work at its full capacity again.
5. How to clean it.
Finally, it is vital to know how to properly clean the fridge. If you are really on top of things like some people, you will clean out and reorganize your fridge every two weeks, but whenever you do get around to it, you will feel good knowing you have done a thorough job of it.
- Wash those parts with a sponge or soft cloth in a sink of clean, soapy water. It may be unwieldy to wash the drawers in your sink, so you can do this in the bathtub if you wish. Rinse and set aside to air dry.
- Spray every part of the inside of the fridge with a multipurpose cleaner. Wipe down.
- Use a non-abrasive sponge to remove sticky, caked-on spills, and an old toothbrush for getting into crevices.
- Make sure to wipe down the walls, shelves, shelf seams, and the rubber door seal.
- Replace all the shelves and drawers you took out. If you've unplugged your fridge, now is the time to plug it back in!