5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Refrigerator’s Crisper Drawer

5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Refrigerator’s Crisper Drawer

The crisper drawer in your refrigerator can at times become a catch-all for every food item without a home. It’s the place where anything that doesn’t seem to have a dedicated spot somewhere else in the fridge usually ends up. The little drawers seem to be a very convenient tool for catching stray things like cheese, yogurt, and even a few extra packs of butter. In your mind, you know that these handy little spots have a specific purpose, but we often forget what it is for.

Even those who understand that it is designed to preserve their produce find that it is not always working as it should. Check these 5 tips out to make the most out of your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.

  • The Purpose

The purpose of the crisper drawer is to provide an area that is sealed off for refrigerated items that require a lower humidity than everything else. Your refrigerator might have several of these drawers, each with their own humidity level. The trick is to know what kind of foods will be best served in this unique environment.

  • Know What to Put Where

While you can store just about anything in your crisper drawer, they are usually dedicated for the storage of fresh produce or meats. This is very important if you purchase a lot of these items every day. If you find that your fresh fruit and vegetables seem to go bad very quickly, it may be the time to make better use of these drawers. While most foods need to be refrigerated, they are not all the same. In order for some produce to last longer, it may have very different needs. It pays to keep a general rule in mind. Rot, low; wilt high.

  • Low Humidity Foods

Produce that tends to go bad quickly should be stored in a low humidity drawer. That means anything that will rot as it ages should be kept in these drawers. This is because these types of foods tend to emit gases and these drawers have vents in the back that allows the gases to escape, so everything stays fresher long. Consider putting foods like avocados, apples, grapes, peaches, pears, etc.

  • High Humidity

Foods that are not likely to release much gas as they age will last longer in a high humidity environment. These foods are more likely to lose moisture and will gradually wilt as they age. Keeping these to a higher humidity will help them to preserve much of their moisture so they will remain crisp. These are often green, leafy vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, and strawberries.

  • Know How to Adjust the Humidity Level

Learning how to adjust the humidity level should be very simple. There is a little vent located in the very back of the drawers that can be opened and closed as needed. Closing it seals the drawer shut. To lower the humidity, the vent opens wider allowing more moisture to escape.

If after all of these things, you still find that much of your produce seems to be melting away, it could be the result of something else wrong with your fridge. You may need to get a refrigerator repair in SF, so call us here at Absolute Appliances Repair so we can help you to get to the root of the problem.