How to store food in the refrigerator: on which shelves and in what containers

The variety of products on the shelves of the store does not leave anyone indifferent. Stocking up whole carts with provisions, we don’t always think about how long it will take another yogurt or banana to lie at home. What is not eaten, expired or lost, goes straight to the trash can, along with the money spent on it. To avoid such losses, you need to know how to store food in the refrigerator with maximum benefit.

We operate the refrigerator correctly

There are some rules for storing food in the refrigerator, most of which are spelled out directly in the booklet-appendix to this household appliance:

• do not put hot in the refrigerator;
• close the door tightly to avoid temperature loss and overheating of the refrigerator;
• if you have a refrigerator with a no frost system, you also need to defrost it completely (along with a freezer) at least once a year;
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• notched watermelon, milk and other products that create condensation when cooled - cover with a lid or cling film;
• audit products weekly, discarding expired, rotten and sour;
• after the audit, wipe the refrigerator with a soapy cloth to destroy odors and harmful bacteria.

How to store products

Proper storage of products in the refrigerator also involves a separate package, due to which:

• odors of different products will not mix and absorb;
• the top layer of food will not wind off and its appearance will remain initially beautiful;
• the freshness of the dishes will last longer.

As soon as you bring your purchases home and take them apart, you need to get rid of plastic bags - they are intended only for transportation. Special food bags can be used to store fruits and vegetables. The remaining products are transferred to a new package.

But packaging must be able to choose. You can store products in special food containers: cheese, salads, butter, fresh berries; in such plastic boxes it is good to freeze vegetables and fruits. Their ergonomic shape allows you to put on the shelves a lot of different products, they are easy to clean and conveniently fold into each other if they are not needed now.

You can still store food in a glass bowl. This storage option is suitable for almost everything, but it is simply necessary for dairy products: milk, kefir, yoghurts immediately after opening should be poured into a glass jar or bottle. Washed and dried fresh greens will remain longer in a jar.

Glass trays are useful for:

• butter;
• cottage cheese;
• open canned food (the can is oxidized, therefore canned food needs to be shifted after opening);
• ready meals.

Ordinary glass plates in a home refrigerator are not very convenient - their round shape does not allow rational use the space on the shelves of the refrigerator, therefore, in the original packaging in which the product was purchased, they can stored:

• the eggs. We leave it in the purchased tray, because in the refrigerator door they constantly experience a temperature difference when opening and closing and this spoils;
• sour cream up to 2 days. If during this period you have not eaten it, then the plastic cup will begin to “share” your chemicals with sour cream;
• vegetable oil. Refined oil is stored in the refrigerator, and unrefined in its original container is best stored in a dark place.

Product storage periods

Not all products have packaging that indicates the shelf life. Therefore, this information must be known in advance in order to properly plan your purchases and stocks. Storage rates for even similar products vary, for example, sauces: mayonnaise (due to fat content) can be stored for a month without fear, but an open ketchup will begin to release toxins in a week.

How much can you store food directly in the refrigerator:

• raw meat - up to five days;
• fish - up to two days;
• minced meat - 1-2 days;
• sausage, ham - a week;
• boiled meat - 4 days;
• eggs - a week;
• hard cheese - 21 days (if a white coating appears - it is cut off);
• butter - a month;
• milk, condensed milk - 5 days;
• fruits and vegetables - up to 3 weeks;
• berries - up to 3 days;
• greens - 1-2 days.

Most of the products can be frozen, and this significantly increases the shelf life. Inshell eggs do not freeze, and separately proteins and yolks can be frozen for a year. Also, condensed milk does not freeze, but pastry rolls, pies after the freezer taste like freshly baked! Watery fruits and vegetables (watermelon, potatoes, radishes, etc.) and dairy products do not freeze.

Refrigerator temperature

The shelf life of products in the refrigerator depends on the temperature maintained in it. Each factory packaging contains storage conditions, including recommended degrees above or below zero. To clarify at what temperature the food retains its useful trace elements and freshness, the table will help:

Product	Recommended temperature
A fish	0 ° C
Milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc.	+ 1 ° С
Meat	+ 1 ° С
Eggs	+ 1 ° С
Heat-treated finished meals	+ 2 ° С
Bread and pastry	+ 3 ° С
Vegetables and fruits	+ 4 ° С

Given the diet your family is used to, the temperature for storing food in the refrigerator should range from + 2 ° C to + 4 ° C. In the freezer, the temperature is also different, in each drawer it increases, which affects food safety in different ways:

• at -10 ° С (the “warmest” box) they freeze bread, fruits and vegetables, butter, seafood;
• -15 ° С - the optimum temperature for semi-finished products - dumplings, dumplings will not change their taste, and the dough will not freeze;
• the coldest box (from -17 ° C) is designed to store meat products, solid crystals do not destroy the texture of meat fibers.

How to store food in the door and on the shelves of the refrigerator (diagram):

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We distribute on shelves

Each shelf, like a separate kingdom, has its own temperature and is intended for a certain list of edibles. Knowing how to properly place food in the refrigerator on the shelves, you save space, electricity (the more clogged a refrigerator, the more it consumes electricity) and its own funds, because spoiled and discarded food will become less.

The shelf next to the freezer is the coldest, especially under the wall of the refrigerator. It is better to store perishable products here: dairy, confectionery with cream, sliced ​​sausages, boiled pork and cheese.

The same shelf ensures proper storage of products in the refrigerator: raw meat and fish, only if you cook them within 24 hours. By putting a piece of meat close to the back wall under the freezer, you will get rid of the need to freeze it for one day.

How to place food in the refrigerator on the middle and lower shelves: ready-made soups, cereals, stews and stews can be put here directly in pots, preferably not aluminum. Also in the center can be equipped with a special shelf for wines.

In the drawers, at the very bottom, we store vegetables. We sort them by special packages, because some vegetables release substances that affect the safety of neighbors. Now there are special rugs for the container with vegetables, you can put vegetables on them without bags.

As for the door, here the temperature is constantly changing - when the refrigerator is open, the products located in the door are at room temperature. When the refrigerator is closed for a long time, the temperature in the entire refrigerator cabinet is equalized. Therefore, the rules for storing food in the refrigerator say: in the door we store sauces, marinades, vegetable oils, under a special cover we hide from other smells butter, juices in tetrapacks and open canned food.

A refrigerator is not a panacea for all food; there are products that cannot be stored in it or they simply do not need cold. For example, preserves, pickles and canned goods will also survive perfectly in a cupboard at ordinary temperature. Chocolate and sweets, even putting in the refrigerator door, you get out with a white coating.

What foods cannot be stored in the refrigerator, because they deteriorate there faster:

• thermophilic tropical fruits;
• "Our fruits" - apple, grape, pear;
• persimmon and pomegranate;
• potatoes;
• garlic and onions;
• tomatoes and squash;
• pumpkin;
• bread (it is better to freeze);
• olive oil;
• honey;
• spicy sauces.

Having figured out the terms and rules of storage of products, it’s good to also gain skills in organizing the space inside the refrigerator. A large number of pots, cans and plates of each can enter into a stupor. Do not disappear to such delicious salads! On the video, master virtuosos in the organization of space talk about how to correctly and compactly put products in the refrigerator and what tricks to use in the process.