Choosing the Right Refrigerator Shelves for Your Lifestyle

Your refrigerator goes beyond keeping food cold. Many models also make ice and water, help you keep track of inventory and more. Restaurant professionals use the mantra, “first in, first out,” when storing foods on refrigerator shelves. This helps cut down on waste. Reserve the door shelf for eggs, drinks, and prepared foods and condiments that don’t need extra chilly temperatures.

Top Shelf

A refrigerator shelf is a rigid, glass-topped platform that supports food jars, bottles, and other containers. Some shelves are adjustable to accommodate different-sized items. Most refrigerator shelves, for example, such as the ones from Samsung Parts, are made of tempered glass, which has been heated to make it more robust than standard glass and less likely to break. Restaurant professionals often store leftovers, pies, and other ready-to-eat foods on the top shelf. Storing these high up keeps them from being accidentally contaminated by drippy meat juices or other fridge contents that can spoil food more quickly. The middle refrigerator shelf contains dairy products, such as milk, cheeses, and yogurt. The temperature in the middle of the fridge is more consistent and doesn’t fluctuate as much as in the bottom of the meat drawer, which makes it a good place for these dairy products to stay fresh longer.

Middle Shelf

This shelf is ideal for foods that require less temperature control than fruits, vegetables, or meats. Salad dressings, salsas, condiments, butter and margarine, pasteurized orange juice, and nut oils can all live here. Eggs can go here or on the top shelf if you run out of room. Restaurant professionals store sliced deli meats like turkey, roast beef, and bacon in this shallow drawer (sometimes called the crisper). This area is slightly colder than the rest of the fridge, though not as cool as the bottom. A refrigerator door bin holds drinks, salad dressings, and other food that can withstand the warmer temps of the fridge’s front. It’s also an excellent spot for condiments with natural preservatives that help them last longer than foods without.

Bottom Shelf

The bottom shelf and the meat drawer are the coldest parts of the refrigerator. Here you can store deli meats and cheeses which don’t require cooking. This is also an excellent place to keep foods with natural preservatives like salsa, mustard, and salad dressings. Raw meats should always be stored here wrapped and unopened to minimize the risk of dripping or falling on cooked foods and contaminating them. Families with six or more people require a lot of refrigerator storage space. Many fridge models come with large produce drawers and wide-gallon door bins to hold lots of fresh food. They may also have adjustable shelves to give you more flexibility in arranging your fridge contents. Glass shelves are often made of tempered glass, which is heat treated to make it stronger and less likely to break. They’re easy to clean and rigid enough to hold a heavy bowl of soup. They also resist compression better than untempered glass, which could fail in an earthquake.

Door Shelf

This manufacturer-approved refrigerator door bin, a fridge door rack bar retainer or fridge door shelf bin, holds items like jars and bottles in your fridge. It’s a white plastic part that snaps into place on your fridge’s door and will show physical damage if it breaks, so you can easily replace it. Since the door is the warmest area in your refrigerator, save this space for foods with natural preservatives, such as condiments and salsas. You can also store pasteurized orange juice and other drinks here. It’s a good idea to keep these food products up high so they don’t drip onto cooked foods and contaminate them with bacteria that could make you sick. Then, regularly go through this area to toss food that is getting old or you won’t use it. This will keep your pantry neat and clean. Also, consider using baskets sized for the door to organize your condiments and help you keep track of expiration dates.