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A woman stands in front of an open fridge, scratching her head

What belongs where

How to organise your fridge correctly

What’s the right place in your fridge for butter? Where do eggs, meat and vegetables go? We reveal what food belongs where in your fridge.

From
Rüdi Steiner
Date
Format
Tip

Your fridge isn’t at the same temperature throughout. That’s why it’s important that you store your food in the right places.

The door is the warmest area, and the top shelf isn’t all that cold either, at 6 or 7 degrees. That’s why you should store food here that doesn’t need to be kept quite so chilled, like drinks, eggs, butter, cheese, jam, mustard, ketchup, opened jars and leftovers. Where you store what (door, top shelf) is up to you. Generally, people put bottles, eggs and butter in the door because there’s a good amount of room for them there.

The middle shelf should be around 5 degrees. This is the spot for dairy products: yoghurt, quark, cheese, cream and fresh milk. Fresh milk, in particular, lasts longer here than in the warmer door.

The glass shelf above the fruit and vegetable drawer is the coolest, at 2 to 3 degrees. This is the place for products that will go off quickly, especially meat, fish and sausages.

The drawer(s) under the glass shelf are for fruit and vegetables. They’ll stay fresh for longest in this part.

Five tips to keep food fresh for longer in your fridge

  • Don’t overfill your fridge. Or it will not work as efficiently.

  • Use storage boxes for the likes of cheese, sausage and leftovers.

  • Firmly seal open tins. You can buy specific silicone lids for this from Migros.

  • Only put your leftovers in the fridge once they’ve cooled down. This helps to prevent condensation.

  • Keep your fridge as dry as possible. Only leave the door open briefly and keep foods with a high water content covered.