Tag Archives: crisper drawers

The Most Dangerous Place in Your Fridge

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The purpose of a refrigerator is to keep your food cold and safe. But without proper maintenance and cleaning, the fridge can actually become a very dangerous place. So, what part of your fridge is the most dangerous? The answer is the salad drawer, and it isn’t even close.

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The Problem
Bacteria growth in salad drawers is substantially greater than the rest of the fridge. A study done in the UK found some startling results about the severity of this problem. “Tests from 30 different salad drawers found a startling number of bacteria, with an average of 7,850 bacteria colony-forming units per square centimetre (cfu/cm2). In some cases, it found 129,000 bacteria per cfu/cm2,” researchers said. 

This can be linked to a series of factors, but one is more glaring than the others. Salad drawers are often left uncleaned! When you remove food from your fridge for a cleaning, make sure you remember to remove your salad drawer and clean it separately. The moisture that the salad needs to stay fresh is also providing drinking water for harmful bacterium. It might be a good idea to clean your salad drawer more frequently than the rest of your fridge.

The Solution
If you are a frequent salad eater, you might want to keep reading. This clever little trick will help keep your salad drawer safe and bacteria-free.

  1. Wash down your salad leaves in a clean sink.
  2. Once you are satisfied with the wash, place the leaves in a salad spinner and let them dry.
  3. Take a kitchen towel and line the bottom and sides of your salad drawer with it. Then, take the leaves from your salad spinner and place them on top of the towel in your drawer.
  4. Lastly, place a paper towel on top of your salad to remove any excess moisture.
  5. Enjoy your fresh, clean and crisp salad!

Storing your salad this way not only makes it taste better, but it is cleaner too. You have to change out your leaves once a week, so bacteria will never have a chance to grow!

If you run into any problems with a salad drawer, or anything in your refrigerator, the experts at Speedy Refrigerator Service are just a phone call away. We offer 24/7 service to Long Island and New York City, so call us any time at 866-782-9376.

The Definitive Guide to Crisper Drawers

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Nearly every new refrigerator comes equipped with crisper drawers, but are you using them to their full potential? In this article the experts at Speedy Refrigerator Service break down everything you need to know about the mysterious crisper drawers…

What is a crisper drawer, and how does it work?

The crisper drawer is a small section inside of your fridge that offers a humidity-controlled environment for fresh produce. Most refrigerators come with two drawers, each with a fully-adjustable humidity slider. You can use these to set the humidity level anywhere from “low” to “high”, or in some cases, “fruit” to “vegetable”.

The science behind crisper drawers is relatively simple. They have a small hole in them that allows moisture and ethylene gas (which will be explained later) to escape. By adjusting the slider, you are simply revealing or obstructing this hole, thereby controlling the humidity level.

What should I store in my crisper drawers?

It’s no coincidence that most refrigerators come with two drawers – one for your fruits, and one for your vegetables. As most fruits ripen, they emit ethylene gas. On the other hand, vegetables are sensitive to this gas, and it can cause them to spoil prematurely. If you want to maximize the shelf life of your produce, you should keep them separated for this exact reason.

Unfortunately, there are a few tricky exceptions to the fruit and vegetable rule. Use this list as a guide for storing your produce:

High-Humidity (Vegetable) Drawer

  • Most vegetables

  • Watermelon

  • Strawberries

  • Unripe bananas

Low-Humidity (Fruit) Drawer

  • Most fruits

  • Avocados

  • Tomatoes

  • Ripe bananas

To learn more about the humidity drawers in your refrigerator, check out this article from The Kitchn.

If you run into any problems with your crisper drawers – or anything else in your fridge – the experts at Speedy Refrigerator Service are just a phone call away. We offer 24/7 service to Long Island and New York City, so call us any time at 866-782-9376.