— Deborah Goodman

So, um, you know, I'll, I'll take this, uh, uh, I think with a couple of different, uh, uh, approaches. And, and the first one is, uh, the, the drawers. Um, uh, well, let me actually, let me, let me back up and start with something even more basic. And that is the refrigerator as a big box, okay? Uh, fundamentally extracts moisture, uh, from the environment. And so this is why, you know, we will see, um, uh, high moisture items like a bell pepper, for example, uh, will start to develop wrinkles on its skin after just a day, uh, in the refrigerator. And, and this is because the refrigerator is extracting the moisture and dehydrating, uh, the foods, okay? And so the, the drawers, uh, can be used to add some protection, uh, to the foods and, and to, uh, control the humidity. All right? And, um, you know, when it comes to items that have thin skin, and, uh, you know, I think about celery, um, you know, uh, you know, English cucumbers come to mind, you know, these, uh, can benefit from a drawer with a high humidity setting. And sometimes there's a drawer that's dedicated, uh, to high humidity, which means it's, uh, it's sealed, um, or has very little ventilation. Sometimes there's gonna be some sort of an adjustment, um, flap, um, that will open and close, uh, uh, ventilation holes. And if you close those up, it becomes a high humidity setting. And, um, you can slow down the dehydration, uh, of some of these items. And, and, you know, bell peppers could be a part of that, um, uh, a a as well. Um, now there are, you know, other things, uh, uh, that can go in a, in a low humidity setting. Um, uh, you know, if, if you were to, um, uh, you know, open, open the, uh, the, uh, the ventilation, uh, holes or flap, uh, maybe it's peaches, maybe it's apricots, um, uh, you know, things that are allowed to breathe a little bit more, uh, some trial and error, of course, is gonna be, uh, necessary for this. Uh, another thing to consider is, um, you know, many fruits, you know, like apples and, and, and, uh, peaches and, and apricots and melons, uh, bananas, um, emit, uh, a gas called ethylene. And ethylene, um, uh, is a, is a hormone that, uh, hastens ripening. And, you know, I think the first thing to, to mention here is, uh, uh, to avoid the placement of, uh, these high ethylene admitting, uh, items. Usually, you know, fruits, um, is examples of which I just mentioned. Uh, next to items that are, um, sensitive, uh, to ethylene. And generally speaking, uh, food items that are sensitive to ethylene are, are green colored, uh, vegetables. And so any of those, so chlorophyll, you know, is, is, is gonna be, uh, a part of that story. But any of your leafy greens, uh, your herbs, uh, are, are gonna be more sensitive. Uh, and what happens is that, um, their, their, their ripening or maturation is hasten and, uh, they can rot faster, okay? So it shortens their shelf life if they're placed in, uh, close proximity with these, um, high ethylene emitters. Okay? Now, uh, at least in my kitchen, you know, the typical high ethylene emitting fruits, um, avocados and bananas and apples, uh, and melons, for example, are, are kept outside of the refrigerator, typically, um, which is a good thing. So they can just air out and, and not disrupt things around them. But, but do keep that in mind if you happen to store these things in the refrigerator. Okay? Um, now, you know, another thing to, uh, to consider is, um, how we might wrap, uh, or, uh, further protect the items that go into the refrigerator. And, uh, you know, when it comes to, um, uh, herbs, you know, a a a head of, uh, of a bunch of celery comes to mind, you know, even bell peppers, that will dry out pretty quickly. You know, I like to protect these things with a kitchen towel. And, um, you know, I usually use a damp towel, okay? Uh, in order to, number one, uh, uh, uh, protect the product from, uh, the moisture that's being drawn out by the refrigerator box right itself. And then at the same time, to, uh, introduce a little bit of moisture up close to that product. Okay? Now, you can use paper or cloth towels. Cloth towels will typically hold moisture for longer. Um, so do consider that. Um, I find that, uh, you know, in particular, herbs, um, that are more delicate, um, can benefit from this sort of protection when it comes to, uh, the most, uh, delicate herbs, uh, you know, cilantro comes to mind. And, uh, you know, one, uh, way to store those is upright in a small amount of water, just like you would a, a bouquet of flowers. And so, that's one thing to consider. Um, now, you know, other things to keep in mind here, uh, are gonna be purchasing, which is the step one, right? In this big story. Uh, think about how much you purchase, uh, relative to the frequency of purchases, okay? Um, you know, certainly if we buy a lot of product at once and we shop, uh, less frequently, then, uh, the product is gonna have more opportunity to lose quality in the refrigerator, okay? And so, if you're able to adjust your purchase purchasing cycle, uh, that, uh, also fits into this question of, of how we use the refrigerator. Okay? Now, otherwise, uh, keep in mind, uh, that in the refrigerator, your spaces farthest back away from the door are gonna be the coldest. And so, items that would benefit from, uh, the coldest temperatures, um, you know, uh, should be stored toward the back of the refrigerator, uh, items that, um, uh, might be eaten quickest, uh, or are, um, uh, you know, maybe a little bit, uh, uh, more flexible in terms of, you know, their durability, uh, can come out toward the front, uh, items that are highly perishable, um, you know, should go toward the back, or it's gonna be coldest, uh, in the refrigerator. Uh, the refrigerator door, uh, is one of the warmer places in the refrigerator, because each time you open the refrigerator door, uh, space on the door itself is gonna make, uh, some contact with the ambient, warmer ambient air, uh, outside the refrigerator. And so, uh, the, the shelf life of perishable goods tends to be shorter. Uh, this is why, uh, condiments, uh, many of which are high in, uh, vinegars and, and sugars and salts, which are natural preservatives, uh, do well in the, uh, the kitchen door. Okay? And so those are things to consider. I mean, otherwise, you know, organize the refrigerator so that, uh, you can see things that you can reach things, uh, conveniently and that you're apt to, uh, you know, use things effectively, uh, in terms of their, their life cycle. Um, there is an approach, uh, to, uh, kitchen, uh, you know, food inventory, uh, organization and usage called fif, O F I F O. And that's an acronym for first in first out, uh, because food is perishable, uh, it is typically best, uh, to consume the products that we purchased first. So that, hence the first in, uh, item is gonna be the first out item. So, keep the, keep fif o uh, in mind. In fact, my next dog is gonna be named Fiff O.