Salad leaves and ice pops are out after all and root vegetables and roast lamb (or nut roasts) and in. It’s time for change and with that comes the job of the fridge organisation of your Liebherr appliance.
Here we to guide you through it. What food goes where, how to keep everything fresher for longer and bad fridge habits to ditch – that kind of thing.
Life is busy. Why bother to organise your fridge?
Aside from being able to access items more quickly and make room for the weekly shop, storing food correctly will help you minimise food wastage. UK households waste 7 million tonnes of it every year, 5 million of which is still edible at the point of hitting the bin, according to WRAP. Being able to see what’s in your fridge will also keep your shopping bill down.
What food goes where?
It’s time you gave the contents of your fridge a good sort out. But did you know there’s a special place in there for everything from raw food to ready to eat snacks, and a place where you shouldn’t be keeping fresh vegetables? Let’s take a look…
Upper shelves
Foods that don’t need cooking, such as deli meats and leftovers go here. The ready to eat bites you can grab easily also sit here. All Liebherr appliances have fully extendable glass shelves so you can adjust height even when loaded with Tupperware.
Lower/ middle shelves
Dairy products such as milk, cheeses and go here. But butter doesn’t belong in the fridge.
Bottom shelf
The coldest part of your fridge, and where to keep (wrapped up) raw meat and fish. Storing raw food on the bottom shelf also minimises the risk of juices leaking onto foods lower down. 
Door shelves
The warmest area of the fridge and most susceptible to temperature fluctuations. Store foods that have natural preservatives here, such as condiments, jams and juice. Not the best place for milk FYI, it will go off quicker here.
Drawers or crispers
Vegetables, salads and fruit should be stored in the salad drawer (hence the name). This is also a good place to store herbs, as they don’t freeze at the back of the fridge. Liebherr’s BioFresh and HydroBreeze technology will keep veg fresh for so many days.
What should go in your fridge and what should stay out?
There is no point in having a super swish Liebherr fridge if you don’t make the most of the inside space. Life can be confusing: does ketchup go in the fridge? Eggs, in or out? For some everyday food items the fridge is not the best home and can make them go off quicker.
- The Food Standards Agency recommends storing eggs in the fridge, as the risk of salmonella is increased by changes in temperature. Pickles, chutney and mustard tend to contain less sugar than most preserves, so they’re also best kept in the fridge once open. As for salad dressing, ketchup and mayonnaise… fridge every time.
- A loaf of bread will go stale faster in an airless fridge than in a bread bin, according to the Good Housekeeping Institute. Butter goes for longer out of the fridge, even though it is a dairy product, and keeping tomatoes cold will ruin their taste. Fancy that.
- Certain fruits and veg such as avocados, bananas, peaches, pears and plums are known to be ‘gas releasers’ and can make other vegetables spoil prematurely. So keep those gassy fellas out! This frees up more space for fridge-friendly products to thrive.
Five top tips to get the most out of your fridge
Now you know what to put in your fridge and what to leave out, here are some hacks on how to keep things in order and most importantly keep your food fresher for longer!
TIP 1: Cold turkey
More than half of the UK (54%) defrost meat and fish at room temperature. But doing this can cause bacteria to grow as the food gets warmer, so always defrost in the fridge.
TIP 2: Common scents
We’re all guilty of checking whether meat is off by giving it the sniff test. But the bacteria that causes food poisoning doesn’t have an aroma. Raw meat and fish should be sealed.
TIP 3: Warm up
Thawing your fridge regularly is also recommended to avoid a build-up of ice, but Liebherr fridges have built in NoFrost technology, which means no more defrosting. Hurray!
TIP 4: All front
When storing fresh foods, such as salads and herbs, keep them away from the back of the fridge — the temperature at the very back is colder and these foods are likely to freeze.
TIP 5: Say cheese
Butter and soft cheeses don’t need to be in the coldest part of the fridge — so while it is a good idea to store dairy on the middle shelf, the door shelves for softer dairy is okay.
Finally…!
We are biased but Liebherr fridges are outstanding appliances and come in a range of sizes, with plenty of room for storage and long-lasting freshness, thanks to the BioFresh technology.
Liebherr’s spacious fruit and vegetable compartments are particularly practical for storing larger items like cauliflowers and the height-adjustable and scratch-resistant GlassLine shelves are super easy to adjust and clean. The new LightTower concept means once your fridge is nice and tidy the contents will get the full Hollywood lighting treatment with everything you need to see illuminated. And all Liebherr fridges are super-efficient energy-wise.