Perfect the art of fridge storage as inflation rises.

By Hannah Forbes | First published: 31st October 2022

Do you know how to use your rented fridge in order to help preserve your food for longer? Or do you just throw your food and drink into the fridge where-ever you can find space? With food prices rising exponentially, you may want to re-think if that is the case. There is actually a space for everything inside your fridge, with special zones designed to lengthen the shelf life of your produce if used correctly. When you rent a fridge from Forbes, our installation engineers can help explain the different compartments of your fridge to you upon delivery.

• Why is it important to store food efficiently within your fridge?

  Fridge organisation matters. Food tastes better when it is fresh and correct refrigeration storage helps preserve the goodness, locking in vitamins and flavour for longer. Storing food correctly can help to keep you healthy by preventing bad bacteria from building up in your food. It is important to get it right. Good fridge storage also helps you save money on your weekly shop by keeping food fresher for longer.

• What fridge temperature does the FSA recommend?

  The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends that fridges should be kept between 3°C and 5°C. Most of the fridges that we have available for rent enable you to set and maintain the temperature to ensure that it is optimised.

• Modern technology can help you keep food fresh.

  Modern fridges include helpful technology to make it easier to keep your food fresher for longer. Alarms will be activated in some of our rental fridges if the door is left open or the temperature fluctuates beyond certain range. Ask our advisors how your rented refrigeration appliance can help you protect your food.

• How should you organise your food in your fridge?

  Different food types; meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables have different storage requirements. Whilst meat, fish and dairy products should be stored in areas with low humidity, vegetables and fruit need more humidity. That is why fridges are now designed with dedicated zones to preserve freshness for longer.

According to Bosch, the ideal usage of the different refrigeration zones is as follows:

• The upper shelf

  The upper shelf of your fridge is designed to store cooked foods, deli-meats, ready-to-eat meals, baked items and leftovers. The average temperature of the upper shelf of your fridge should be 5° – 8°.

• The middle shelf

  The middle shelf should be maintained at around 5°. This is the shelf that is best suited to storing dairy products. This is where you should keep your yoghurts, cheese, butter and milk. That is correct. Your milk should ideally be stored on the middle shelf of your fridge, not in the door as it requires a consistent temperature. Don’t forget that the flavour of your cheese will be enhanced if you take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before consumption.

• The lower shelf

  The temperature of the lower fridge shelf is close to zero. If your fridge doesn’t have a dedicated fresh food shelf this is where you should be storing your raw fish and meat. Provided that you keep everything in sealed containers to avoid cross contamination within the fridge, you could also store some of the middle shelf items here too.

• Humidity drawer

  Did you know that your fruit and vegetables continue to live after being harvested? This is why it is imperative that you store fresh produce currently in order to preserve nutrients and vitamins. The fridge drawer is specifically designed to maintain the humidity required to keep your fruit and vegetables fresh for longer. It also helps to keep them away from the cold back of the fridge, where they can end up getting frozen.

• Fresh food drawer

  Some fridges include a fresh food drawer. This is located below the fruit and vegetable drawer and is the coldest part of the fridge. If you have two drawers, one above each other, use one for fresh meat and vegetables. This will also help to avoid any cross contamination by storing it higher in the fridge.

• Fridge door

  Whilst many people store their milk in the fridge door, this should ideally be stored in the middle shelf. If your fridge cannot accommodate it there you should store it towards the hinged side of the door in order to achieve the greatest consistency of temperature possible. Your butter and spread can be stored in the top sections of the door and ideally you should use the remaining door storage for condiments, sauces, conserves and juices.

One of our most popular fridges are our Bosch KGN34NWEAG fridge-freezers. If you are looking to rent a fridge-freezer, this model enables generous and flexible storage space within the fridge as well as including a freezer compartment. It also includes an alarm for when the door is open or for any malfunction.

Should you have any questions about how to optimise fridge storage, or which fridges offer flexible storage configuration, our advisors would happily guide you through the options available.