How To Organize Your Fridge Like A Professional Chef

No one knows the value of a well-organized fridge better than a professional chef. The busy nature of a chef's job requires quick and efficient access to ingredients that are guaranteed fresh and safe. To organize your fridge like a professional chef, you first need to understand the different areas of the fridge — their intended purpose and How the differing temperatures can affect your food. Storing food in the correct areas is essential to ensure there is no cross-contamination and that food remains unspoiled. More than this, fridge organization is about maximizing efficiency by creating systems that make meal prep quicker and easier.

To help us, we have spoken to Shawn Matijevich, lead chef-instructor of Online Culinary Arts & Food Operations at the Institute of Culinary Education, and Bernard Janssen, executive chef and culinary program manager for ZWILLING J.A. Henckels, who share their professional tips to help you create a safe, functional, and organized space within your refrigerator. Matijevich summarizes the importance of optimal fridge organization by explaining, "Your refrigerator is a mini ecosystem with varying humidity levels, temperature zones, and airflow. Different food products require different conditions to store optimally for freshness." In this article, we look at the importance of keeping raw meats on the bottom shelf and your leafy greens in the crisper drawer, helpful storage solutions, tips on ensuring your fridge is at the right temperature, and the best way to clean it.

The most important step in organizing your fridge is categorizing your food by type so that you can place it within the correct fridge area.

There are broadly eight areas:

• Dairy and dairy alternatives: milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, and plant-based milk like almond, soy, and oat.
• Fruit: Some fruits are best stored outside the fridge; these include bananas, avocados, pears, tomatoes, mangoes, and melons, while others benefit from being kept cold and fresh like berries, grapes, apples, stone fruits, lemons, and limes. Some fruits, like pineapples, are better stored inside the fridge when cut.
• Vegetables: Certain vegetables are best stored in the fridge to keep them fresh for longer, but as with fruit, some fare better outside the refrigerator, these include potatoes, onions, corn, and eggplant. It's also a good idea to leave unripe vegetables out for them to ripen, like peppers and cucumbers. Vegetables that should be placed inside the fridge include leafy greens, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, bell peppers, zucchini, green beans, and asparagus.
• Meat, poultry, fish, and plant proteins: You should store chicken, beef, pork, fish, sausages, deli meats, and tofu inside the fridge if you are planning to use them within the next one to two days. Any longer than that and you should store them in the freezer.
• Eggs: Raw eggs in their shell can be stored in a fridge for up to five weeks. Eggs should always be stored in their original carton. Boiled eggs in their shell will last a week, while peeled boiled eggs should be eaten on the same day.
• Prepared foods and leftovers: Food like soups, stews, pies, and leftovers should be stored in airtight containers inside the fridge. 
• Condiments and sauces: ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.
• Drinks: juice, soda, etc. 

Professional chefs organize their food from top to bottom; a method that considers the risk of cross-contamination between uncooked and cooked foods and the differing temperature zones within a fridge. The varying temperatures greatly affect the freshness and safety of your food. Understanding these zones helps you store food safely and extend its shelf life. 

The top shelf is the warmest zone within the main fridge area, the middle shelves are of moderate temperature, and the bottom is the coldest zone. The drawers below the bottom shelf are known as crisper drawers. They are designed to control humidity and keep your vegetables fresh and, well, crispy. The fridge door is the warmest part of the fridge. Note that temperature zones also vary within the shelf; the back of the fridge is the coldest, so don't place items that are susceptible to freezing there like fruit and dairy. Chef Bernard follows "a top-to-bottom system based on food safety. Ready-to-eat foods like leftovers, dairy, and herbs go on the top shelves, while raw meats and fish are stored at the bottom to prevent any risk of cross-contamination from drips. Vegetables should be in their designated drawers, which help control humidity and keep them fresher longer."

Placement of food within a fridge should consider the temperature zones, Chef Bernard says, "Organizing a fridge properly isn't just about neatness; it affects how long your food stays fresh and safe. I always group foods based on their storage needs and food safety. Raw meats should be kept separate from ready-to-eat foods, dairy should have its own section, and delicate produce should be stored where it can't be crushed by anything heavy. Keeping organized makes it easier to find what you need, so there is no forgetting and wasting ingredients.

"When placing food within the fridge, it's important to stock your food items considering the temperature zones: the top shelf should be used for leftovers, ready-to-eat meats, and prepared meals, and the middle shelf for dairy items, cooked meats, and eggs. The most important rule is to reserve the bottom shelf for raw meats. Not only is this the coldest part of the fridge, which means the meat is less likely to spoil, but it is also the safest place to ensure that raw meat juices don't come into contact with fresh and ready-to-eat foods. However, the crisper drawer still sits below the raw meat shelf; for this reason, it's essential to store all raw meat within sealed containers as an additional barrier to cross-contamination. Because the door is the warmest part of the fridge, this is the best location for less perishable items like drinks and condiments. When organizing your fridge, use all the space — you can adjust shelves or purchase stackable containers to maximize the vertical space.

To ensure the food is safe to eat and stays fresh for as long as possible, professional chefs have perfected the best way of prepping and storing different foods. Lettuce and precut greens should be removed from their bags and placed in sealed containers with a paper towel underneath. Big heads of greens that are too large to fit into a container can be wrapped in paper towels. Similarly, fruits like berries should also be removed from packaging and placed in an airtight container with a sheet of paper towel on the bottom. For asparagus, remove the bottoms and place them in water in a sealed container. Herbs can be stored with the stems in a glass of water as you would for cut flowers. 

Alternatively, you can wrap them in a damp paper towel and store them in a plastic bag or sealed container. Eggs should be kept in their cartons, which are specially designed to keep odors and flavors from penetrating them. Cheese should be wrapped in wax paper or stored in an airtight container so it doesn't dry out or pick up odors or tastes from other products in the fridge. Canned foods should be removed from the can and stored in a container. Leftovers should be placed in a sealed container and refrigerated immediately — they must be thrown out after four days.

Nothing is more important in a fridge than the correct storage of raw meat, fish, and poultry. It is imperative to ensure that these food items are stored in the correct place, in a sealed container — a closed container ensures there is no leakage, which could cause cross-contamination with other food items in the fridge. Chef Bernard tells us that "raw meat and fish should always be stored on the lowest shelf in a sealed container or tray to catch any leaks." To prepare it for storage in the fridge, he says to "keep it in the sealed packaging ... until you're ready to use it, but if it's in butcher paper, I'd recommend transferring it to an airtight container. For fish, you could place it on a plate of ice in the fridge — this will keep it colder and fresher for longer, just like at a fish market."

Chef Shawn advises to unwrap larger cuts of meat like chicken and roasts, which last longer when stored in an oxygen-rich environment rather than a low-oxygen environment. He says that spoilage bacteria love low oxygen, so a wrapped chicken will only last about three to four days in the wrapper but more than a week if on a rack allowing air to circulate.

Professional chefs operate a first in, first out (FIFO) system of labeling and rotating food to ensure the oldest items are always at the front while newer items sit at the back. We asked Chef Bernard about FIFO, and he said, "FIFO is key in any kitchen. In my fridge, anything new goes behind older items, so the older food gets used first. If I'm prepping something in advance, like a batch of soup or marinated meat, I label it with the date so I know when it was made. Even for home use, a simple piece of removable tape and a marker can make a big difference in keeping track of freshness."

The FIFO system is a great way to ensure you always eat the freshest food first, particularly when storing leftovers or prepared meals. It doesn't need to be overly complicated. Chef Bernard tells us that at home he often uses a piece of removable tape and a marker — place the tape on the storage container and mark it with the date for a simple but effective way of labeling food. Alternatively, old deli or take-out containers will work just as well.

A fridge is designed to ensure your food is safe to eat, but you need to adhere to some basic rules to keep the fridge functioning as it is designed to. Your fridge should always sit at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below and the freezer temperature should be 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below. The best way to ensure the temperature is correct is to use a fridge thermometer. Simply place it in the warmest part of the fridge (the door) and check it to ensure it's below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Don't overcrowd items within the fridge — a crammed fridge reduces its cooling efficiency, causing uneven temperature distribution, which can cause items to overcool, freeze, or get too warm, leading to spoiling. Chef Shawn tells us that "good airflow is really important in your refrigerator. Even though it's called a refrigerator, it isn't designed to cool your food down. It's designed to keep already-cold food cold." With this in mind, it's important to get your food into the freezer as soon as possible — ideally within two hours. You can place food directly into the fridge even if it is hot, or if you want, you can chill it in an ice bath. Aim to get your food in the fridge within one hour if it's very hot outside. Incidentally, when thawing food, never leave it on a countertop — always thaw in the fridge overnight or, if you are short on time, in the microwave.

Regular cleaning is vital to maintain a safe and hygienic environment. On a daily basis, you should make sure that any spills are immediately wiped down with hot, soapy water to prevent bacteria growth. To prevent odors, you can place an open box of baking soda on a shelf, which will soak up unpleasant smells. Once a week, check your food items and throw out anything that has expired — with a particular focus on leftovers. The storage times for leftovers are up to four days and no longer than two for raw meat. Check bottles and condiments for expiry dates.

Every quarter, do a full fridge clean. Remove all food items and store them in a cool box. Then, clean the entire fridge, including the shelves and door, with hot, soapy water before drying and replacing the food. Don't use solvents or abrasive cleaning agents, which can damage the fridge. Don't forget to clean your ice/drinks dispenser if you have one.