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HOME tne guid

the guide HOME

what goes where (and why) Like real estate, cold storage is all about location. Shelf or drawer? High or low? Follow this expert fridge-packing plan to keep contents fresh.

WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PRODUCE Mixing fruits and vegetables in the same drawer is a no-no. Many fruits (like apples and pears) emit ethylene, a gas

that can cause wilting in lettuce and premature ripening in certain vegetables (like carrots and cucumbers). For a list of foods that should never hang out together, visit realsimple. com/fridge.

EGGS do best where the temper-ature is most consistent—on the middle shelf. Store in the original cartons (don't transfer to the fridge egg container).

2. MILK tends to land on the top shelf, but it should be on the bottom, all the way in back, where it's coldest.

3. YOGURT, SOUR CREAM, AND COTTAGE CHEESE fare best on the bot-tom shelf for the same reason. Stack items on a turntable to keep everything accessible and expira-tion dates visible.

4. PACKAGED RAW MEAT should go on the super-cold bottom shelf. And if juices drip, they won't contam-inate the whole fridge.

5. VEGETABLES stay fresh longer with a bit of humidity. The drawer labeled VEGETABLES Of HIGH

HUMIDITY is the moistest spot in the fridge. Store in the original packaging or in a plastic bag, loosely tied.

6. FRUIT belongs in the LOW HUMIDITY

drawer (sometimes marked CRISPER).

Keep in the original packaging or in a plastic bag, loosely tied (citrus is fine with no bag).

Tip: Leave vegetables and fruits unwashed until you use them. Water can promote mold and cause bac-teria to grow.

7. DELI MEATS belong in the shallow MEAT drawer, which is slightly colder than the rest of the fridge, or (if there's no such drawer) on the bottom shelf.

8. BUTTER AND SOFT CHEESES don't need to be super cold, so they can live in the dairy compartment on the door (the warmest part of the fridge). Place soft cheeses, like Brie and goat cheese, in an air-tight container after opening them.

9. CONDIMENTli are generally high in vinegar and salt, which are natural preservatives. So ketchup, mayonnaise, and salad dressing are fine on the door. Same goes for pickles and jarred salsa. Olive and vegetable oils can remain in the pantry. But nut oils, like sesame and walnut oils, belong in the refrigerator, also on the door.

10. ORANGE JUICE can be stored on the door, as long as it's pasteurized. Fresh-squeezed should be stored on the bottom shelf.

142 0012010 /012 I 112AIJIMPLE.COM

friending your fridge Five ways to show it love and support.

1. Check the door seals. A loose seal allows cool air to seep out, wasting energy and causing your fridge to work harder than it needs to. First make sure the seals are free of food residue. (Clean them about twice a year, using a toothbrush and a solution of baking soda and water.) Then try the dollar-bill test: Close the bill in the door so that half is in and half is out. If it slips out easily, you may need to have the door seals checked by a pro.

2. Keep the coils clean. When the condenser coils (see following page for more on parts) are covered with dust, the refrigerator can't run efficiently. Twice a year, pull the machine from the wall to reveal the coils in back (or snap off the grille, if the coils are on the bottom front), unplug the refrigerator, and vacuum with the brush attachment.

3. Set the right temperature. Keep the fridge between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer at 0 degrees.

4. Fill it up (even if you never cook and only have takeout). Refrigerators need "thermal mass" (a.k.a. lots of stuff) to maintain low temperatures. Cool foods and drinks help absorb warm air that streams in when you open the door. If you're the eat-out type or your fridge is too big for your needs, store a few jugs of water in there.

5. Be prepared. If the power goes out, keep the doors closed and use foods from the pantry. An unopened refrigerator will keep food safe for four hours; a freezer will maintain its temperature for 48 hours if full and 24 hours if half-full.

PUT THIS IN

CUT FLOWERS They'll last longer if you store them in the fridge overnight.

RIPE BANANAS The peels will turn black, but the fruit itself will be good for several extra days.

OLD -SCHOOL FILM It performs better when stored in a cool place. But be sure to let it come to room temperature before opening the container to prevent condensation on the film's surface.

NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER Cool temperatures preserve the oil. Stir once before refrigerating and it shouldn't separate later.

AVOCADOS Once they're ripe, refrigerate to prolong shelf life.

WHOLE -WHEAT FLOUR Transferred to a freezer bag, it will last six times as long in the fridge as it would in the pantry. (White flour is fine stored there.)

COLOGNE AND EAU DE TOILETTE

Refrigeration can help these fragrances retain their scent for about two years. (Perfume, however, should be stored at room temperature.)

CANDLES Cold wax can burn more slowly and drip less.

LIPSTICK A cool home improves longevity. If you stock up on a favorite color, keep extras here rather than in the bathroom.

HOMEMADE COOKIES They'll stay fresh longer here than in the pantry.

GARDEN SEEDS Place in a moisture-proof container. Cool temperatures extend the seeds' viability.

TAKE THIS OUT

HOT SAUCE It can live happily in the pantry for up to three years.

POTATOES Refrigeration adversely affects their flavor, so store in the pantry in paper bags (plastic bags trap moisture and speed decay). Most varieties should last three weeks.

BREAD The refrigerator dries it out fast. Instead, keep what you'll eat within four days at room temperature and freeze the rest.

ONIONS They like their original mesh bag (or any bag that allows for air circulation) in the pantry. But keep them away from potatoes, which emit moisture and gases that can cause onions to rot.

BATTERIES Stash in a drawer at room temperature. Extreme cold (or heat) can diminish performance.

GARLIC It will do well for two months in the pantry. Store loose, so air can move around it.

TOMATOES They can get mealy in the fridge, so leave them on a counter, out of plastic bags. To speed ripening, store in a paper bag. Once ripe, they'll last for about three days.

COFFEE The fridge (and the freezer) create condensation, which can affect the flavor of both ground coffee and coffee beans. Coffee fares best in an airtight container in the pantry.

NAIL POLISH Keeping it in the fridge can cause it to thicken. Store at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.

WINTER SQUASHES Varieties such as acorn, butternut, delicata, and spaghetti will last for about a month or more in the pantry.

144 OCTOBER 2012 I REALSIMPLE.COM

HOME the guide I •

A BRIEF HISTORY OF REFRIGERATION

(Nothing like a time line to remind us all how good we have it.)

PREHISTORIC TIMES Early man stashes hunted game in

cool caves or packs it in snow.

CIRCA 500 B.C. In Egypt and India, people make

ice on cold nights by leaving out earthenware pots full of water.

1550 First known use of the

word refrigerate.

CIRCA 1781 The first icehouse in America is

dug, in Philadelphia. It utilizes cool underground temperatures.

1792 Thomas Jefferson subscribes to

a summer ice service.

1805 Massachusetts entrepreneur

Frederic Tudor sells ice harvested from a pond on his family farm.

1850 Professor Alexander Twining of

New Haven, Connecticut, invents the mechanical ice

machine, which eventu- ally makes ice available to all.

1913 American inventor Fred W. Wolf

sells the first electric refrigerator for the home,

called the Domelre.

1948 Frigidaire introduces a

refrigerator with a separate freezer section.

1996 The Regulatory Clean Air Act passes, requiring refrigerator

manufacturers to abandon Freon in favor of chemicals that do less

harm to the ozone layer.

2011 Samsung introduces a touch- screen Smart Fridge that lets

you stream music, tweet, search the Web for recipes, and

record voice messages. •

the ice fairy, or how a fridge works In the refrigeration cycle, there are five basic components: fluid refrigerant; a compressor, which controls the flow of refrigerant; the condenser coils (on the outside of the fridge); the

fridge); and something called an exp device evaporator coils (on the inside of the ► ansion

expansion device. Here's how they interact to cool your food.

1. The compressor constricts the refrigerant vapor, raising its pressure, and pushes it into the coils on the outside of the refrigerator.

2. When the hot gas in the coils meets the cooler air temperature of the kitchen, it becomes a liquid.

3. Now in liquid form at high pressure, the refrigerant cools down as it flows into the coils inside the freezer and the fridge.

4. The refrigerant absorbs the heat inside the fridge, cooling down the air.

5. Last, the refrigerant evaporates to a • gas, then flows back to the compressor, condenser

where the cycle starts all over. coils

CALL A PRO IF... ...the fridge isn't cooling well. Assuming the door seals are tight and the condenser coils are clean, there could be a problem with the thermostat. (Check the freezer for frost; that's a telltale sign.) This is the best-case

scenario, as a new thermostat will run only about $200. Worse? It could be the compressor. That's so expensive to replace ($500 to $700), it might make more sense to buy a new machine.

...there's a puddle under the refrigerator or moisture on the seal. The mullion heater—a mini heater embedded in the unit, which counters condensation—may have burned out. Or you may have a faulty door seal.

...the fridge is making strange noises. If you hear thumping, the compressor could be shot (see above). If it's more of a squealing sound, you might need a new freezer fan, which will cost about $200.

• evaporator coils

*Chilling tales Want to hear about the oddest (and grossest) things Real Simple readers have found in their fridges? Go to realsimple.com/tales.

REAL SIMPLE'S PANEL OF FRIDGE EXPERTS

Sandra Phillips, a cleaning authority and the author of A Clean Break.

Doug Reindl, a professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the Industrial Refrigeration Consortium, in Madison.

Donna Smallin Kuper, a clutter-busting pro and the author of How to Declutter and Make Money Now.

Virginia Willis, an Atlanta-based chef and the author of Basic to Brilliant, Y'all.

compressor

OCTOBER 2012 I REALSIMPLE.COM 147