The Right Way to Use Your Refrigerator's Crisper Drawer

Your refrigerator's crisper drawer is more than just an extra storage compartment; it's designed to keep produce fresher longer by controlling humidity levels. Often used for miscellaneous storage, these drawers are best utilized for organizing fruits and vegetables according to their optimal moisture conditions. By familiarizing yourself with the humidity preferences of different produce, you can make the most of your crisper drawers and ensure the longevity of your fresh items.

What Is a Crisper Drawer?

Crisper drawers, sometimes called humidity drawers, are located at the bottom of the refrigerator and are designed for fresh produce storage. When used correctly, they can keep produce fresher for longer, extending the life of your fruits and vegetables.

How a Crisper Drawer Works

Crisper drawers offer a more humid environment than the rest of the refrigerator interior. Most are adjustable between high and low through a sliding humidity control setting that opens or closes a small vent in the drawer. "It's pretty simple if you think about it this way: It's all about the airflow in and out of the drawer," says Mary Kay Bolger, the former senior product development manager of refrigeration at Whirlpool. Here's a rundown on the settings:

• The high-humidity setting means the vent is closed, shutting off the air and producing more humidity.
• A low-humidity setting means that the vent is completely open, allowing air to move freely through the bin.
• If your drawers don't have any controls, they are considered high-humidity crispers.

What to Store in a High-Humidity Crisper

The high-humidity drawer should contain thin-skinned or leafy vegetables that are prone to wilting or losing moisture quickly, such as asparagus, fresh herbs, and greens. "I wash, spin dry, and wrap lettuce in clean kitchen towels as soon as I get home and store them in the crisper drawer. Lettuces stay crisp and fresh much longer that way than if you just leave them in the clamshell container or plastic bag. Plus, they're clean, dry, and ready to eat whenever I want a salad," says Greg Lofts, a food stylist and the former deputy food editor of decorvow Living.

What to Store in a Low-Humidity Crisper

The low-humidity drawer can house a variety of fruits, from apples and pears to peaches and melons, that give off high levels of a gas called ethylene that speeds up the ripening process. The gas not only can cause the fruits themselves to over-ripen but can also damage other produce that is sensitive to ethylene. The open vent in the low-humidity setting allows the gas to escape, which prevents the fruits from rotting too quickly. Isolating these fruits in the low-humidity bin also keeps them from spoiling the ethylene-sensitive fruits and vegetables in the high-humidity bin.

Crisper Drawers Without Humidity Controls

Here's what to do if you don't have any humidity controls on the bins in your refrigerator:

• Separate your fruits and vegetables based on their ethylene production.
• If your refrigerator only has one crisper drawer, use it for leafy greens and thin-skinned produce, and make sure it has a tight seal to keep in the humidity and keep out ethylene gases.
• Store ethylene-emitting fruits somewhere else in the fridge where there's airflow to ensure lower humidity.

How to Organize Your Crisper Drawers

Once you have your produce correctly separated, organize your drawers from front to back. "Placing items that have a shorter shelf life in front will ensure that you see them first and use them before they spoil," says Bolger.

If you don't have enough produce to fill two bins, Lofts has a suggestion: "Use one of your crisper drawers for raw meat, fish, and poultry. The drawer is at the bottom of the fridge, so it's particularly cold and there's no chance of cross-contamination."