How to care for your refrigerator

I believe the fridge is the second most important but hardest-working appliance in any kitchen and typically the one that consumes more space; it could go from a little fridge in the corner to a large double door wonder. Whatever size of fridge you have, you need to take care of it because it takes care of your food and makes your life easier and convenient. Imagine if refrigerators didn’t exist, one would have to cook daily and at least twice a day at that! Here are tips that will help you look after your fridge:

Avoid overworking
Don’t overwork your fridge by filling it with hot food because your fridge would need to work extra hard to cool and that can affect its (your equipment’s) efficiency. Wait for food to cool on the counter top before transferring to the fridge to chill or freeze. Do not leave food out at room temperature for more than an hour (that means do not store food on your cooker overnight and warm up the next morning)

Clean your fridge regularly
It is not exactly a fun job especially if your fridge is filled to its capacity. Deep cleaning your fridge once a month is decent but often, give it a good wipe down, sort out food items that are spoilt and reorganize. When deep cleaning the fridge, take every item out (from the food stored, to the shelves) till it is empty then work your way back from there. That way, you get to see what you have and who knows, you may end up cooking a meal with what you’ve found. Clean the insides with a multipurpose cleaner using a soft sponge to avoid scratching the walls and don’t forget to wipe down the external surfaces as well.

Getting rid of odours
Perhaps you kept a meal in the fridge and the aroma seems to have taken over, and you are tired of your fridge smelling like Ogbono soup, you can get rid of odours in your fridge by leaving a pack or container of baking soda in it. This really works. Baking soda has a way of sucking in the odors and keeping your fridge smelling fresh.

Consider how you store
Everyone likes to look at a beautiful organized fridge and one way you can achieve that is by putting into consideration the way you store items. To make sure little items have a place, group like items together in a container. To ensure uniformity make sure all the containers are the same colour and perhaps have the same shape. Another great tip is to stack all your sauces in bottles into a bigger storage container. Also it helps to use glass storage containers so that you can easily see what is stored.

Why your food goes bad in the fridge
If you always have problems with your food getting spoilt in the fridge, it could be one of many reasons, but the most common are: your fridge is not cooling properly or the food is not stored properly. The least cool part of the refrigerator is the shelf by the door, which is why it is best to store food that has natural preservatives like jam. Store food that does not need to be cooked at the upper level of the fridge. In the lower/middle layer, store butter, milk, yoghurts, eggs and dairy. The bottom layer of the fridge is the coldest, so that is where raw food like meat and fish can be stored. This will also help to reduce cross contamination. If meats are placed at the top and not properly contained, it may drip on other items in the fridge, not only contaminating the food, but also creating a mess. Vegetables and fruits should be kept in the bottom drawers of the fridge to keep them fresh.