Fridge
Your fridge has climate zones: coldest at the bottom, warmest at the top and in the door – stock it the right way and you'll throw less away.
Ausführlich erklärt
A fridge isn't an evenly cold box: there's often a five-degree difference between the bottom shelf and the door – and every food has its favourite zone. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recommends setting your fridge to no more than 7 °C; many appliances are set warmer at the factory. A simple fridge thermometer on the middle shelf will tell you the truth.
The zones from bottom to top: the glass shelf above the vegetable drawer is the coldest at around 2 °C – this is where raw meat, fish and poultry belong, in a dish so that nothing drips. The middle shelves (around 5 °C) are for dairy products, yoghurt, quark and cold cuts. The top shelf (around 8 °C) suits cooked food, leftovers, cheese and smoked foods. The vegetable drawer is deliberately milder at 8 to 10 °C. The door is the warmest spot: butter, drinks, opened sauces, jam – and eggs, which belong in the fridge once you've bought them.
What doesn't belong in the fridge: tomatoes, bananas, pineapple, mango, unripe avocados, potatoes, onions, garlic, bread and basil. They lose flavour, turn mealy or spoil faster. Apples give off the ripening gas ethylene – next to broccoli or lettuce, they make them wilt faster, so store them separately.
Two rules for food safety: warm food can go in after cooling briefly (within two hours at the latest), and leftovers go into closed containers at eye level so they don't get forgotten. And wipe the fridge out with vinegar and water once a month – that keeps germs and odours down.
If you're trying to lose weight, the way you stock your fridge is a quiet helper: chopped vegetables, fruit and plain yoghurt at eye level, sweet treats and cold meats at the back, down low. What you see first, you eat first.