What is the small drawer in the fridge for?

Author: Nicklaus Ritchie  |  Last update: Thursday, July 9, 2026

What is a crisper drawer? A crisper drawer, sometimes called a humidity drawer, is a bin in your fridge that helps preserve freshness and may prolong the lifespan of your fruits and vegetables by exposing them to different levels of humidity.

What is the shallow drawer in the fridge for?

Some newer refrigerator models have a deli drawer, a small, shallow drawer close to the bottom of the refrigerator, and slightly colder than the other areas. As its name suggests, this drawer is meant to hold sliced, cured meats and cheeses.

What are the 3 drawers in the fridge for?

Crisper drawers, sometimes called humidity drawers, are located at the bottom of the refrigerator and are designed for fresh produce storage.

Why is there a drawer in the fridge?

That drawer at the bottom of the fridge? Turns out, it's for raw meat, fish, and poultry. It's the coldest (or has controls allowing it to be the coldest) and ensures no cross-contamination by being located at the bottom.

What are the bottom drawers in a refrigerator for?

While bottom shelves can provide the low temperatures ideal for storing meat, you should reserve crisper drawers for items sensitive to humidity. To make contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables less likely, consider using a fresh drawer to store raw meat like fish or poultry instead.

Freezer Organization: Bottom Drawer

What is the extra drawer on a refrigerator?

An exterior drawer gives you additional refrigeration space and lets you adjust temperature controls and dividers based on what you're storing. Hopefully this information is beneficial to you.

What is the sealed refrigerator drawer for?

A crisper drawer is basically a sealed off area within a fridge set to lower or higher humidity than the rest of the unit. Some fridges come with multiple drawers with pre-set humidity levels, while others let you adjust drawers to any humidity level you need.

What do you put in a chill drawer in the fridge?

As a general rule of thumb, use the low-humidity setting for anything that rots easily. That means apples, pears, avocados, melons or stone fruits. The high-humidity drawer is great for anything that wilts—think thin-skinned vegetables like asparagus or leafy vegetables like greens.

What is the warmest part of the fridge?

The Door. This is the warmest part of the fridge and subject to the most temperature fluctuations, so avoid storing highly perishable foods on the door. Even though many refrigerator doors have an egg compartment, it's generally not a good idea to store eggs there; keep them in the carton on a shelf, instead.

Where should cheese be stored in the fridge?

It's best to keep cheese, of all varieties, in a dark, cool and airy space – the vegetable compartment of an average fridge is ideal, as it is not too humid or cold. Cheese should be allowed to breathe, however this needs a little balance to avoid the cheese from drying out, or becoming too humid and sweaty.

What to store in a deli drawer in the fridge?

DELI DRAWER

If your refrigerator has a dedicated deli drawer, it should be slightly colder than the rest of the fridge, making it ideal for highly perishable meats and cheeses. On French door refrigerators, this drawer can also be good for wide trays and platters.

Do cucumbers like high or low humidity?

For cucumbers, the optimal humidity level to store them at is 85-95%. Storing them in conditions with a lower humidity level than this can cause the cucumbers to shrivel prematurely. Instead, try storing the cucumbers in your fridge's humidity-controlled drawers, with the level set to high.

Where should meat be stored in the refrigerator?

Raw meat, poultry, and fish must be stored below prepared or ready-to-eat food if stored in the same refrigerator.

Do carrots go in the crisper drawer?

High humidity

As a rule, you should use this setting for items that are kept under water spritzers at the supermarket. Some examples include: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, strawberries, and herbs.

Which fridge drawer is for meat?

A crisper drawer that is set to a high humidity helps to keep high-moisture foods like leafy greens “crisp” and can help prolong their lifespan. A fresh drawer's purpose is to store food at the lowest possible temperature without freezing it, making it ideal for raw meat, poultry and fish.

Where to store yogurt in the fridge?

Store dairy products in the coldest part of the refrigerator, toward the back and away from the door. Using proper techniques to store cheese and yogurt, as well as other dairy products, can extend their shelf life and prevent the consumption of harmful bacteria.

Should grapes be stored in high or low humidity?

High Humidity – store leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and thin-skinned fruits and vegetables like strawberries, raspberries, and grapes. Low Humidity – store thicker-skinned fruits and vegetables like onions, peppers, and tomatoes.

What are the flex drawers in a refrigerator for?

What is the Custom-Flex® Temp drawer? The Custom-Flex® Temp drawer is the middle drawer in the 4-Door Counter-Depth refrigerator that can keep foods fresh anywhere from -6 to 45 degrees, meaning it can easily change from refrigerator to freezer at the touch of a button.

Should apples be refrigerated?

Yes! Experts agree, the refrigerator is THE best place to store apples, providing the ideal conditions for apples because they need very cold and humid storage. In fact, apples stored in the refrigerator will stay fresh for up to 10 times longer than fruit stored at room temperature.

What is the humidity drawer in the fridge for?

The purpose of the humidity drawers in your refrigerator is to create an organized storage environment that will prolong the edible life of your fruits and vegetables. Here's how to figure out which foods benefit from low, high, and outside settings.

What should be stored in bottom drawer of fridge?

Raw meats should always be stored at the bottom of your fridge to prevent cross-contamination – for example, if any juices (which could contain harmful bacteria) leak from the packaging, they could drip down onto food stored on a lower shelf.

Is the drawer in the fridge for cheese?

You likely know about the produce drawer, but depending on its design, your fridge may also have a narrow compartment specifically designed for cheese and other deli products. This slim drawer, separate from the vegetable crisper, tends to be smaller in width and height.

What is the drawer in the refrigerator for the pantry?

A refrigerator pantry drawer is a specialized compartment within a refrigerator designed to provide an optimal storage environment for deli items, cheeses, and other perishables, often featuring adjustable temperature controls.

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