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Most refrigerators include a hand crisper drawer that keeps your food fresh longer. They are often at the bottom of the fridge. Some people even purchase extra ones if they have the habit to buy more fresh food. However, some people don’t understand how does a crisper drawer function, and they often use them as a storage area for items that don’t belong in a fridge. In this article, we will let you know how a crisper drawer works and how to organize it best. 

How Does It Work?

Crisper drawers are sealed off from the rest of the fridge, and they have a lower or higher humidity in comparison to the rest of the fridge. Some refrigerators have multiple crisper drawers with pre-set humidity levels, while others allow you to set your desired humidity. Adjusting humidity is simple - if you have the need for high humidity there's a small vent at the rear of the drawer that closes, and it seals the drawer. If you need lower humidity, the vent opens, and it allows some of the moisture in the drawer to get out. The tougher part is considering what to store in the crisper drawer and which level of humidity you need for various types of fresh food.

What Do I Store In a Crisper Drawer?

Any kind of food can be stored in a crisper drawer if there's a need for some extra space. However, a crisper drawer always works better if it’s used to store fresh food. If a lot of fresh food goes bad quickly and ends up in the trash, a crisper drawer is the solution to this issue. Before placing all of the food in crisper drawers, keep in mind that there are various humidity settings. Make sure you always remember that various food items need a different humidity level.

High Humidity

Many vegetables that go bad quickly, greens, and some of the fruits tend to wilt as time goes by, and this is why they should be kept in a crisper drawer high humidity level. These foods don’t tend to emit much gas while they are stored, but they lose a certain percentage of moisture. Therefore, a crisper drawer that has high humidity level will keep the vegetables fresh longer. For this reason, when it comes to carrots, lettuce, strawberries, cucumbers, and broccoli should always be kept in a high humidity level crisper drawer.

Low Humidity

A low humidity crisper drawer is reserved for produce that rots as it ages. Foods like fruits don't lose moisture easily, however, they produce gases as they degrade  The vent when it's opened in the crisper drawer lets those gases go out, and this helps food stay fresh for much longer. Some usual items intended for the crisper drawer with low humidity level are peaches, apples, pears, avocados, and grapes.

Pack Crisper Drawer

 A crisper drawer with low or high humidity works much better if it’s not absolutely full. If your food still goes bad after the instructions from above the reason is probably the low capacity of your crisper drawers. But, if you want your crisper drawer to stand up to its absolute purpose, rotate the foods bringing the older ones to the front part of the drawer.

If you want to upgrade your refrigeration system and purchase a new refrigerator with a higher capacity crisper drawer take a look at our wide selection of high-quality refrigerators from major brands at Townappliance.com