8 tips to keep your groceries in the fridge for a long time

With the 8 following tips, you can store your groceries for longer.

• Tip 1: set it to the right temperature
• Tip 2: check the date
• Tip 3: let leftovers cool down
• Tip 4: clean your fridge regularly
• Tip 5: organize your fridge in a smart way
• Tip 6: put food and drinks back quickly
• Tip 7: use the supercooling and super freezing function
• Tip 8: use a vacuum sealer

The right temperature for a fridge is 4°C. Bacteria and mold can hardly grow at this temperature, which means that your groceries won't spoil. And you have to set the temperature of your freezer to -18°C at least.

Put your groceries with the shortest shelf life in the front of your fridge. Products have a 'use by' or 'best before' date. The use by date indicates that the product is safe to eat until that date. If it's a best before date, you can still eat the food after that date. Did you open the packaging? If so, you should consume the product within 2 days. If you put groceries with a use by date in the freezer, you can store them for longer.

Do you have leftover soup or spaghetti? Let it cool down before you put it in the fridge or freezer. You prevent the temperature in the fridge from rising that way. You can quickly cool your leftovers in a pan of cold water. Make sure to do that within 2 hours, or your food will go bad. You can store leftovers in the fridge up to 2 days. Did you put your food in the freezer? Write the date of when you put it in the freezer on the lid.

Your groceries need to be stored in a clean place to preserve them well. That's why it's important to regularly clean your fridge and freezer with water and some dish soap. When you're done, dry everything off with a clean cloth to prevent bacteria from growing. Do you have a freezer compartment with Low Frost or no anti-ice buildup? You should regularly defrost it as well.

If your fridge doesn't have air circulation, the temperature in your fridge isn't the same everywhere. It's cooler at the bottom of the fridge than at the top. Keep that in mind when you put groceries in the fridge. Put your spreads at the bottom and your meat and fish at the bottom, for example. That wat, you can store your food for longer.

You can't store cool products as long if they've been out of the fridge for an hour. After 2 hours, you even have to throw it away. That's why you should pour the milk into cups and put slices of cold meats on the table when you're having lunch and put everything back in the fridge. And make sure to close the door right away when you grab something from the fridge. The interior of fridge stays cool as a result.

Some fridges have a supercooling button for the fridge compartment and a super freeze button for the freezer compartment. With this function, you can temporarily lower the temperature to quickly cool or freeze your groceries. That's useful if you've just restocked the fridge or if the power was just out.

With a vacuum sealer, you extract air from your product. This allows you to store your groceries like vegetables, homemade cookies, steak, or various kinds of cheese up to 5 times longer. So you can keep your food fresh in the fridge, freezer, or pantry for longer.