The Best Way to Use the Crisper Drawers in Your Fridge

Nowadays, most refrigerators come with "humidity control" crispers, which have sliders that allow you control the amount of humidity in each crisper. While a few are helpfully labelled as to which setting is best for fruits and which is best for vegetables, many of them are simply mart as "Hi" or "Low", with no real insight as to which setting is best for your food.

As fruit starts to ripen, it releases ethylene gas, which causes other fruits to ripen more quickly. Setting the humidity to low humidity creates more airflow allowing the ethylene gas and the excess moisture to be released, extending the life of your fruit.

Vegetables on the other hand, are susceptible to moisture loss. Setting the humidity controls to high reduces the airflow, slowing down the movement of moisture, allowing your vegetables to remain crisp and fresh longer.

The simplest way to remember it is, if something tend to mold or rot, it requires less humidity. If it's more likely to dry out or go limp, it needs more humidity.