Storing The Swag: The Crisper vs The Shelf

What if I don’t have a crisper OR there’s no space in the crisper? Can I store my Swags on my fridge shelf? One of our more commonly asked questions. 

You may be wondering why we’re always so insistent about putting your scientifically proven Swags in the “magic” spot of your fridge, the crisper. Well these drawers at the bottom of your fridge aren’t just helpful for organisation, but they serve a very important role.

Why is the crisper ideal for The Swag to be stored in the fridge?

If you have a crisper with high- and low-humidity settings (usually a toggle, or a small vent with a sliding latch) on the drawers, you can tailor the settings to match the type of produce you're keeping in your Swags. If you don't have any controls on your drawers, it's still a crisper drawer, it'll just default to a high-humidity crisper.

What’s the difference between high or low humidity settings?

A crisper drawer set to low-humidity allows for more airflow and helps let out some of the ethylene gases that lead to faster rotting. A crisper drawer set to high-humidity keeps the airflow within the crisper and protects anything that can lose moisture quickly (like your leafy greens).

The general rule of thumb is: “rot-low, wilt-high.” Fruits that are prone to rotting should be kept in a low-humidity drawer, while produce that's prone to wilting should be stored in the high-humidity drawer.

High-Humidity: Store ethylene-sensitive fruits and vegetables, like asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, leafy, greens, lettuces, parsley, peppers, silverbeet, strawberries, and oranges. 

Low-Humidity: Store ethylene-producing fruits and vegetables, like apples, apricots, figs, kiwi, nectarines, peaches, pears, and plums.

When re-dampening your Swags in your crisper, we advise keeping a glass spray bottle in your fridge’s door shelf and using this to give your Swags a good spray (not a fine mist) when they need it. 


Can I still store my Swags on the shelves of the fridge?

If you’re unable to put your Swag into a crisper, the Swags can happily be stored on your fridge shelves. 

However, it’s important to note the rest of the fridge works differently to the crisper drawers. As a general rule, the remainder of the fridge is dryer, and vaires more dramatically in temperature; with the lower shelves of the fridge being cooler and higher shelves being warmer. With this in mind, you'll just have to dampen your Swags with a lot more water, and more frequently as they tend to dry out faster when not in the crisper (where the humidity is better controlled). 

Whenever you open the fridge, check your Swags and if they are dry, run them under the tap so they are damp.

Remember, if you’re just reapplying water, you don’t need to take everything out, you can simply drizzle water over the exterior of the Swag while they are filled with produce.