How to Use a Crisper Drawer
Purpose
Crisper drawers offer a more humid environment than the rest of the refrigerator interior. Most are adjustable between high and low through a sliding humidity control setting that opens or closes a small vent in the drawer.
The high-humidity setting closes the vent, shutting off the air and producing more humidity. Low humidity means that the vent is completely open, allowing air to move freely. If your drawers don't have any controls, they are simply high-humidity crispers. If you have two crisper drawers, it's best to separate them into high and low humidity, so you can store all kinds of produce.
Usage
High Humidity
The high-humidity drawer should contain thin-skinned or leafy vegetables that are prone to wilting or losing moisture quickly, such as asparagus, fresh herbs, and greens. "I wash, spin dry, and wrap lettuce in clean kitchen towels as soon as I get home and store them in the crisper drawer. Lettuces stay crisp and fresh much longer that way than if you just leave them in the clamshell container or plastic bag. Plus, they're clean, dry, and ready to eat whenever I want a salad," says Greg Lofts, our former deputy food editor.
Low-Humidity
The low-humidity drawer can house a variety of fruits, from apples and pears to peaches and melons, that give off high levels of a gas called ethylene that speeds up the ripening process. The gas not only can cause the fruits themselves to over-ripen, but can also damage other produce that is sensitive to ethylene. The open vent in the low-humidity setting allows the gas to escape, which prevents the fruits from descending into the rotten stage too quickly. Isolating these fruits in the low-humidity bin also keeps them from spoiling the ethylene-sensitive fruits and vegetables in the high-humidity bin. If you don't have humidity controls on the bins in your refrigerator, it's still a good idea to separate your fruits and vegetables based on ethylene production. If your refrigerator only has one crisper drawer, use it for leafy greens and thin-skinned produce. Store ethylene-emitting fruits somewhere else in the fridge, and make sure your bin has a tight seal.