What Should I Store in the Back of the Cheese Drawer? Good Questions

Q: Now that I've purged my fridge during the first week of the Kitchen Cure, I'm curious — what does everyone put in the back of the cheese bin?

The drawer only slides out halfway, so the back half is hard to reach. I had a lot of candy and chocolate back there that was completely out of sight, out of mind, and now I'm looking for a better way to use the space. Any ideas?

Sent by Emily

Editor: Emily, one thing we just started using a fridge drawer for is jam. It's long-lasting, relatively imperishable, and we are constantly getting it out of the fridge! We don't really forget about our jams. So we put the jam in a less visible spot, where we knew we'd have to reach for it all the time. This leaves more visible parts of the fridge available for more perishable items that we might forget more easily.

You could do something similar with your cheese drawer — put small jars of pickles, relishes, or jams back there.

Readers, any thoughts? What do you keep in the back of your cheese drawer?

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(Image: Faith Durand)

Comments (11)

Nothing at all. I love clean, open space.

Maybe this is too obvious, but... More cheese? There's no such thing as too much cheese.... :D

I also tend to keep coldcuts and "other things that go with cheese" like sandwih spreads and whatnot in there. It's my one-stop go-to drawer for lunch and snacks.

I keep a few items that are in small bottles or bags and that fare better with refrigeration in that back spot: diastatic malt powder, vital wheat gluten powder, yeast, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, and fresh bay leaves.

Otherwise it's cheese, cheese, and more cheese. And usually a wee salami too.

When I had a meat drawer (my current fridge doesn't have one), it also didn't open very far, so I used it for things I didn't need to take out very often, like my jar of yeast.

Thanks, these are great ideas!! I'm going for the small jars!

I always thought the drawer was for meats. The thin packages of meat or fish fit perfectly in the drawer. Using it for cheese or other items never occurred to me. I think mine is too shallow for jars.

I broke our cheese drawer runner while cleaning the fridge (on the last cure) and it was the best thing I ever did. Now I use the drawer as a bin, and I just take the whole thing out when I'm looking for something.

We too store coldcuts in there.

Hummus and cream cheese. We rarely have lunchmeat, but when we do that's where it goes.

I hide the peanut butter and nuts from by BF in the back of that drawer, otherwise he'll eat it all in one day.

Funny thing, the cold cuts and cheese are in the front for his sandwiches, yet he never notices what's in the back.

That's where I keep my Polaroid and 35mm film, but I recognize that might not apply to everyone...