Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <food-safety><temperature><refrigerator>
Title: What temperatures should I keep my refrigerator and freezer set at?
Question: For a refrigerator, if it's cooler, items like milk and meat last a bit longer. However if I set it close to freezing then some items start showing frost on them. What temperature should I set my refrigerator to for best overall results?  Since the person answering is likely to know, I'm also asking what temperature I should set my freezer to.

Answers:
sents: text: Daniel is spot-on with his answer .
text: I'll elaborate on it a bit here.
text: As indicated by his bottled water in the freezer trick, a full freezer is a happy freezer.
text: The same applies to the refrigerator too.
text: While I wouldn't put random bottles of water throughout my refrigerator, it's important to know that the fuller your refrigerator is, the more it holds its temperature when opening/closing, and the less energy you'll use.
text: However, you don't want to jam pack it so full that there isn't any airflow around your stuff, because this can hamper the cooling efficiency as well.
text: The ideal refrigerator temperature is 35°F (1.6°C).
text: You're not hugging the danger zone like you would be at 40°F (4.4°C), and you're distancing yourself sufficiently from 32°F (0°C) that you don't freeze half the stuff in your refrigerator.
text: That said, the temperature within your fridge can vary rather significantly with normal usage.
text: The coldest parts of your refrigerator are the back, and the bottom.
text: The back because the cooling element is there, and the bottom because warm air rises.
text: If items you don't want frosty are getting frosty, then move them away from the back of the fridge.
text: I would avoid putting items in the door of your fridge that are particularly sensitive to spoilage.
text: The items in the door of your fridge can easily get as high as 59°F (15°C), and do so often.
text: Putting milk and eggs in your door will significantly decrease their shelf life.
text: Butter is OK in the little covered section in the door, because the door actually helps keep it's temperature a little better.
text: You also generally don't want rock solid frozen butter.
text: So, put your meats on the bottom shelf in the back, your condiments (mayo, ketchup, mustard, etc.)
text: in the door, and put everything else where it fits.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/60/hobodave
score: 32
sents: text: Normally a domestic freezer is best set to −18 °C (0 °F) or colder, as that's what the expiration dates for many food items are based on.
text: It's also a requirement for freezers in restaurants, supermarkets & other places that sell food (at least here in Europe) to maintain a temperature of at most -18 °C.
text: A general purpose domestic fridge should be at around 1-4 °C (so, just above the freezing point, and below 5 °C).
text: Normally it's not possible to set a fridge to 0 °C (at least not over here), but sometimes the temperature sensor doesn't work as intended, especially if there is a freezer compartment that is heavily frosted.
text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator has some more info, and also lists some alternative temperatures for special purpose fridges & freezers, e.g. for fresh fruit a normal fridge is too cold.
text: Some refrigerators are now divided into four zones to store different types of food: −18 °
text: C / −0.4 °F (freezer) 0 °C / 32 °F (meats) 5 °C / 41 °F (refrigerator) 10 °C / 50 °F (vegetables)
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1786/JanC
score: 29
sents: text: In order to keep food out of the Danger Zone, your fridge must be set between 32-40°F (0-4°C).
text: Your freezer must be below 32°F (0°C).
text: I keep mine as cold as it will go.
text: Keep your freezer efficient by half-filling it with bottles of water.
text: (I'm not sure if this question will stand, as it is broadly off-topic.
text: But there is a specific and expert answer, so...)
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 19
sents: text: I've always been told to keep freezer at 0 F, with fridge no higher than 40 F. Alton Brown recommended buying a pair of those hanging temperature gauges (one for each compartment).
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1756/Rake36
score: 4
sents: text: If you keep potatoes in the fridge they should not be stored at temperatures below 7 °C (45 °F).
text: If, that is, you intend to use them for roasting for frying.
text: At lower temperatures the starch in the potato breaks down giving a burnt look and a bitter taste after roasting.
text: My fridge, which stands about six foot, appears to have almost 4 °C of difference between the temperatures at the top and at the bottom.
text: This means I could have potatoes at the top and items that spoil more easily lower down.
text: At least I could do that if the piece of junk would maintain a consistent temperature.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1549/Chris Steinbach
score: 4

Summary of the answers:
Normally a domestic fridge should be set to 1-4°C, and a freezer to -18°C in order to keep food out of the danger zone and maximise storage time, but you should be aware that different areas of a fridge may be different temperatures.
There are temperature variations at different points inside a fridge, so for best results you should keep it at 35°F (1.6°C). A freezer should be kept at 0°F (-18°C).