Given the high temperatures of this mighty hot summer of 2021, we felt it was necessary to bring up a slightly cooler topic:
How do we choose a refrigerator for the new custom-made kitchen?
We will focus in this article on built-in refrigerators, refrigerators that can be fully integrated into furniture columns, thus becoming invisible, hidden behind furniture doors, to maintain the volume and design concept of a modern kitchen.
Of course, there is always the option of choosing a freestanding refrigerator, where the variety of models is much greater, but most of the time, the technology is hyperbolized in marketing, and all things considered, a built-in refrigerator has equivalent technical capabilities to a freestanding one.
At the same time, if you’re in the market to build a personalized kitchen, our recommendation is to incorporate the refrigerator and freezer into the furniture to maintain design harmony. Moreover, a built-in refrigerator will not make a discordant note with the configuration of kitchen furniture, and the design will always look contemporary.
In general, our customers are concerned that built-in refrigerators are smaller in volume than free-standing refrigerators. Fortunately, there are choices available of built-in refrigerators that check all the necessary volume and functionality requirements, in multiple practical combinations, with the advantage of customizing the fronts.
Keeping cool in the kitchen
Apart from furniture, when we develop a kitchen design, most of our customers also require new appliances – oven, hob, hood, with an important emphasis on the choice of refrigerators.
The new kitchen project brings to light the promise of a new lifestyle, new desires, and needs, such as an additional wine area, which naturally implies choosing a wine cooler (cold wine cellar).
In order to identify the correct solution for choosing the optimal refrigeration combination for each project, we must follow a series of technical criteria (for dimensions and volume), thus the final decision is based on practical and lifestyle considerations.
The theoretical guidance we recommend is based on your answers to a number of essential questions you should consider.
Practical considerations – How do you use the kitchen?
Do you shop for ready-to-eat products and store them cold in bags, plastic boxes, and packaging? Do you often prepare raw products, such as meat, eggs, vegetables, legumes?
A rule of thumb would be to keep the meat separately in the refrigerator, preferably as low as possible, where the fridge is coldest. Unfrozen meat must be cooked in a timely manner, otherwise, it must be stored in the freezer for longer periods.
How often do you go shopping?
If you go to the market once every 3 days, you don’t need a refrigerator with extra specifications, any vegetable has a shelf life of 3 days in the fridge. If you shop once a week, you need to think about storing and dividing your items into food areas versus areas for water, juices, desserts, fruits.
We propose the separation of food into 3 categories – raw foods (meant for cooking), ready-to-eat foods, and cafeteria items (desserts, snacks, juices).
In terms of storage, a refrigerator must be well ventilated in order to operate at optimal parameters. It is important not to cram food inside to allow air to circulate, to ensure ventilation and energy efficiency. We do not choose a refrigerator to use at maximum storage capacity, we must provide the necessary space to easily identify and take food out.
An inspired tip would be to keep the refrigerator stacked somewhere at two-thirds of its maximum volume, and when it’s almost empty, an idea would be to store a few bottles of water to maintain a constant temperature.
What and how often do you cook?
You must keep in mind that you will open the refrigerator at least 5-6 times before bringing the entire food inventory available for food preparation, and every time you open the door, the thermal balance will be affected – the temperature inside increases, and after closing it, moisture will freeze the refrigerator, especially if the refrigerator is not No-Frost.
No-Frost refrigerators are cooled by cold air jets, they do not produce ice inside, but some food stored in the back area will freeze in case of thermal imbalances caused by repeated door openings.
Consider your lifestyle – How many members does your family have?
In a large family, each member has their own diet, their own food preferences, their own food, and dishes that need to be stored in the refrigerator, so the need for extra space becomes important, both for the refrigerator and the freezer.
Do you often host parties with many friends and/or family?
You need space for drinks, watermelon, sweets, cake, fresh snacks. In addition, a wine cooler would help you maintain the ideal temperature for the wine collection, and your guests will appreciate a “cold reception” to enjoy the wine at its full potential.
If you host a party every 2 weeks, you have to think about the volume of the fridge, but if you don’t have people around that often, the extra space is not so important.
What are the most efficient methods to store food in the fridge?
The door
The door is the warmest area of the refrigerator because the heat exchange between room temperature and the inside temperature of the refrigerator is very fast when the door is opened. It is recommended to store on the door the least perishable foods – ketchup, mustard, sauces, spices with long shelf life, or juices and other fresh drinks. Even if some refrigerators have door compartments for butter and eggs, it would be advisable to store them on the lower shelves, where it is coldest.
Top shelves
The top shelves maintain the most consistent temperature in the refrigerator. They can be used for dairy products, ready-to-eat foods or preparations to be consumed in the short term. It is advisable to store all fast food in the same place in the refrigerator, preferably in the back of the shelves to keep them as cold as possible.
Lower shelves
It is recommended to keep raw meat on the bottom shelf. If the refrigerator does not have a meat drawer (fish, chicken, beef), keep the meat in its original packaging and consider buying clear plastic baskets or boxes to prevent cross-contamination.
The vegetable drawer
The lower vegetable drawers are designed to keep the moisture that helps keep fruits and vegetables fresh. If there is an option, you can make sure that the moisture level is higher because the moisture prevents the products from drying out.
Conclusions
Before choosing a refrigerator, it would be best to start with the development of a kitchen project based on the necessary criteria – dimensions, functionality, materials, so that we can incorporate appliances according to a custom configuration.
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