...what is in your refrigerator?Inside that wonderful little (or big) appliance, that we can not imagine our lives without today? It has been around since the 1920 - starting in a much simpler form - and before the invention of the refrigerator, icehouses were used to provide cool storage for most of the year. Placed near freshwater lakes or packed with snow and ice during the winter, they were once very common.
The first known artificial refrigeration was demonstrated by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748. The first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric "Monitor-Top" refrigerator introduced in 1927. The science behind how a refrigerator works is explained in detail here, but in short, it operates on a principle of a coolant turning from liquid into a gas.
I have a small refrigerator; half fridge (top) and half freezer (bottom). It looks a bit old fashioned, even though it is not old. Yet, it fits very well in my rustic kitchen, which is furnished with wooden tabletops and wooden cabinets. The door of the fridge is cluttered with objects of affection, such as pictures of my family, postcards, magnets from my trips and a calender.So, what is is inside it you might ask? Usually not much, as I am a lousy cook, but here is a list of things you can always find in my refrigerator:
A Bottle of Champagne (or sparkling wine)
I am always ready for a celebration.
Lemon Juice
I add it to my drinking water and use it as a substitute for fresh lemons, in case I do not have those at home.
Cheese
I love cheese and can not imagine not having at least one cheese sandwich a day.
Eggs
I am crazy about eggs, I could literally live on them. In fact, I almost do. Despite the fact that they are considered to be high in fat and cholesterol content, eggs are very rich in many minerals and vitamins. Particularly vitamin D, which we up here living in the North get way too little off in the winter. I love eggs in any way, even raw. My favorite is raw egg yolk on a freshly cooked pasta. Mmmmm...
Skim Milk
For breakfast and for cooking. The little cooking that I actually do, such as making an omelet.
Sandwich Bread
I eat a lot of bread. My favorite are bread roles and I indeed keep always a bag of frozen ones in my freezer. I also always have a bag of bread to toast in my fridge as well.
Thus, may I ask, what can always be found in your refrigerator?
30 comments:
Hi Zuzana,
Our current GE refrigerator is stainless steel and magnets will not adhere to the front but will to the black sides. So for the first time in my life we have a blank and clean look to the front of our refrigerator. Ours is a side by side with freezer on the left side and the refrigerator on the right side. It is a counter depth one so it doesn't stick way out pass the kitchen counter like a big box as so many do. However, the negative is it is not as large inside as our last General Electric refrigerator was. Ours holds milk (skim), butter and margarine, eggs, cheese, lunch meats, orange juice, pop (soda pop for hubby and ice tea for me), fruit and the various condiments. I can't imagine life without a refrigerator. One of my Aunts who passed several years ago but was born around 1917 always called the refrigerator an "ice box". Just think when ice had to be delivered to put in the "ice box"? Thank goodness for our refrigerators! A cute and interesting post - and I love your collage!
Teacup Lane (Sandy)
Zuzana:
The fridge has eggs for emergency. Only when we have nothing else, we opt for eggs. But today I had fried egg for lunch in spite of having other vegetables. Then there is some ice-cream. Then the usual suspects: Curds, veggies, dough for making idlis and dosas (you might not know these dishes, please do check in the internet).
Ah, I forgot milk. the most common in all the refrigerators.
Where do you get ideas for your lovely posts.
Loved to take a peek at your fridge.
When are we meeting for a breakfast of eggs and milk mademoiselle?
Joy always,
Susan
Hey Zuzana! Simply make sure that it is written "Champagne" on the bottle, you know, the real article, preferably a brut... :-) and you need at least two bottles, one never knows if unexpected guests will be coming.
Now you must add a couple of sophisticated beers. Say beers from micro-breweries, preferably from Québec of course, like the "Fin du monde" (End of the world that means). Take care those are 9% alcohol.
And of course you would need prosciutto. This is an absolute must. How could one live without it, I ask you? I won't mention eggs, milk and other trivialities. About cheese, you need gruyère of course, and at least half a dozen decent French cheese, some blue, some chèvre, et cetera...
••••••••••••••••
About refrigerators, please explain to me why they used to last at least 30 or 40 years. When one wanted a more recent one, the old one was still good for the house in the woods near the lake... now they won't last 15 years.
Speaking of which, we bought a Bunn coffeemaker two months ago. They used to be about the best, made in USA, solid, dependable. Now they're Chinese junk, no screws all twisted metal.
It broke down this week. I don't even ask for repairs under warranty and I will try to find one made in Europe. I don't care about the price, I want it to be solid, well made and dependable.
Roger
I currently have butter, milk, apple juice and orange juice... and that's it!! I know it's a poor show but I promise to go shopping before my friends arrive next week ;0)
What an interesting post, Zuzana. Love that fridge of yours. Looks vintage and such a bright & cherry kitchen. Cozy!
Hmm, my fridge has lots of salad fixins, veggies, lemon juice (also for my water) and skim milk is a staple. I have bread for the kids but since I am doing the South Beach diet for Spring, I am not eating any breads or pasta. I adore bread ~ all kinds, soft, chewy, crusty and loaded with butter, but I can't, so I won't...FOR NOW :)
great to visit you again~ xxoo
Calli
Oh your home is so beautiful! Every single inch of it! I may have to do a blog like this tonight. I believe my fridge now contains beer, champagne and a little milk for my coffee. What else do you need?! Love your photos!!
Who knew it would be so much fun seeing what's in someone's refrigerator?!
I have whole wheat bread, eggs, milk, chocolate for the milk, orange juice, black cherry juice, yogurt, cheese, some left over chicken salad which I need to throw away, celery, pimento cheese (which I could eat every meal) and blueberry oatmeal muffins.
I made the muffins for breakfast yesterday when my granddaughters were here. I put the leftovers in baggies so I can grab a bag each morning to eat on the way to work. I cooked ravioli with meat sauce for lunch, but there aren't any leftovers of that. The girls ate it all.
My fridge looks like yours with pictures of the grands and granddoggies on it. Yes there is always a bottle of wine, some black olives, lettuce, eggs and skim milk.
Now HH has the sausage and bacon, which I stay away from and always some kind of soup. Blessings of Easter to you and yours, Zuzana.
QMM
Fun post. I was just talking with my Dad the other day about his Mom's refrigerator when he was a little boy in the 1920's. :)
Let's see, what can ALWAYS be found in my refrigerator? Milk, eggs, butter, cheese, sour cream, fresh meats and vegetables, jelly, bread, and leftovers - because I always cook from scratch. :)
Happy Monday to you, sweet Zuzana!
Our staples are CHEESE (can't be without), milk, orange juice, eggs, yogurt, wine, olives(another must have), butter and usually some kind of leftovers. We're missing a few items today, but will make a trip to the store tonight to replenish. And the outside is covered with photos and drawings of our grands.
Ahh.. My refrigerator has Magnets from my trips, to-do posts, Shopping posts on the door.
Inside, it usually has Milk, Eggs, yogurt, Vegetables, Fruits, Lemon juice, other fruit juices, Mayonnaise, tomato ketch-up, cakes (now and then), ice cream and chocolates always :)
Nice post, as always, Zuzana :)
Cheers,
Sukanya
Hi Zuzana
Great post and lots of interesting answers!
I'm getting close to doing my food shop, so my fridge contains - some very wilty broccoli and a wrinkly courgette, onions, eggs, milk, some cheese (there's never no cheese in our fridge), lots of relishes, pickles, mustards etc. congregated em masse on the top shelf. There's also some smoked haddock, which is my dinner tonight.
Thanks for such a great post!
Best wishes
Dan
PS - Can I have Roger's fridge contents??? They sound so much more interesting than mine. I've never come across 'fin du monde' beer, though at that percentage I can understand how it got its name!
My fridge is almost empty these days .. just milk and a few fruits.
But usually it is stuffed with vegetable and poultry
Egg is a favourite of me too but as you said everybody scares me off the eggs
I have the same things in the refrigerator that you do, Zuzana, which I can't live without, but I would also have to add lettuce...can't live without lettuce!
Hugs,
Donna
I never have a full fridge. There's currently very little in it. Got to have cheese and yogurt. Beyond that, I just have a few other things like butter, mayo, pop and mayonaise. I like to keep my chocolate in there too when I have some.
Yuck! I've never eaten a raw egg and it doesn't sound very appetizing! I like hard boiled eggs and omelets but don't get either of them very often.
When we renovated our kitchen a few years ago I was determined to have a 1950s style SMEG fridge and I actually planned my kitchen around the fridge. It's a huge beast but I love it. Inside there are always lots of fresh juices and Pro-Active yoghurts and skimmed milk. This evening there are free-range eggs from our friend's hens, extra-strong cheddar cheese, fresh pesto sauce, sliced ham and free-range sausages from the deli (a weekend treat), various sauces and dressings (many of which need to be discarded!), some leeks and brocolli, fresh ground coffee and two bottles of white wine.
Loved peeking at, and in, your fridge Zuzana - a fun post with cheese being the defining food of choice!
Jeanne xx
believe it or not..NOTHING! seriously, the reason being l emptied it this evening so l could clean it in the morning!Haxxfun idea thought!lynda
Hello Zuzana, outside our fridge are three magnets with pictures of our three grandchildren and a photo of a thin-waisted lady which I cut from a magazine to remind me of how I used to look. lol
Inside we have just placed onions, lettuce, spinach, rhubarb... from the garden, to accompany three different kinds of cheese, yogurt, eggs, unsweetened soy milk... and I do not believe for one minute that you are a terrible cook. If you can read, you can cook, and if you have any questions, please ask. ;) Diana
We have quite a bit of alcohol in our refrigerator. Sh, don't tell anyone. The top shelf is mostly mixers, the bottom is beer and there are several white wines. The vodka and gin are in the freezer. We always have eggs and cheese too. Lots of pickled products.
With 5 hungry men in our home, I buy 2 of everything at the grocery for our refrigerator. haha...not really..but almost! That, and a big bunch of fresh kale for Nugget. :)
Wonderful. I will surely drop in your place for celebration.
Hi dear Zuzana
Almost bedtime here but I could not go to bed without paying you a visit.
Oh, I see you have lots of magnets on your fridge, me too!
Always in my fridge I have milk, eggs, orange juice, yogurt, cheese, humus and jam, I have to have jam onn my toast.
Oh, and bread too, love whole grain bread!
Good night, hope you are having sweet dreams!
Margie :)
xo
Hahaha!!! You totally inspired me to clean mine. You made me think about what may be lurking in there other than food. ;)
That's all?? There's a whole store in my fridge -but I like it that way:)
What an interesting read.... so much information about a refrigerator and also what's in it....
The contents of my fridge goes as follows:
1. Eggs ( a must, can always count on them when something goes wrong in the kitchen).
2. Bread ( another must have).
3. Milk
4. Veggies (stocked every week)
5. Meat/Poultry/Sea food (also, stocked every week)
6. Yoghurt
7. Jam ( kids have to have it)
8. Idli- Dosa batter.
9. Peanut butter ( the crunchy one- Love it).
10. Tomato ketchup
11. Cheese slices ( for emergency cheese omelette, Kids love it)
12. Left overs from the previous night.
Occasionally you can also find home-made sweets, and chocolates and cakes...
That's quite a lot isn't it... Well, I have a big fridge so it stocks up all of these things...
Loved your post... I think its quite entertaining...:)
What a fun post. What can always be found in my refrigerator? You mean aside from that blue stuff at the back? Always eggs, cheese, fruits, veggies, milk, juice, lime juice and lemon and leftovers of some sort which usually disappear the next day (erp!). Oh, and there's always a keg of white wine on the go (the red is on the counter). I keep my bread in the microwave because Frank dislikes cold bread, and my cats will get into it if it's not behind a closed door that they can't open... the wee bastids!
Sandy, Susan, Roger, Eternally..., Calli, Julie, Stevie, QMM, Zuzu, LadyCat, Sukanya, Dan, Sumandebray, Donna, sprinkles, Jeanne, Lynda, Diana, Nessa, Betsy, Rajesh, Margie, Holly, jeannette, seema and Hilary - thank you so very much for sharing with me the contents of your fridge! I am so delighted that you took the time to stop by and write such lovely comments - what a wonderful read, your words made me smile.;)
Just a note; of course I do have more items in my refrigerator than those I list here; these are simply always present.
Thank you so much; I appreciate your kind visits and your time.
Xoxo
Zuzana
You always have a bottle of Champagne in your fridge?! What a good idea, and I am inspired by you to do the same(you never know when you may need one)
One thing I always have in the fridge is ..a jar of peanut butter. It's for my dog--we stick a dab of it on our finger with her tiny tab of medication stuck in it for her to lick off every morning.
Otherwise, we always have...a bottle of hot sauce(two kinds, actually),
1% Milk,
lemons,
limes,
butter,
yogurt,
eggs,
cheese,
and... ketchup and mustard.
Fun idea for a blog abd I like your decorated refrigerator very much.
Dear Tina, thank you so much for the list, I think if I could get peanut butter here, I would have it too. But only for my own consumption.;)
I am glad you liked this post and my fridge as well.
xo
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you come up with the best topics!! :-)
My mom and I were discussing about our fridge: it is fairly new (some 7 years?), but it does not hold nicely juice/iced tea pitchers, a must in my fridge. So we are thinking on changing it next year, which would also help our electricity bill, as modern ones save on electricity :-o
Musts in my fridge: fresh juice/iced tea pitcher, vegetables of all kind, cheese (me too!), mustard, and usually my lunch for work :-)
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