Choosing Your Refrigerator
from Italian Traditional Food
Keep cool when considering which refrigerator
to buy
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Next to a cooker, a refrigerator is probably the most important aid a cook can
have. It keeps raw ingredients in good condition so that planning shopping ahead is easier; it speeds up a lot of
cooking processes, such as getting jelly to set; it is an important factor in crisping vegetables; and, of course,
it helps to keep cooked dishes safer longer.
Temperature Rating
A properly used refrigerator should keep food at
a temperature between 35F and 45F (2C and 7C.) If a refrigerator is combined with a deep-freeze, either as a
separate compartment or a separate unit, it means that the quantities for many recipes can be doubled and kept
frozen for use weeks or even months later. This means a freezer that will operate at 0F (-18C) or below and, except
where the manufacturer specifically says so, does not mean the ordinary frozen food compartment of a domestic
refrigerator.
How refrigerators work
Refrigeration is based on the principle of evaporation. When moisture is evaporated, the
evaporating surface becomes cold. Heat always passes from the warmer to the cooler body. When food is put in a
refrigerator, the warmth it contains passes into the air, which circulates towards the coldest zone. The cold zone
absorbs the heat and cools the air, which then drops to the bottom of the cabinet. In a properly designed
refrigerator this is a continuous process.
The circulating air gathers moisture from the food over which it passes over the cold zone, it
deposits some of this moisture as frost on the cooling unit. That is one of the reasons why hot food should not be
put in the refrigerator – there will be a quick build-up of frost.
Whatever the type of refrigerator, the same principle of evaporation is used in the refrigerator
unit, ie, when a liquid changes to vapour or gas, heat is absorbed and when the vapour is again turned to moisture
it gives off the heat it has taken up.
Power source
Electricity, gas or oil is used to supply the energy that starts the cycle: a motor to compress
vapour in the case of the compressor-type refrigerator, which is the most widely used, and
an absorber in the absorption-type which uses heat instead of a motor to activate the cycle.
The absorption type is the only one available in versions which run on gas, bottled gas and
kerosene as well as electricity. New owners sometimes get worried when they find the back of their
refrigerator is warm but this is only part of the refrigeration process.
Running Costs
With electricity it is possible to make a comparison between the running costs of absorption and
compressor models, and on average a 4cu. ft. absorption model would use 2.5 units of electricity to every 1 unit
used by a compressor type of the same capacity. But an absorption model is often chosen because there is no mains
supply or on account of its complete silence, which is usually preferred to the hum of a compressor model.
Generally there is more space for food storage in a given overall size with compressor models,
and they can achieve very much lower temperatures than absorption models.
Page 2 of this Italian Traditional Food article can be found on the
next page.
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