Refrigerators

[BBWCHATT]

I live in the USA. My refrigerator - which is just an average sized one, not an unusually large one - is approximately 63 inches tall (the top 15 inches is the frost free freezer part) and 28 inches wide and 23 inches deep. When I see kitchens in Europe on television, their refrigerators are always the under the counter size - doesn't anyone have the larger versions like all of us have here in the USA - and if not, why not? Thanks in advance for your help.

[makemesmile]

They just look neater. They're not all 'under the counter' though. I've always had 'built-in' so that they have kitchen doors to make my cupboards etc.

Cars, houses, washing machines, fridges - for some reason they tend to be bigger in the USA.

But considering the expense and effort to dispose of them, is this really a good thing?

[shaneystar2]

My brother has an american style fridge ..huge great thing with double doors ,drinks dispenser and all the bells and whistles. We don't all have under the counter fridges here although lots of people have them as a built in option in a fitted kitchen with an under the counter freezer as well. I have an upright fridge freezer .Fridge at the top freezer at the bottom.
Don't believe everything you see on television !
Also we have to be choosy here as getting rid of old fridges and freezers is a hazard because of the CS gasses.
Fridge mountains ..have you seen that on TV ?

http://www.mipiggs.org/images/fridge_mountain_ 2.jpg

[spurslady]

Because they cost a small fortune, all the celebreties have them and posh people but most of us ordinary folk make do with the small ones, unless they have a fridge-freezer which is on top of the other.

My fridge is a small under the counter one but I do have a big chest freezer which is larger than average.

Plus things are alot cheaper in the USA we get conned with all sorts of added taxes here.

[Solarjunkie]

I think maybe in the USA it is customary to keep more things in the fridge, hence the need for a bigger one.
The ones depicted on tv always seem to be full of beer!
Mine contains only milk, cheese, butter and salad on a day to day basis. What about yours, BBWCHATT?

[bednobs]

those american style frige freezers make me laugh - there is no space in the freezer section as its so narrow

[Scarlett]

I bought one of those amazing great fridge freezers, and when ot was delivered, couldn't get it down the stairs cos they were too narrow!!!
Maybe that's another reason? a lot of American houses seem to be on one level, or certainly would not need to take a fridge down the stairs!

[aurelia]

I live in Britain and I don't know anyone who is the amrican style fridge. I have a small one but my parents have a small one and a fridge freezer which is really big but is probably half the width of the american ones

[BBWCHATT]

Thanks everyone for educating me! Especially you Solarjunkie - that explains it better than I had hoped - and to answer your question - I am an old lady and I live alone so I just have the average sized American fridge, but all of my family and friends have a husband and a child so they all have the side by side refrigerator freezer with the crushed ice/ice cubes and water in the door. We also - me included - have a separate upright freezer - and mine is bigger than my refrigerator. By the way - all of us are just average - not rich by any means. I keep the things I use more often in the freezer portion of my refrigerator and a full freezer of other food in the freezer. In my refrigerator I usually have Diet Coke in cans, cold tea, a gallon of milk, whipping cream, several different bottles of salad dressing, several kinds of mustard, mayo, barbeque sauce, spaghetti sauce, catsup, salsa, olives, dill pickles, dill pickle relish, artichoke hearts, jams and jellies, various cheeses, ham & turkey to make a sandwich, a bag of salad, tomatoes, butter, margarine, sour cream, cream cheese, various leftovers from yesterday and many more things I am sure I am forgetting to mention!

[makemesmile]

Wow, that's a lot of food for a lady that lives alone! Or do I keep less in my fridge because I go shopping more often?
mmm... how often do you shop? (if you don't my asking!)

[BBWCHATT]

Makesmesmile you probably do go shopping more often than I do - I have always hated any kind of shopping. A lot of the things in my fridge are condiment type things that you don't use every day and that last for a long time, salad dressings, pickles, etc. - but I also have visitors - friends and family and you do want to be able to offer them a sandwich or a snack - you know here in the Southern USA we are famous for our hospitality! What do you keep in your fridge and how often and what do you shop for?

[JamesEverton]

It's because Americans eat, on average, more than any other nationality. Hence they require bigger fridges.

[mah82603]

Most families here go shopping either once a week or once every 2 weeks, depending on how much they need to buy and can fit in their fridge. We tend to stock up when we find deals and especially when we get discounts on top of those deals. BBWCHATT is right, here in the south usa we are known for our hospitality. In my house, we have a saying, if you leave hungry or thirsty it's your fault b/c I always have something to offer to people. A lot of homes are like that.

[spurslady]

I must admit I would love to have one of those big frifdges they look so nice. My fridge contains butter, salad stuff for andwiches a ew cans of beer and half a bottle of wine. I tend to shop several times a week for the fresh stuff.

I also think that we not so socialble here I'm not, most people leave here with nothing more than a couple of cups of tea or coffee in them, probably why I dont have many visitors!!!!
Its nice to here how different peole live though,