Refrigerator For Vegetables And Fruits: How To Choose A Home Refrigerator Or Vegetable Compartment?

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

Having your own vegetable garden is a great way to eat foods high in vitamins more often with a minimum of harmful additives, and even save on it. Another thing is that in our country the season of fresh vegetables and fruits does not last all year round, and in canned form, all these gifts of nature easily lose a certain part of their benefits.

If your own vegetable garden brings significant amounts of harvest and you want to keep it mostly fresh, you should purchase a special refrigerator for vegetables and fruits.

The necessary conditions

For most modern consumers, it is no secret that even an ordinary home refrigerator has zones with different temperatures. This is not a minus of the organization of equipment, but the ability to place each product in the conditions that are optimal for it. A typical “vegetable” spot is a special chamber or drawer at the bottom of the main compartment, but conditions are not ideal there, and there is little space.

The optimal refrigerator for vegetarian ingredients can have very different freezing temperatures, but always with the ability to adjust it. If the camera is able to do this in automatic mode, then usually the temperature inside it is from 2 to 7 degrees Celsius. But at the same time it is important to maintain the humidity inside the chamber within 70-95%. Some models allow temperature regulation in the range of 8-20 degrees, but then the maximum allowable humidity will be 90%.

In some cases, for storing vegetables and fruits, you can also use special heating chambers, in which the temperature can vary from 2 to 18 degrees above zero.

On an industrial scale, equipment with a capacity of up to 250 tons is used, but at home, of course, cameras of a more modest size are used.

Multiple compartments are highly desirable, as temperatures that are too low for plant products are only appropriate for a short time. In order to avoid spoilage of such food, it cannot be sharply defrosted, therefore the selected refrigerator should be able to increase the temperature gradually, literally by one or two degrees.

Principle of operation

The release of special refrigerators for vegetables and fruits is not just a marketing ploy to sell the same unit under a new name, but a completely separate piece of equipment. The described products are susceptible to the influence of various microorganisms, and can also lose water during the freezing process, which spoils both the taste and appearance.

The first thing that such a unit does when loaded is shock freezing. It differs in that there is a sharp drop in temperature, which usually does not reach negative values. This approach allows you to effectively destroy all possible bacteria that could provoke the processes of decay or decomposition, but at the same time, for many vegetables and fruits, the temperature soon rises, otherwise the tropical fruits will simply be destroyed from the inside.

A special temperature of permanent storage is set for each type of fruit. For example, for carrots you need a strict zero, for grapes you can make a relaxation - up to 2 degrees Celsius, apples will not deteriorate even at +4, but southern bananas should not be stored at temperatures below +7, although they should not be above +12 either.

Of fundamental importance is not only the temperature inside the chamber, but also the humidity, which must be constantly maintained at a certain level. Considering that in such a unit, vegetables and fruits, being closed, can be stored for months, the manufacturer is obliged to think over the ventilation system , because it is simply impossible to regulate the humidity level otherwise. The system carefully monitors the level of moisture in the air inside the chamber and, as needed, draws in air from the outside so that the gifts of nature do not get stuck.

In most cases, such equipment performs all complex calculations by itself, so no special knowledge is required on the part of the consumer. The device assumes the presence of several built-in programs, each of which is designed for a particular fruit or vegetable - the owner can only press the appropriate button and be sure that the contents of the refrigerator will not deteriorate.

Criterias of choice

If it was decided that such equipment would be very useful at home, then before making a purchase it is worth paying attention to the characteristics that should be followed when choosing.

• Dimensions (edit) … The house is not a storage room, so the camera still needs to be placed somewhere so that it does not interfere with anyone. A separate moment - it must freely pass through the existing doorways, because usually such equipment is not disassembled.
• Multiple temperature zones … Large stores can afford a single-chamber unit for each type of vegetable or fruit, but for a home it is desirable to have several sections so that the entire crop fits into one chamber. Each section must be regulated separately, because all products cannot be stored at the same temperature.
• Volume … Refrigerating chambers for fruits and vegetables are available in volumes from 35 liters. The owner must think in advance how much volume he needs, since a small refrigerator will not solve his problem, and a large unit is much more expensive, and even with the predominant downtime, it still does not provide adequate storage conditions.
• Material … It is desirable that expensive equipment is durable and does not lose its attractive appearance as long as possible. These requirements are best met by stainless steel cases, but painted refrigerators quickly wear out on the outside.
• Cooling type … Static refrigeration cabinets work on the principle of natural circulation of air mass, therefore, the temperature difference in individual zones in them often differs in the location of the shelf - top or bottom. Dynamic models force cold air with a fan, so here the location of the temperature zones is more subject to user settings.