If you are planning to buy an under-counter refrigerator, you have come to the right place. Per their namesake, under-counter refrigerators are designed to fit beneath standard-size counters. They enable operators to strategically place refrigerated storage in both the front of the house and in the kitchen to optimize workflow and conveniently store ingredients. An under-counter refrigerator is a popular choice for homes in 2022 because of its adaptability!
Minimal, compact refrigeration options such as under-counter and worktop units are great for expanding raw material storage and surface area for food preparation. You might consider purchasing an under-counter refrigerator if you often stock up on fresh foods. They are used by both commercial sectors and domestic households. Organizing parties and family get-togethers may be made simpler by adding an under-counter fridge or beverage center since it adds storage to your kitchen or event space. Considering the many types and options available, use our under-counter refrigerator buying guide to understand how to pick the best model for your requirements.
Contents
What Is An Undercounter Refrigerator?
To keep additional food, wine, and other alcoholic drinks, you may use an under-counter refrigerator, a smaller gadget that fits between cupboards and below your countertops. Under-counter refrigerators all come with the same functionality as a full-sized refrigerator. The main distinction is that under-counter refrigerators take up less room in the kitchen and may accommodate fewer goods.
Under-counter refrigerators do not possess advanced functions such as digital displays, water outlets, or ice dispensers. However, they do have a safety lock mechanism that secures your food items. It may be used as a refrigerator for refreshments at home or to store things like skincare products, makeup, prescription drugs, and beauty masks. You might want to avoid using this appliance to store your meat products that must be kept in freezers, as under-counter refrigerators are not equipped with freezer functionality.
Uses Of Undercounter Refrigerator
Now let us take a look at the list of multiple uses of an under-counter refrigerator that our team has curated just for you.
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Become a Beverage Center
Your under-counter refrigerator may serve as a designated beverage station for your household or your visitors. If you must store several refreshments, change the temperature per your requirements. However, if you have varied types of beverages then you must buy an under-counter refrigerator with a dual-zone function. Refrigerate Pepsi around 42°F and Coca-Cola at 38°F to boost the taste and preserve the zing of soft drinks. At 40°F, other sodas can be kept.
You can store water between the range of 53°F and 59°F. While keeping fruit juice fresh, keep temperatures between 46°F and 50°F. If you enjoy iced coffee, keep it at a temperature of 43°F.
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Chill Dairy
Under-counter refrigerators also keep dairy chilled to preserve it for a longer period. The recommended storage range for dairy products is 36°F to 39°F. Before their usage, plant-based milk such as soy, almond, coconut, and oat milk must be refrigerated at a temperature less than 40°F.
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Chill Salads
Salads can be chilled in the under-counter refrigerator for later eating. Hours prior to serving, keep your salad in the refrigerator at or under 40°F. In a sealed jar or plastic zipper bag, you may keep an uncooked Caesar salad, an egg, chicken, tuna, macaroni, or a fresh berries salad at this temperature for three to five days.
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Cool Mugs and Glasses
Other uses for an under-counter fridge include chilling cocktails, wine glasses, and icing beer mugs. To prevent the mugs from toughing, ensure adequate room in the frozen section of your under-counter refrigerator to place them. Your drinking cups should be wet on the exterior with chilly water before being placed in the refrigerator for 20 to 60 minutes.
You should cool your cocktail glasses in the under-counter refrigerator for not more than 2 hours. Place the mugs in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool before pouring white wine, champagne, or sparkling wine. Red wine may be cooled in the refrigerator for 2 to 5 minutes in both stemmed as well as stemless glasses.
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Hold Snacks
You can also use your under-counter refrigerator to store snacks in it. Bakery items that are firmly sealed in their packaging or sealed jar can be kept in the freezer or refrigerator section. For a maximum of three months, brownies, cake, cookie dough, cookies, as well as bagels can be kept in the freezer. Biscotti may be kept for up to six months in the refrigerator. Fruit pies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you love potato chips and very often consume them then you can store them in your under-counter refrigerator. However, first you will have to keep it in a sealed bag and then place it in the freezer. Additionally, nuts should be frozen since they contain oils that can break down in the presence of light, moisture, as well as heat. Popcorn prepared for consumption or left over can be placed in a closed bag and kept in the freezer to prevent it from going bad or being sticky.
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Keep Ingredients Fresh
Supplies for cooking and baking can be kept in the under-counter refrigerator. When you have measured out all your items, store them in your fridge on racks so they will not be left out at degrees between 40°F and 140°F. Your components will not serve as a haven for dangerous germs if you do this.
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Prepare Meals Beforehand
You may keep the ingredients for your meal preparation in an under-counter refrigerator. Separate your food into airtight containers and set your refrigerator to 40°F or below. Food for meal preparation should be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
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Preserve Film
Film preservation is another purpose for your under-counter refrigerator. In order to store unprocessed films that are pristine, you need to ensure that your refrigerator is at a temperature of 55°F. since minimum temperatures of your device can aid slow down film deterioration.
When storing unprotected raw film packed in cans and that you intend to use over the next six months, keep it between 0°F and -10°F in the frozen section of your under-counter refrigerator. You may also keep the raw film in the freezer section if you plan to utilize it within six months.
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Preserve Produce
Your under-counter refrigerator should also be capable of preserving the produce. This way, you keep the produce fresh for a much longer time. After removing the heads and greens, you may keep ginger, beets, turnips, carrots, radishes, and turnips in the refrigerator. When stored in sealed bags in the refrigerator, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower can be used within a week or two.
Fruits such as peaches, citrus, oranges, lemons, and many more may all be kept in the under-counter refrigerator. All these fruits may be kept in open or unsecured packaging except for apples. Apples must be kept in a zip lock bag and should stay fresh for up to two weeks, much like the other fruits said earlier.
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Stock Overflow
Your under-counter refrigerator may also be used as additional space for stock leftovers. Your primary kitchen refrigerator must usually be 75 percent loaded to enable the freezing air to flow effectively and avoid the formation of heat pockets. Nevertheless, it is customary to stuff your refrigerator to the rim, so you should keep any added food, fruit, or alcoholic drinks in the under-counter refrigerator.
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Store Alcoholic Beverages
Several types of alcohol can be kept in an under-counter refrigerator. If your refrigerator has several sections, you may keep the wine in any of them since several alcoholic drinks require different temperatures. Red wine should be kept at a temperature of 60.8°F to 64.4°F, as well as white wine at a temperature of 50°F to 53.6°F only if you are just utilizing your machine for one kind of alcoholic drink.
Sparkling wine, including champagne, should be kept between 46°F to 50°F, and rosé wine at 50°F. Rum may be served at a temperature of 55°F to 62°F, while beer is best enjoyed between 44.6°F and 50°F.
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Store Meat and Poultry
Your under-counter refrigerator is a fantastic tool for storing meat as well. Hotdogs, bacon, sausages, and country ham, can be stored at 0°F for two to three months or chilled at 40°F or below for up to a week. For one to two days, ground beef, hamburger patties, and even fresh chicken can be kept in the under-counter refrigerator.
Although raw chicken may be kept for nine months, ground beef and hamburger patties can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 months. Before eating, luncheon meat, steak, and canned ham must be chilled for three to five days or stored for 1 to 2 months.
What are the common mistakes in the usage of an under-counter fridge?
These are common mistakes that people with under-counter refrigerators usually make.
- Purchasing the incorrect model for your needs. You might opt for a model with shelving if your under-counter freezer will just be used for drinks. Under-counter fridges with different sections for fruits and vegetables are also in the market. Before buying your machine, consider that some will have containers in the door to hold large bottles and jars.
- Neglecting to take into account the arrangement of your kitchen. Kitchens with cabinets instead of doors are not always intended to accommodate under-counter refrigerators. You must have adequate space in the kitchen for your under-counter refrigerator.
- Compromising the door seal. If you do not maintain the door seal, it may get loose over time. That may result in your food getting rotted easily. Your door seal may need to be cleaned or replaced.
- Poor maintenance of under-counter refrigerators is another mistake you should avoid. Like other appliances, the under-counter fridge may be used more effectively and serve you for a longer length of time with frequent cleaning.
- Overlooking the under-counter fridge’s finish. Under-counter refrigerators can be made to fit into your kitchen with ease. If you want your under-counter fridge to blend in thoroughly with the room, pick a finish that matches or complements the room’s design.
- Installing your under-counter refrigerator incorrectly. If you wish to effectively swing open the door of an under-counter refrigerator, then it shouldn’t be situated exactly near a wall.
- Buying the incorrect size. Before buying, consider using the under-counter fridge to ensure you have adequate room for your food and drinks.
- Incorrect temperature setup. As was said earlier, there are ideal temperatures for several drinks and foods. As mentioned in the use scenarios above, change the temperature of your under-counter refrigerator by how you want to use it.
What is the history of usage of under-counter fridges?
Let us take a look at the history of the under-counter refrigerator.
In order to replenish their ice vaults, the Chinese would gather, chop, and accumulate ice dating back to 1000 B.C. In order to produce a chilly climate for making ice in the 1700s in Europe, saltpeter was dusted and mixed with water in bottles. The first manmade refrigerator, created in 1755 by William Cullen, worked on the same concept as today’s modern under-counter refrigerators: it absorbed heat from the air inside a vacuum.
General Electric created the first refrigerator for mass consumption in 1927. The Monitor-Top refrigerator eventually used compressed air since vapor-compression fridges posed a health risk and became a home mainstay. There are much more environmentally friendly options available nowadays. Because it can cool your drinks and snacks while using less power and energy, an under-counter fridge may save you both room and money.
Do the use cases of an under-counter fridge change based on type?
Yes, depending on the under-counter refrigerator, they have several uses. A few under refrigerators are dual temperature devices with separate freezers and refrigerator sections.
Under-counter refrigerators also come in various heights. Taller ones are employed in restaurants and cafes and used for medical purposes. You may choose an under-counter refrigerator with one door, two doors, or three doors, which can also be compartments, relying on what you intend to keep within.
Under-counter refrigerators are also available with various doors; sturdy doors are more typical in domestic appliances. To readily view the components of your under-counter refrigerator, you may select a model with glass doors.
Which under-counter fridge is best for cooling alcoholic beverages?
A dual-zone refrigerator with racks works wonders for chilling alcoholic drinks. Therefore, you may keep beer, wine, and rum in the same device at the ideal temperature to maintain flavor and texture.
Does an under-counter fridge have more use cases than a mini-fridge?
The under-counter fridge has numerous applications. An under-counter fridge may not only be completely incorporated into the kitchen due to the finish options available to you, but it also offers a greater capacity and the ability to have split zones and drawers.
Conclusion
In the end, an under-counter refrigerator saves space in a professional kitchen or restaurant. If you’re still considering installing an under-counter refrigerator made of stainless steel in your house, keep in mind the advantages of convenience and cost savings. Make a note of this scoop and the uses mentioned above. If you find the under-counter refrigerators useful, you can invest in them.
