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German Photographer Compares 14 Fridges And Their Owners Around The World
Show me your fridge and I‘ll tell you who you are. Wait, I think this saying was about friends. Actually, when you think about it, a fridge is quite a good friend, especially in lockdown. It‘s something you can rely on at least 3 times a day, and it never disappoints. And you would be surprised how much a fridge can reveal about you, even beyond your eating habits!
German designer, photographer, and gluten-free, healthy food lover Sandra Juncker decided to peek into people’s fridges around the world to find out how much the contents of a fridge can tell about their lives.
What does your fridge tell about you? Let us know in the comments!
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Germany, 2012
Since 2012, people from London, Cape Town, Pretoria, Istanbul, Madrid, Paris, and Berlin have opened their fridges to the whole world, and this is the result so far―a colorful archive of fridges and their proud owners. These people are of different personalities, nationalities, cultures, traditions, ages, and social statuses and Juncker tried to capture the link between these factors and the contents of these people’s fridges.
“So what does this tell us about the people who use these fridges? Do we have a special system filling it? What belongs in our fridges and what do we eat? Is there any difference or similarity between different cultures, countries, ages, or flat sharing? Do we keep leftovers and how do we store them?” These are just a few of the questions Juncker was interested in when she started the project.
Pretoria, South Africa, 2016
I would like to clarify things on behalf people living in south africa, we do not keep cake mix, corn flour, stock cubes, green tea, oats and a bunch of other things in this picture in the fridge. We do not know this woman and why she does the things that she does.
London, UK, 2017
He is like my best friend now cause of the BROCCOLI
Load More Replies...Maybe he eats them cold out of the can, I keep tuna packets in the fridge because I like to eat them cold.
Load More Replies...Not ashamed, a good vegetarian....or he went out the morning of the photoshoot and bought a whole lotta fresh food...... to make himself look better.....
I just know this guy is going to lecture me in sustainable food within three seconds of opening his mouth
When you ask why he keeps canned food in the fridge I imagine the answer would be, "Ommm..."
Or because he likes eating whatever it is chilled.
Load More Replies...This man looks like he's vegetarian, but why canned peas?? They're nothing like fresh peas or frozen, but a breed totally apart! And why are canned peas in the fridge?? Does he eat them cold from the can? So many questions....
I agree with you, fresh or frozen are superior. Though I will use the canned variety in tuna salad, and since the finished dish is chilled, having peas already cold would be convenient.
Load More Replies...A lot of this stuff would last longer and taste better if it weren't kept in an fridge.
I was so shocked to see every fruit and veggie wrapped in plastic in the Uk. And I highly doubt most people eat like this guy in Britain.
I actually tried eating like this. So very bland, even with cayenne added to your salads. I'm back to corn chips, sushi, and sweetened cereals.
S**t, the man loves his broccoli. Bet he farts quite a bit from it. And are those goldfish crackers?
Canned fruit refrigerated? That seems odd to me but I am an American and we keep canned goods in a cupboard. He is probably a vegan or at least a vegetarian. Seems there is something religious or spiritual going on with him and that may be reflected in his diet.
It's not even fruit, it's peas and kidney beans. Which I wouldn't think anyone ate cold. Perhaps there's more room in the fridge than the cupboard...
Load More Replies...this song came into my head just now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDMlk3kSYg
Letting someone into your fridge can be a very intimate moment as it can reveal more than just how often you eat your fruit and vegetables. It can show how well-organized and tidy you are, if you are vegetarian or vegan, and speak about your lifestyle in general. It seems inaccurate to judge people based on the contents of their fridge, but when you look through the list and spot the little details, you can kind of guess to whom they might belong. The biggest fridge packed with all sorts of pre-cooked meals belongs to a grandma, a secret compartment with chocolate probably prepared to spoil grandchildren belongs to an elderly German couple, a minimalist man with long hair has a fridge full of broccoli and other goods, a young couple from busy Paris has barely anything inside. If you are curious about what's inside other people's fridges, this ongoing series is right up your alley, but being able to see fridge owners in their usual environment makes this social experiment so much more interesting.
London, United Kingdom, 2016
Just living for that kimono queen in the middle..I'd want to live here
Paris, France, 2017
The project called “Show Me Your Fridge” is particularly important to the artist as she has become very invested in the global topics of food, modern trends of responsible handling, and waste.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, around one-third or 1.3 billion tons of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted every year. Food waste in households often occurs due to poor purchase and meal planning, excess buying, confusion over “best before” and “use by” labels, and poor storage. Consequently, any food losses add up to water, land, energy, labor, and capital resources, whereas extensive and needless production causes global warming and climate change. We can do better, starting with our own fridges!
Paris, France, 2017
London, United Kingdom, 2016
Is the towel in the fridge some kind of neat tip or trick I haven't heard of yet?
If you like this idea, you can also check what’s inside people’s wallets, ladies’ handbags, and even vehicles of various emergency services!
Cape Town, South Africa, 2016
Cape Town, South Africa, 2016
Istanbul, Turkey, 2013
Paris, France, 2017
Berlin, Germany, 2018
Berlin, Germany, 2018
But dat moustache be on flek (idk how to spell it but you get what I mean)
Paris, France, 2017
"We have those people coming to take photos of the fridge today, should we clean it?" "No, no, let's leave it mostly empty with some old containers leaking juices all over the place"
I know. This post made me realize I need to clean the fridge
Load More Replies...This post has made me realise I eat more fresh fruit and vegetables than the vast number of people world wide.
This post has made me realise I don't keep my fresh fruit in de fridge
Load More Replies...I was thinking this... Is not really"around the world"... More of a triangle really
Load More Replies...Remember that post a while ago about how Americans are the only ones who put eggs in the fridge? Well, that is obviously not true
It never was. The post was not about people keeping eggs in the fridge but about supermarkets storing them in the fridge. In many grocery stores in Europe the eggs are not refrigerated. We only put them in the fridge at home.
Load More Replies...To be fair: unprocessed food is in large parts stored outside the fridge.
Load More Replies...This was the most boring and useless post I think I have seen on Bored Panda
I was surprised more people didn't have leftovers in containers. My fridge is mostly ingredients, and glass boxes of leftovers :) Also surprised by all the damn plastic packaging...argghhh.
I'm really surprised to see I'm above the average concerning the amount of fruits and vegetables. And I KNOW I don't eat enough of these....
They may not need to refrigerate produce because they shop more often and buy what they'll eat in a day or so.
Load More Replies...Any one else scrolling through these trying to find the fridge stocked most similarly to their own? :)
Most of these fridges in the UK look like dorm fridges. Is the standard there really tiny fridges?
Most were student homes and not the sort of fridges in the average household. I don't know anyone with a fridge that tiny unless it's the overflow 'beer' fridge or something.
Load More Replies...I wonder if it's more their "house shoes" than it is actual sandals that they'd wear out and about.
Load More Replies...The "world" according to German Photographers: Germany, France, UK, Turkey South Africa...
I am nosy by nature and I love these posts. It allows me to nose around without being intrusive. Next one should be what people keep in their medicine cabinets lol
Actually fairly tedious. A few were organized and functional the rest not clear enough to identify specific items.
I would like to see a collection of fridges during the quarantine.
This is an interesting article because it lets you see what people do with their groceries around the world. I have always felt weird because I make sure I have plenty to drink in my refrigerator, but now I don't because appears to be normal. I would love to have dinner with all the broccoli eaters. They have good taste in vegetables.
I wonder if those who have bare fridges--do they mostly eat out? Or do they just buy fresh foods on a more daily basis?
So, this artist is very exclusive in the types of people she speaks with. She could have picked two groups (wanky college gits and fringe extremists - well, that's almost one group, really) and the obligatory black dude and summed up her entire experience of people, and their fridges, plus one.
This will sound like bragging but I really don’t care. My fridge is filled with fresh vegetables and fresh fruits at all times. And what happened to left over foods? Doesn’t anyone cook at home anymore? Some of these fridges are really sad looking. The worst are the ones filled with cans and processed foods.
This doesn't show anything useful about different cultures or countries. You could show different fridges within the same city and have these discrepancies. My fridge is totally different to my own mothers. If going to compare around the world, better to compare the same demographic eg a couple in their 20s on muddle income with 3 kids. No use in seeing rich bachelor in Capetown compared to student digs in London.
These pics are not a good representation of people's fridges 'around the world', e.g. many pics from South Africa, all different. I am from South Africa and there are food brands in the pics that I haven't heard of.
CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW CLEAN AND ORGANIZED MOST OF THESE FRIDGES ARE!??
As an American I found this absolutely 100% fascinating. First of all is clear that people in the photo essay featured countries have a lot more plant-based diet, shop more on a daily basis, don't waste food, and are not accustomed to the ridiculous plethora of options and acquisitiveness inherent in American life. I'm pretty inspired to downsize our fridge. Fantastic job on the photo essay! I particularly loved that the people whose refrigerators were pictured also were included. Amazing!
None of these fridges look appetizing. They all look like they are owned by mice that like condiments. Didn't look like a real eater in the bunch. PS: most of those condiments don't even need to be refrigerated.
just because they don't stuff their fridges with a bunch of leftovers and actually have good vegetables doesn't mean it's owned by mice. and condiments mostly should be refrigerated, that way they don't go warm and stale and gross. it's better to keep things cool, you should try it with your attitude
Load More Replies...Fridges And Their Owners "Around The World" - Germany, London, South africa and France. That is not around the world at all :D
Sad fridges, with nearly no fresh food. The picture labeled as Madrid 2018 must be wrong as the products are not Spanish brands, and neither is the language. However there is a fridge from somewhere else with Spanish brands so I would say that it was mixed up.
a lot of people are vegetarians, or maybe they keep their meet in the freezer so it lasts longer and then they defrost it. or perhaps they have leftovers with meat in one of the many containers some of these fridges had. or maybe it doesn't matter
Load More Replies...American refrigerators are generally double this size, at least. We shop for a week or two at a time because many people don't have a "corner market"
Where's the pics of the fridges in the USA?? I can imagine them being full of sugar and candy and processed junk because we are all slobs.
Wow, I'm not even from the United States, but way to stereotype an entire country. I know plenty of people from the U.S. that eat quite well.
Load More Replies...wow really? he's from germany, he probably isn't going to go to the other side of the world, which is why he stayed mostly in europe and south africa. you poor americans can't stand it when things don't revolve around you, can you?
Load More Replies...What happened with south america? Argentina, brasil..?? If the article says "around the world"!!!
it is around the world, it's around europe and south africa, that is part of the world. some people can't afford to do the entire planet.
Load More Replies...There are three main themes here: the very little food that many people have in a fridge (which is very inefficient regarding space and energy), that lots of people think they have to keep all manner of things in a fridge that are perfectly safe in a cupboard, despite the apparent care that food won't spoil they can't be bothered cleaning!
When a fridge is full, it consumes more energy than when it's empty. And they have small fridges.
Load More Replies...They are the size of hotel fridges. Glad I'm American, I have 26 cubic feet of chill food to enjoy.
"We have those people coming to take photos of the fridge today, should we clean it?" "No, no, let's leave it mostly empty with some old containers leaking juices all over the place"
I know. This post made me realize I need to clean the fridge
Load More Replies...This post has made me realise I eat more fresh fruit and vegetables than the vast number of people world wide.
This post has made me realise I don't keep my fresh fruit in de fridge
Load More Replies...I was thinking this... Is not really"around the world"... More of a triangle really
Load More Replies...Remember that post a while ago about how Americans are the only ones who put eggs in the fridge? Well, that is obviously not true
It never was. The post was not about people keeping eggs in the fridge but about supermarkets storing them in the fridge. In many grocery stores in Europe the eggs are not refrigerated. We only put them in the fridge at home.
Load More Replies...To be fair: unprocessed food is in large parts stored outside the fridge.
Load More Replies...This was the most boring and useless post I think I have seen on Bored Panda
I was surprised more people didn't have leftovers in containers. My fridge is mostly ingredients, and glass boxes of leftovers :) Also surprised by all the damn plastic packaging...argghhh.
I'm really surprised to see I'm above the average concerning the amount of fruits and vegetables. And I KNOW I don't eat enough of these....
They may not need to refrigerate produce because they shop more often and buy what they'll eat in a day or so.
Load More Replies...Any one else scrolling through these trying to find the fridge stocked most similarly to their own? :)
Most of these fridges in the UK look like dorm fridges. Is the standard there really tiny fridges?
Most were student homes and not the sort of fridges in the average household. I don't know anyone with a fridge that tiny unless it's the overflow 'beer' fridge or something.
Load More Replies...I wonder if it's more their "house shoes" than it is actual sandals that they'd wear out and about.
Load More Replies...The "world" according to German Photographers: Germany, France, UK, Turkey South Africa...
I am nosy by nature and I love these posts. It allows me to nose around without being intrusive. Next one should be what people keep in their medicine cabinets lol
Actually fairly tedious. A few were organized and functional the rest not clear enough to identify specific items.
I would like to see a collection of fridges during the quarantine.
This is an interesting article because it lets you see what people do with their groceries around the world. I have always felt weird because I make sure I have plenty to drink in my refrigerator, but now I don't because appears to be normal. I would love to have dinner with all the broccoli eaters. They have good taste in vegetables.
I wonder if those who have bare fridges--do they mostly eat out? Or do they just buy fresh foods on a more daily basis?
So, this artist is very exclusive in the types of people she speaks with. She could have picked two groups (wanky college gits and fringe extremists - well, that's almost one group, really) and the obligatory black dude and summed up her entire experience of people, and their fridges, plus one.
This will sound like bragging but I really don’t care. My fridge is filled with fresh vegetables and fresh fruits at all times. And what happened to left over foods? Doesn’t anyone cook at home anymore? Some of these fridges are really sad looking. The worst are the ones filled with cans and processed foods.
This doesn't show anything useful about different cultures or countries. You could show different fridges within the same city and have these discrepancies. My fridge is totally different to my own mothers. If going to compare around the world, better to compare the same demographic eg a couple in their 20s on muddle income with 3 kids. No use in seeing rich bachelor in Capetown compared to student digs in London.
These pics are not a good representation of people's fridges 'around the world', e.g. many pics from South Africa, all different. I am from South Africa and there are food brands in the pics that I haven't heard of.
CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW CLEAN AND ORGANIZED MOST OF THESE FRIDGES ARE!??
As an American I found this absolutely 100% fascinating. First of all is clear that people in the photo essay featured countries have a lot more plant-based diet, shop more on a daily basis, don't waste food, and are not accustomed to the ridiculous plethora of options and acquisitiveness inherent in American life. I'm pretty inspired to downsize our fridge. Fantastic job on the photo essay! I particularly loved that the people whose refrigerators were pictured also were included. Amazing!
None of these fridges look appetizing. They all look like they are owned by mice that like condiments. Didn't look like a real eater in the bunch. PS: most of those condiments don't even need to be refrigerated.
just because they don't stuff their fridges with a bunch of leftovers and actually have good vegetables doesn't mean it's owned by mice. and condiments mostly should be refrigerated, that way they don't go warm and stale and gross. it's better to keep things cool, you should try it with your attitude
Load More Replies...Fridges And Their Owners "Around The World" - Germany, London, South africa and France. That is not around the world at all :D
Sad fridges, with nearly no fresh food. The picture labeled as Madrid 2018 must be wrong as the products are not Spanish brands, and neither is the language. However there is a fridge from somewhere else with Spanish brands so I would say that it was mixed up.
a lot of people are vegetarians, or maybe they keep their meet in the freezer so it lasts longer and then they defrost it. or perhaps they have leftovers with meat in one of the many containers some of these fridges had. or maybe it doesn't matter
Load More Replies...American refrigerators are generally double this size, at least. We shop for a week or two at a time because many people don't have a "corner market"
Where's the pics of the fridges in the USA?? I can imagine them being full of sugar and candy and processed junk because we are all slobs.
Wow, I'm not even from the United States, but way to stereotype an entire country. I know plenty of people from the U.S. that eat quite well.
Load More Replies...wow really? he's from germany, he probably isn't going to go to the other side of the world, which is why he stayed mostly in europe and south africa. you poor americans can't stand it when things don't revolve around you, can you?
Load More Replies...What happened with south america? Argentina, brasil..?? If the article says "around the world"!!!
it is around the world, it's around europe and south africa, that is part of the world. some people can't afford to do the entire planet.
Load More Replies...There are three main themes here: the very little food that many people have in a fridge (which is very inefficient regarding space and energy), that lots of people think they have to keep all manner of things in a fridge that are perfectly safe in a cupboard, despite the apparent care that food won't spoil they can't be bothered cleaning!
When a fridge is full, it consumes more energy than when it's empty. And they have small fridges.
Load More Replies...They are the size of hotel fridges. Glad I'm American, I have 26 cubic feet of chill food to enjoy.