Tell the sale person to read the report that the USDA put out on keeping food in the fridge.

Most any new fridge will keep the food longer than what the USDA recommends~~~~yea the fruits and veggies may still look great , but they have lost most of their nutritional value.

Every once in a while we do see "My fridge keeps food longer" contests here in Gardenweb, but for the most part
these contests have died down considerably, thank goodness!

Most the new fridges do keep food longer, but that is due to better door seals, better insulation, etc etc. These improvements were done so fridges would meet current and new energy requirements, but of course the "marketing folks", (especially on the expensive brands) picked up on the improvements and expound on them as
"Keeping Food Fresh longer".

Those that have not read the USDA report, or who have a very old fridge, may buy that "Marketing Hype".

Just look through the posts here in GW, you will see folks with pretty "run of the mill" fridges posting about how long their new fridge keeps food, but of course they are outdone by the folks that bought the fancy and expensive fridges.

Gary

Dual evaporators are the key. Yes, humidity control is better in them, I can confirm that since I now own one after a lifetime of owning single evaporator fridges. I don't have a particularly high end brand though - it's just a GE Profile. However, not all high end fridges have dual evaporators. If this is something you want you'll need to make sure the fridge has it before you buy. Some super high end ones like Sub-Zero have 2 compressors, each with their own evaporator; others, like mine, have 2 evaporators connected to a single compressor.

This is so interesting aside from the refrigerator discussion! Is the report available online? - I feel I should know how long I can hold the veggies before they lose their nutritional content.

The two evaporator factor is also something I wasn't aware of. I am looking at a Bosch french door counter depth fridge (which is a kitchen aide from what I understand) and it has a single evaporator. Will this fridge necessarily have worse performance due to the single evaporator?

Here is a report on how long to keep different foods in the fridge, alto this report is more aimed at "Keeping the food safe", rather than how long before food loses much of its nutritional value.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5403.pdf

I'm still searching for the USDA report on fridge storage times vs nutrition. I'm sure I posted it here in Gardenweb, but so far, "no Joy" in finding it, sorry about that.

As important, or more important than dual evaporators and/or dual compressors are a fridges "Temperature Performance". Part of the temperature performance is how even are the temperatures in different areas of the fridge
(in areas where the temps should be the same), IE excludes chrispers, meat keeper areas. Consumer reports test "Temperature Performance" and you may want to see how the Bosch did.

I must admit , I have never had a dual compressor or dual evaporator fridge, yet I have always been happy with the performance of the fridges that I have owned. I especially like the Jenn-air I have now, as I can set the temps for the Veggie bin, the meat keeper at a different temp than the rest of the fridge, (IE colder), and from what I've read, this is especially important for meat preservation.
Also the veggie bin and meat keeper areas have filters to help optimize humidity in these areas.

Gary

Here is a link that might be useful: recommended food storage time

Dual evaporators are not necessary, just kind of a nice thing. I'm sure you would be perfectly happy with that Bosch made by Whirlpool (which is a good fridge BTW).

The USDA pub at the link, below, has fruit and vegetable storage info. The section called Grocery Store Display Storage says the relative humidity should be kept at 85% - 95% and the air should be ethylene free. I don't know if this the pub that Gary refers to.

The only fridge I know about is the SZ. It has a high humidity drawer for produce and the fridge has an ethylene removing canister which needs once a year replacement for $50. There's a signal that flashes when the ethylene level is rising. Other boxes may also control these storage parameters.

I don't know anything about fridge design but it seems clear that a box which circulates the same air through the freezer and fridge would be very dry inside. So that argues for two evaporators.

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Handbook #66

Thanks, Catman, that one is a bit more detailed than the one I first found, but usefull none the less!

Consumer Reports does mention that separating the fridge and freezer compartments does help control the humidity in the fridge compartment.

But reading various University studies, as well as USDA data, that deal with the produce from picking to eating, I doubt the fridge , either separate compartments or not, is gonna make much difference as far as the quality of the final product you eat, (as far as nutrition goes).

Heck even washing the produce or cutting it up, or storing fruits & veggies together will have a bigger effect than any it will get from the fridge, (assuming a properly working fridge).

So of course buy what you like but I don't think you will get a lot of "Bang for the Buck" as far as stored produce goes.

Gary

This is quite educational. I do see the value of dual evaporators because, even assuming that a variety of factors can contribute to produce degrading, all else being equal it seems that the same produce will fare better (even if not great) in a dual evaporator fridge. Hence, while in single evap fridge a vegetable might have 50% of it's value gone in two days, perhaps that number would only be 40% in a dual evaporator fridge. The question is, is that worth it?

What are some options for dual evaporator fridges that are under or around $5k? I was looking at the Liebherrs the other day and they seemed good. For me, it is also very advantageous to have a fridge with zero clearance hinges like in the Liebherr and in built-ins. Is there anything else like this out there?

Thank you!

Correct me if I am wrong, I think both Samsung Twin Cooling Plus and LG Smart Cooling Plus employ dual evaporators. So it is not really some high-end feature.

You are correct.

As I recall, Samsung was the first to offer single compressor dual evaporator fridges, and at the time I remarked about it being a good idea, for those that want complete separation between fridge and freezer.

A much simpler system than dual compressors and dual condensors, and should be easier to meet current energy and future energy requirements, than a design that uses two compressors (IE 2 motors).

Looking at Consumer Reports today, the Samsungs enjoy high ratings from Consumer Reports, but one should go down and read the reviews from actual users of the fridge.
In "some cases", CR's take on a fridge and the CR subscribers who reviewed the fridges are 180 degrees out of phase.

The other thing we keep seeing about Samsungs, and LG's as well is, parts that are difficult to get along with long times to get the parts. Some of these posts were made by appliance service folks.

So at the very least, check with a local service company , see if the can get the parts, or better yet , have them in stock.

Actually the above should be done before purchasing any fridge, regardless of brand.

Gary

Miele is another high end one to look at if you're in the SubZero range.

There's fresh and there's fresh. How do you measure it? Just not spoiled? There are nutrients that are lost over time, vitamins that dissolve in water or steam, others that are lost in fats, etc., and there are a great many nutrients that stay even when things get old and wrinkly, or are cooked at high heats, or whatever damaging thing we're talking about. Even with the water soluble ones--generally the easiest to loose, half of the quantity remains. So you have to eat twice as much broccoli. Boo-hoo.

Yes, all fridges are better now. As Gary said, one of the best ways to preserve quality is constancy of temperature, which computerized control has improved at all levels.

But, yes, the gizmos do work.

When those first came out I asked, and I'll ask again, even if it is preserved, how much do you want to eat a three week old cabbage? OTOH, carrots used to be stored in the cellar all Winter, and I wouldn't think twice about eating three week old carrots (which have mostly fat soluble vitamins). It may be that these new gizmos really do help the veg retain their nutrients as well as their fresh appearance. If so, they still have to overcome the cultural mindsets.

hmmmm, "Cultural Mindsets", is that the same as a moldy brain?

OP,
i have the Liebherr HCB 2062 and its been flawless

yes the biofresh does work it keeping things fresher longer...

u can keep a cuke for at least 10 days or more w/o going to mush....one example

yes, ours is integrated, so no hinges.
you do have the vent on the bottom, but it is recessed and hardly noticeable...

it does integrate beautifully, others on GW have it and there are pics on this site.
do a search in "search" box & hopefully u will find them

any questions, just ask :)
good luck

P.S. if u do buy the Liebherr, just make sure u have service in your area...