While refrigerator technology overall has not changed much in the last few years, I got a chance to try out a refrigerator that changes this and fits every modern Indian home nicely - a really spacious 680L French door refrigerator inspired by Scandanavian design and built by a renowned Swedish manufacturer - Electrolux.
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This French door refrigerator has a classy stainless steel finish with a touch of chrome which goes really well with most modern Indian homes. It uses mark-resistant stainless steel that has a special advanced protective coating that eases the removal of marks such as fingerprints and water spots.
Let’s talk about the storage capacity and flexibility
This French door refrigerator has a classy stainless steel finish and a pantry-style layout - which means you can open both the doors together to give one large pantry style experience - which is better compared to a side by side refrigerator. The Smart Split design means the doors can also be opened individually to access each side independently based on the location and size of the item you are looking for - saving energy and effort.
In Indian households we also use containers of a variety of sizes - for example - in my home, batter is stored in a large container, sprouts and curd in a small container and so on. At 680L, the Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 is extremely spacious and flexible - making it easy to organize our variety of foods and beverages.
The fridge has adjustable shelves - both inside the fridge and on the door, so you can configure the fridge as per your needs using the FLEXSTOR function. It also has Flip-up & Slide-back shelves that help to store tall containers or food - be it a large bottle or a cake stand.
And my favorite - a cool snack drawer which can be used to keep berries, grapes, sliced veggies, chocolates etc. It is perfectly accessible to kids and is a great place to keep healthy snacking options all the time.
In the scorching heat these days, who would not like cold water and ice on demand
Whether you are hosting a cocktail party, making crushed ice drinks or just need a glass of cold water, the Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 has a water and ice dispenser to satiate us with the push of a button
The 3 liter water tank WATERSTREAM can be filled manually and can generate cold water in less than 30 minutes.
The ice dispenser AUTOICE also uses the water from the internal water tank - so no external plumbing is required - which many of you have told me can be a problem for you. It can generate the first 1 kg of ice in 90 minutes and replenishes constantly. You can get either cubes or crushed ice from AUTOICE.
One of the most important aspects in selecting a fridge is how it retains freshness of the food stored.
The biggest problem with keeping fruits and vegetables fresh in a fridge is moisture - the Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 has a technology called TASTELOCKAUTO which helps to release excess moisture to reduce condensation which inturn keeps the food fresh for 7 days, in terms of taste, texture, and nutritional value. The fruits and vegetables you see here have been in the fridge for a week now and still look fresh and have retained their crispness. The fridge has a blue gasket that helps lock the moisture and membranes on the side release the excess moisture captured.
Different foods need to be stored at different temperatures for optimum taste and preservation. For example, wine tastes best when stored at 7 degree centigrade. Or meat, I’m told, tastes better when stored at -2 degree rather than freezing and then defrosting - in which case it loses moisture and hence its taste. The Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 has an area called TASTESEALFLEX which helps you customize the temperature with just a push of a button, based on what you are storing - 7 Degrees for Champagne and White Wine, 3 Degrees for Delicate Daily Items Paneer, Cheese, 0 degree for cold drinks, -2 for Meat, Fish, and other perishable items.
The humidity and temperature levels are also meant to be different in the different zones of the refrigerator for optimum preservation of food. For example, in the cooling zone or the pantry zone - humidity needs to be higher to ensure the fresh food does not dry out while in the freezer area, humidity needs to be low to ensure food does not go bad. The Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 has a TWINTECH cooling system that helps to maintain different humidity and temperature in the fridge and freezer zones. Cold dry air is circulated in the freezer while humid cool air is circulated in the pantry and other zones.
I’m sure we’ve all faced this at some point - weird smell emanating from the fridge. Different food groups can interact and get affected by each other. The Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 has a TASTEGUARD deodoriser at the back of the refrigerator which uses a carbon filter to keep your fridge free from unwanted odours. The old filter can be easily swapped out every 6 months or whenever the indicator turns on, to ensure the freshness continues to stay.
The Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 has a number of different modes at the touch of a button that can help to customize the temperature of the fridge and freezer:
Holiday mode to maintain a low temperature that prevents odor and mould while consuming less power while you are away on vacation
Quick chill, quick freeze, and party mode to expedite freezing and cooling for a short period of time
Drinks Chill mode with a timer to quickly cool your cold drinks in the freezer for 30 mins and prevent freezing of cold drinks.
Now let’s talk about the freezer position and size
I’ve spoken previously about how a bottom freezer refrigerator is more useful for Indian households as we don’t tend to use the freezer area much - the Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 French door refrigerator fixes this issue by allowing easy access to frequently used items like fresh fruits, vegetables, beverages, and cooked food at eye level without having to bend down.
Being a 680L fridge, it has a generous amount of storage space inside. It also needs a generous amount of space on the outside - with an overall fridge dimension of approx 3 feet width, 2.5 feet depth, and 5 ft 10 inches in height. Since this is a large refrigerator, I recommend you ensure you check the dimensions closely and discuss with the installation team from Electrolux for ease of fitment in your home.
Overall, I found the Electrolux UltimateTaste 900 very stylish looking - apt for modern Indian homes. It is also very convenient to use with it’s bottom freezer configuration, adjustable shelves, and different technologies to maintain food fresh for a longer period of time. And it does this in an entirely sustainable manner - with upto 20% less carbon emissions, using recycled plastic, and recyclable materials in the fridge.