The contents of a fridge can reveal more about you than you think.
In fact, your choice of food can say something about a particular home, family, or culture.
Recently, Admiral Home Insurance asked 20 people from 20 different countries to take a photograph of their fridge and reveal more about what’s inside.
Sharing the responses with FEMAIL, we delve into what the world likes to eat.
Your choice of food can say something about a particular home, family, or culture (pictured: a fridge in England)
Nicola, from Tunbridge Wells (pictured with her family), revealed her monthly household income is $10,498, and their household spends approximately $720 per month on food
ENGLAND
Monthly household income: $10,498
Monthly spend on food: $720
A fridge in England is a very different prospect to others around the world.
Nicola, from Tunbridge Wells, revealed her monthly household income is $10,498, and their household spends approximately $720 per month on food.
‘Once opened, everything is decanted into Tupperware so no smells linger in the fridge,’ Nicola said.
‘My husband and I enjoy blackberry crumble made from the berries I gather from the local hedgerows. I shop at Marks and Spencer, a high-end chain store, once a week.
‘I used to have a vegetable garden until recently but it got too hot to grow vegetables and hose pipe bans made it difficult to provide the garden with enough water. I have a composting bin for waste and I give apple cores to our dog Bracken.’
Meghan from Somerville, United States, shared a peek inside her fridge, which includes the likes of Icelandic yoghurt, plenty of fruit and cans (pictured)
UNITED STATES
Monthly household income: $9,203
Monthly spend on food: $412
Meghan from Somerville, United States, shared a peek inside her fridge, which includes the likes of Icelandic yoghurt, plenty of fruit and cans.
‘There are three in our family: myself, my partner Ben, and our dog Pluto… We shop for food together and we like to cook together and plan our meals for the week based on whatever looks best on the shelves,’ Meghan said.
‘We shop at Wegmans, a 30-minute trek in the car, and Trader Joe’s which is down the street from our house. We spend $99 per week if I’m also including food ordered in restaurants. We always have a good amount of seasonal produce on hand, as our diets are primarily vegetarian.’
While Australia wasn’t included in the countries surveyed, a recent Commonwealth Bank report found that the average Australian spends 22.7 per cent of their income on food, or $1,078 per month (pictured: an Australian fridge)
AUSTRALIA
Monthly spend on food: $1,078
While Australia wasn’t included in the countries surveyed, a recent Commonwealth Bank report found that the average Australian spends 22.7 per cent of their income on food, or $1,078 per month.
Aussie fridges, such as mother Rachael Hallett’s, can often be filled with a wide assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as Tupperware containers of leftovers.
Rene, 81, from Merida in Venezuela, explained that her daughters buy her food shopping for her every eight days, visiting ‘local street markets and the charcuterie’ (pictured: her Venezuelan fridge)
VENEZUELA
Monthly household income: $43.26
Monthly spend on food: $23.21
In Venezuela, for some families it’s a different story altogether from the likes of the US and Australia.
Rene, 81, from Merida in Venezuela, explained that her daughters buy her food shopping for her every eight days, visiting ‘local street markets and the charcuterie’.
‘In the fridge I always have meat, eggs, chicken, vegetables, cheese and juices,’ she said. ‘For me, special treats are jelly and marmalade. In the bottom drawer are vegetables. Cheese and eggs sit in a special tray.’
The Russian fridge on show is stuffed full of the likes of pink champagne, hot sauce and pre-chopped vegetables (pictured: a Russian fridge)
RUSSIA
Monthly household income: $3318.45
Monthly spend on food: $837
The Russian fridge on show is stuffed full of the likes of pink champagne, hot sauce and pre-chopped vegetables.
‘There are three people in my family. I am 23, my mother is 53 and my father is 57,’ Anastasija from Saint Petesburg said.
‘We all contribute to the food shopping but my father is the one who goes to get it. We don’t travel far to buy our food as there are plenty of supermarkets close to our apartment. My father goes shopping every few days.
‘Vegetables go in the lowest boxes, then go cheese and sausages. The milk and drinks are located in the door. On the other shelves you’ll find an assortment of different things.’
Ghada (pictured) from Khan Yunis was the person from the Palestinian Territories who was interviewed, saying that he and his wife like to ‘eat lots of vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumber and peppers’
‘I buy the food shopping for us once a week from the market which is 5km away, usually on Fridays. We wasted about 20 per cent of our food, which I don’t think is a lot,’ Ghada said (pictured: a fridge from the Palestinian Territories)
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Monthly household income: $450
Monthly spend on food: $270
Ghada from Khan Yunis was the person from the Palestinian Territories who was interviewed, saying that he and his wife like to ‘eat lots of vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumber and peppers’.
‘I buy the food shopping for us once a week from the market which is 5km away, usually on Fridays. We wasted about 20 per cent of our food, which I don’t think is a lot.’
Kenyan Nicholas shared the contents of his household’s fridge (pictured), which includes plenty of seasonal produce
Nicholas (pictured) from Nairobi said his wife does the shopping and travels five kilometres away to get it done on a weekly basis
KENYA
Monthly household income: $675
Monthly spend on food: $216
Nicholas from Nairobi said Kenyan fridges can often opt seasonally.
‘In the fridge we have seasonal fruit and vegetables like oranges, mangoes, pineapples, grapes, cabbages, dhania, french beans, carrots, kales, sukuma, green beans and green maize.
‘We also have cow pieces, soda, fruit juice, yoghurt and milk.’
He said his wife does the shopping and travels five kilometres away to get it done on a weekly basis. They do grow some of their own food.
The Romanian, Cluj-Napcoa, said he shops ‘from a place that’s under 1km away, and sometimes to a couple other supermarkets that are under 4km from us’ (pictured: his Romanian fridge)
ROMANIA
Monthly household income: $2,340
Monthly spend on food: $315
Cluj-Napoca, from Romania, said that they are a family of three, including one small four-month daughter.
‘My parents grow food that we eat, but mostly we shop at the supermarket.’
He said their family are careful not to waste food, so they don’t buy any more than they need for a few days, with less than five per cent of it being wasted.
‘Mostly we shop from a place that’s under 1km away, and sometimes to a couple other supermarkets that are under 4km from us,’ he said.
Bashanti from Bagerhat in Bangladesh showcased her nearly-empty fridge (pictured), and said her husband will go food shopping twice or three times a week, and pay for it
Bashanti (pictured with her husband) said their monthly household income is $689 and the monthly spend on food is $165
BANGLADESH
Monthly household income: $689
Monthly spend on food: $165
Bashanti from Bagerhat in Bangladesh showcased her nearly-empty fridge, and said her husband will go food shopping twice or three times a week, and pay for it.
‘All our cooked foods are kept in the coldest part of the fridge, along with raw meats and fish,’ she said.
‘Milk, cheese, yoghurts and butter are all placed in a slightly less cool part of the fridge. There are three market places near our house. Most of the time we visit the Mistripara Market for our food shopping.’
Miguel from Mendoza in Argentina said as a special treat they will either have ‘dulce de leche (caramel jam) or dulce de batata (sweet potato jam)’ (pictured: his fridge in Argentina)
ARGENTINA
Monthly household income: $2,072
Monthly spend on food: $424
Miguel from Mendoza in Argentina said as a special treat they will either have ‘dulce de leche (caramel jam) or dulce de batata (sweet potato jam)’.
Outlining that there are four in his household, he said that his mum and dad take it in turns to do a big shop once a month for non-perishable food, which is then supplemented with a weekly shop for meat, fruit, vegetables and bread.
Christina from Haskovo, Bulgaria, said the most delicious ‘food in our fridge is Skyr, which is a fat-free, thick yoghurt’, which works either as a base for desserts or with cereal (pictured: her fridge in Bulgaria)
BULGARIA
Monthly household income: $810
Monthly spend on food: $180
Christina from Haskovo, Bulgaria, said the most delicious ‘food in our fridge is Skyr, which is a fat-free, thick yoghurt’, which works either as a base for desserts or with cereal.
‘My mother and I share the cost of the shopping. Probably around five per cent of our food is wasted,’ she said.
She said they walk the 1.5km back home with the shopping bags, unless they have something heavy – in which case they will take a taxi.
Duncan from Wexford in Ireland said there will always be eggs in the fridge, as his daughter’s favourite meal is eggs with avocado (pictured: Duncan’s fridge in Ireland)
‘To try and reduce wastage each time we do a new shop, we move any old veg into one drawer and have the new veg in another,’ Duncan (pictured with his family) said
IRELAND
Monthly household income: $7,201
Monthly spend on food: $810
Duncan from Wexford in Ireland said there will always be eggs in the fridge, as his daughter’s favourite meal is eggs with avocado.
‘To try and reduce wastage each time we do a new shop, we move any old veg into one drawer and have the new veg in another,’ he said.
Duncan’s family also have a vegetable patch where they grow some of their own food, including courgettes, runner beans, strawberries and tomatoes.
Laurene from Helsinki said she lives with her boyfriend and they both have an irregular income, due to being freelancers (pictured: their fridge in Finland)
FINLAND
Monthly household income: Varies
Monthly spend on food: $950
Laurene from Helsinki said she lives with her boyfriend and they both have an irregular income, due to being freelancers.
‘We shop for food every one or two days. We replant fresh herbs so to keep them longer. And we have a rule that we’re not allowed to waste any food,’ she said.
They will walk to the shops or take a tram if they’re going further away.
As you might expect, Vanessa from Guadalajara in Mexico, always has ‘some kind of spicy sauce or salsa’ in her fridge (pictured: her fridge in Mexico)
MEXICO
Monthly household income: $873
Monthly spend on food: $216
As you might expect, Vanessa from Guadalajara in Mexico, always has ‘some kind of spicy sauce or salsa’ in her fridge.
She also will always have non-dairy milk, bread and vegetables, and lives by herself.
‘I usually shop for food once or twice per week,’ she said. ‘I buy veggies from stands on the street or little corner shops and the rest comes from the supermarket.
‘The closest supermarket is about a ten minute car ride from my apartment. I try to eat all of the food and not waste it, but sometimes veggies go bad.’
Explaining that there are five in his family, Asif from Pakistan said they do a shop twice a month, with him paying for the shopping at either Walmart or Hyperstar, which are around 10 kilometres from their house (pictured: his fridge in Pakistan)
Asif (pictured with his partner) said a treat is ‘a banana or an apple, sometime cake’
PAKISTAN
Monthly household income: $1,379
Monthly spend on food: $412
Asif from Lahore in Pakistan said a treat is ‘a banana or an apple, sometime cake’.
Explaining that there are five in his family, he said they do a shop twice a month, with him paying for the shopping at either Walmart or Hyperstar, which are around 10 kilometres from their house.
Denys from Kharkiv in Ukraine (pictured with her partner) said for their family of two, the essentials are ‘milk, chicken, fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey, coconut oil, butter and cottage cheese’
‘My husband pays for the food shopping but we go to get it together. We try to keep waste to a minimum and probably waste around 5-10 per cent of our food. The supermarket is around 15 minutes’ walk from home,’ she said (pictured: their fridge in Ukraine)
UKRAINE
Monthly household income: $2,160
Monthly spend on food: $226
Denys from Kharkiv in Ukraine said for their family of two, the essentials are ‘milk, chicken, fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey, coconut oil, butter and cottage cheese’.
‘My husband pays for the food shopping but we go to get it together. We try to keep waste to a minimum and probably waste around 5-10 per cent of our food. The supermarket is around 15 minutes’ walk from home.’
Maria from Guayaquil in Ecuador said she and her mum and two sisters always have ‘tomatoes, onions, shrimps and soya meat in the fridge’ with a treat being low sugar chocolate (pictured: their fridge in Ecuador)
‘My mum and I get the shop every two weeks,’ she said. ‘We go by car, to help us transport the shopping, but the Supermaxi is only 500 metres from our home,’ Maria (pictured) said
ECUADOR
Monthly household income: $3,600
Monthly spend on food: $360
Maria from Guayaquil in Ecuador said she and her mum and two sisters always have ‘tomatoes, onions, shrimps and soya meat in the fridge’ with a treat being low sugar chocolate.
‘My mum and I get the shop every two weeks,’ she said. ‘We go by car, to help us transport the shopping, but the Supermaxi is only 500 metres from our home.’
Janice from Bogota, Colombia, explained that green apples ‘are a must, as are plain yoghurt and chicken breast’ (pictured: her fridge in Colombia)
Living alone, Janice (pictured) said she shops once a week ‘on a Saturday or a Sunday’
COLOMBIA
Monthly household income: $2,250
Monthly spend on food: $216
Janice from Bogota, Colombia, explained that green apples ‘are a must, as are plain yoghurt and chicken breast’.
‘I also always keep a piece of dark chocolate in my fridge, just for those special moments.’
Living alone, Janice said she shops once a week ‘on a Saturday or a Sunday’.
‘I go to a few supermarkets and I visit a fruit and veggie market separately too.’
Richard from Monmouth in Wales has five members in his family shop in British supermarkets, Tesco, Lidl or Waitrose every few days and use Bags for Life to help the environment (pictured: their fridge in Wales)
‘Essential foods are butter, cheese, lettuce, ham, peppers and onions,’ Richard said (pictured: some of his family)
WALES
Monthly household income: Not disclosed
Monthly spend on food: $900
Richard from Monmouth in Wales has five members in his family shop in British supermarkets, Tesco, Lidl or Waitrose every few days and use Bags for Life to help the environment.
‘Essential foods are butter, cheese, lettuce, ham, peppers and onions. Sauces are stored at the top, wine/dairy on second shelf, meats and bulky items on third and fourth and vegetables in bottom two drawers,’ he said.
Mateusz from Silesia in Poland said she lives with her partner and their six-month-old baby (all pictured together)
‘Our essentials are milk, eggs, cheese and ham, with fresh juice as a special treat,’ Mateusz said (pictured: their fridge in Poland)
POLAND
Monthly household income: Above average
Monthly spend on food: $561
Mateusz from Silesia in Poland said she lives with her partner and their six-month-old baby.
‘Our essentials are milk, eggs, cheese and ham, with fresh juice as a special treat,’ she said.
‘Twice a week I shop at the nearest supermarket, unless there’s something to do near a shopping mall. Not much food is wasted, although I do tend to overbuy buttermilk and some vegetables.’
‘We shop on Fridays and Wednesdays and I fetch the shopping as I have a more flexible work schedule. I buy from the nearest farmers’ market,’ Pedro from Uruguay said (pictured: his fridge in Uruguay)
Pedro from Montevideo in Uruguay offered a glimpse into his fridge, which belongs to him and his girlfriend (both pictured)
URUGUAY
Monthly household income: $1,620
Monthly spend on food: $300
Pedro from Montevideo in Uruguay offered a glimpse into his fridge, which belongs to him and his girlfriend.
‘We shop on Fridays and Wednesdays and I fetch the shopping as I have a more flexible work schedule. I buy from the nearest farmers’ market and carry the food in an environmentally friendly bag,’ he said.