Sans Frigo

Like many volunteers here in Togo I live my life without a refrigerator (frigo).  Being lucky enough to have electricity I could choose to invest in a fridge, but in addition to the cost of even a small fridge being more than two months of my total living allowance (that would mean no eating for a bit) and a severely increased electricity bill, I would have to figure out how to get the fridge from Lomé to my house, which would consist of taking it on and off a minimum of three bush taxis—a feat I’m just not ready for yet.

Life without a refrigerator has been in some ways easier than I may have originally thought.  I come from a family where some members refrigerate nearly everything.  With peanut butter and bread in the fridge (cough grandma cough) and everything having labeled with “refrigerate after opening” the idea of living without a fridge seemed impossible.

Of course I have given up many things by living with out a fridge like cold milk, fresh meat, yogurt, and for the most part, leftovers, but I still eat many things I thought I wouldn’t be able to have in a life sans frigo.

You can find many things on my shelves that in the States would have always been in the refrigerator.  I have my jam, margarine, mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, cheese, fish, milk, eggs, and mayonnaise all out at room temperature and if room temperature didn’t happen to be 34°C (93ish°F) I think I could get away with even more.  And for the record I have never been sick yet since being here in Togo.

It is true that my cheese is Vache Qui Rit (Laughing Cow), my fish is smoked, and I must drink my milk the day I open it (or I drink milk powder), but while not the fanciest foods, there are an incredible number of products that don’t need to be refrigerated.  Volunteers have gotten some laughs asking for cured meats and hard cheeses or other products like Velveeta, babybel, Oscar Mayer fully cooked bacon, chicken and tuna packets, and other seemingly random goods that are expensive or you just can’t find here.

There are of course drawbacks of not having a fridge, like not having leftovers (though I have risked it and eaten some things the next day).  Everything goes moldy here extremely fast.  It’s hot and humid and I guess to be expected, but I buy things like carrots and if I don’t eat them in under a few days they start to go bad.  I can only really buy veggies once a week, on Friday market day, and by Tuesday they are gone or bad.  Saving produce is probably one of the things for which I most wish I had a fridge.  A cold drink every now and then would be nice too. 

I may end up caving in and buying myself a fridge to save my veggies, but for now I’m doing just fine.  It is amazing how much we refrigerate in the US that really doesn’t need it, but it is true that a fridge can really make things last much much longer and not having a moldy surprise after just a few days, will one day make a refrigerator a welcomed appliance in my kitchen