Refrigerator

A refrigerator is an appliance from which a Sim stores and/or takes food.

The Sims
In The Sims the household loses an amount of money each time they take food from their refrigerator and the quality of the refrigerator will affect how satisfying a meal is; more expensive refrigerators will produce more satisfying meals.

The Sims 2
Refrigerators in The Sims 2 ship with a full food supply. As the food in a refrigerator is used, a family member must buy more, either at a grocery store or by calling for delivery. In The Sims 2, each unit of food costs §2. Starting with The Sims 2: Seasons and included in The Sims 3, refrigerators can store leftovers and be stocked with produce.

All refrigerators in The Sims 2 have the same Hunger value, but the most expensive model will hold more food than the cheaper ones. If a refrigerator is stocked with produce, food will be cooked with it and have a higher hunger value.

The Sims 3
$$ In The Sims 3, ingredients can be bought, caught, or grown, and stored in a refrigerator. If an ingredient that's needed to cook a meal is missing from both the refrigerator and the Sim's inventory, in order to prepare the meal, the Sim will purchase the ingredient for more money than it would cost to buy it from the grocery store.

In The Sims 2 leftovers never spoil but the quality/price of the refrigerator in The Sims 3 impacts how long leftovers can be stored before spoiling. Spoiled meals can be cleaned out of the refrigerator by Sims or the maid. Spoiled food in a refrigerator gives a negative moodlet to Sims just as left out spoiled food does: they become Disgusted.

Reaching level 10 in the Culinary career will grant your Sim a special refrigerator as a career reward that keeps its contents fresh almost indefinitely.

Consoles, handheld and mobile games
In The Sims 2 series for consoles meals must be created by combining ingredients and cheaper refrigerators give fewer ingredient options than more expensive ones. The only way to obtain ingredients would be to grow them, to harvest them from a fish tank, or to purchase them directly from the refrigerator. Each ingredient is priced differently and affects bladder and hunger urgencies differently.