Sabbath-mode appliances keep kitchen kosher

It used to be so simple. A refrigerator was just a machine to keep food cold. It didn't have fancy digital readers or buzzers to announce the second that food goes bad.

While these technical upgrades aim to make kitchen life a breeze, some individuals, like Orthodox Jews, end up with extra hassles as these features conflict with holidays and the Sabbath.

That's why several appliance manufacturers, including Aga, Dacor, Electrolux, GE, Kenmore, Viking and Whirlpool have incorporated the Sabbath-mode feature into their products. A simple button "turns off anything that would happen automatically when you open the door - the digital temperature readout is canceled, any icons, the refrigerator light," says Rivka Leah Goldman, a computer specialist at Baltimore-based Star-K kosher Certification. "Any dispenser functions like the ice maker also have to be disabled."

The future is bright for the Sabbath-mode feature as well. "In the next year, we are launching lots of digital products, and they will have Sabbath-mode capability. We have some under-the-counter wine cellars and cooking ranges coming out this year," says Howard Rosenberg, refrigerator product manager at New York City-based Haier America.

The real challenge has been accommodating the newer technologies that kitchen appliances offer, while at the same time trying to stay true to the Jewish laws.

"There is an aspect of work, but it's not work the way modern people define it," says Goldman. "Anything that is turned on or off is considered work. We aren't going to live in a cave on Sabbath so we try to apply the rules in a modern way."