IT IS the domestic appliance that every home needs. But while the fridge may be many people's favourite household item, what we put inside it apparently leaves much to be desired.

A study by the TV celebrity Loyd Grossman has concluded that the typical British fridge is stocked with bland and boring ingredients.

Grossman took a snapshot of the typical ingredients found in fridges and cupboards all over the country by asking 2,000 people to identify what they had stocked on one weekend in April.

The results show the average Briton could fashion as many as 72 different meals using what they can find in their fridges and cupboards. However, according to Grossman, replacing a few ingredients with some more interesting staples could make a huge difference to the quality and authenticity of the dishes you can cook at home.

"While it's possible to create a large number of dishes from the basics found in our kitchens, unfortunately they're mostly bland, boring and unadventurous. Just substituting a few of those ingredients for something more interesting could completely transform your culinary repertoire," he says.

Typical fridge ingredients include bacon, strawberry yoghurt, iceberg lettuce, mayonnaise ... oh, and the obligatory Indian takeaway remains.

According to Grossman, while the nation is being exposed to an ever-increasing variety of tastes and flavours, our penchant for fine dining and adventurous cooking isn't translated into stocking bold and daring ingredients.

"People clearly want to make more interesting or sophisticated things in the kitchen, but many are unclear about what to stock," he says.

In his quest to get the nation cooking more tasty and varied foods, he has recommended a list of 20 ingredients worth stocking in your fridge and cupboard that - he says - will make the difference and bring your home cooking to life.

Suggested staples include rocket, cherry tomatoes, good-quality bacon, limes, lemons and olives. Grossman's ideal larder would include arborio rice, three varieties of "good quality" pasta, pesto and sea salt.

Experts who spoke to The Scotsman generally approved of his suggestions.

Craig Millar, director and executive chef at the Seafood Restaurant in St Andrews, said: "I'd suggest a few other things, like goats' cheese, some pancetta, crème fraîche, some smoked fish, fennel - and a nice bottle of champagne.

"He's taking a very Mediterranean approach. I think we need a few more hearty dishes to deal with awful weather. Maybe a shin of beef would be a good idea."

Bridget Aisbitt, of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: "There's a lot of good stuff there."

To see how close people come to Grossman's benchmark, we examined the contents of a few fridges. As the former Through the Keyhole presenter would have said: "Let's look at the evidence..."

JOANNA MOWAT

34, Conservative councillor

MAILLE mustard is the "Desert Island ingredient" in Joanna Mowat's fridge - the item she uses most frequently in her daily cooking and would miss the most.

The Dijon mustard goes into anything, from salad dressings to pork dishes and cheese sauces. Mrs Mowat lives in Edinburgh with her husband Ian and their daughter Tabitha, two.

Their fridge yesterday also contained orange juice, milk, bottled water, yoghurt, mayonnaise and butter. Horseradish sauce, red onion chutney, cornichons, anchovy paste, pesto, fresh pasta and sausages could also be found.

Vegetables stored in the fridge included Jersey Royal potatoes, carrots, lettuce and spring onions.

There was also parmesan and feta cheese. Leftovers being chilled included vegetables from the previous night's meal.

Mrs Mowat is a newly-elected Conservative councillor for the city centre on the City of Edinburgh Council, a role that she has to balance with the demands of being a parent. She said: "I cook every day, but on weekdays Tabby usually eats earlier than us because we are not all home until later than her tea time.

"She will pretty much eat the same as us, other than the odd meal of fish fingers."

Typical meals for the family include roast chicken and vegetables, sausage casserole, spaghetti bolognaise and pork stir fry.

Fresh fruit is another important part of their diet. Mrs Mowat said: "What you see in the fridge is pretty typical for this time in the midweek.

"We stock up in our weekly shop on Saturdays, so you would have seen a lot more then.

"However, the ingredients I couldn't live without are Maille mustard, cayenne and vermouth."

KAT JONES

32, environmental education officer

COOKING for Kat Jones is all about having the basics on hand to rustle up a meal for her husband and their two young daughters.

Cheddar cheese, butter and yoghurt are the key staples in the fridge in their home in Glasgow, which are used most regularly in cooking for Maya, four, and Naomi, two.

Also on the fridge's shelves yesterday were milk, double cream, mayonnaise, salami, ham, courgette, garlic cloves and smoked mackerel.

Other cheeses included parmesan and Appenzeller - a Swiss hard cheese from the homeland of Ms Jones's husband, Rüdi, a university lecturer.

Among the less mundane items were smoked salmon - another family favourite - red Thai chilli paste and home-made green tomato chutney, mango chutney and jam.

But also lurking inside the fridge was some leftover porridge and a bottle of white wine and some Leffe beer.

Ms Jones, who works as an education officer for Scottish Natural Heritage, is one of the founders of the Glasgow Eco-Renovation Network.

She said: "I do not really plan - I just see what's in the house and cook it, but I always have to have the basics available.

"We no longer have a car, so we buy food when we can.

"One of the simplest meals is mixing hot-smoked salmon with pasta and double cream, and adding peas. Both my daughters love that.

"We get through a lot of butter, on bread and in cooking."

The family has a box of organic vegetables delivered once a week, but this does not offer much variety.

They have even bought a cookery book specifically for such box schemes to help them devise new ways of eating the seemingly endless supply of kale and leeks they produce.

DAVID TORRANCE

29, author

IF THE contents of one's fridge says anything about one's lifestyle, then David Torrance, author of The Scottish Secretaries, is clearly a busy man.

Very busy indeed.

The 29-year-old, from Edinburgh, can list the items currently stocked on one hand - and still have a finger to spare.

Contained within his cob-webbed kitchen appliance is a bag of a salad, which is out of date, along with half a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a few eggs.

The array of fridge goodies is finished off with a block of mature cheese, which he admits is getting more mature by the day.

"It mainly springs from utter lack of organisation and being quite busy," he says.

"I go through phases where I buy a whole heap of stuff and fill up the fridge. I feel really pleased and proud but I end up not eating most of it and it goes out of date."

He has little time for lists of recommended fridge foods from Loyd Grossman or any of the other TV chefs.

"It's all very well and good if you are hyper-organised or you don't have a social life.

"Otherwise I think it's just a bit sad."

When Mr Torrance moved into his flat he got rid of the original fridge-freezer, anticipating that something smaller would suffice.

His kitchen cupboard is similarly spartan. "I have some water biscuits and basic stuff like tea and coffee and olive oil. That's actually it. Oh, I've got some sugar."

Despite resembling Mother Hubbard's cupboard, Mr Torrance, who is currently writing a book on the late George Younger, manages to exist without resorting to a diet of ready meals. "I don't eat those things. I eat out a lot and my brother cooks for me from time to time. I'm quite lazy, to be honest."

NICOLE JOHNSTONE

31, communications officer

NICOLE'S fridge is packed with goodness and variety - a shining example of healthy living that would put even Loyd Grossman to shame.

There are nearly 50 different foodstuffs - many organic - including aubergines, sardines, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, shallots, rocket and a mango.

Dairy produce features heavily, with two packs of organic butter, organic cheddar cheese, feta cheese, mozzarella, a dozen Scottish organic eggs, two pots of natural yoghurt, four packs of cream cheese and some cottage cheese crammed on to the three shelves.

While many of us struggle to get through a single bag of salad, Nicole says very few items ever have to be thrown out.

"Occasionally, stuff might go off quickly, particularly the organic stuff, but it's not often any ends up in the bin.

"I like to plan what I'm eating. My husband, Grahame, is vegetarian, while I eat fish and organic chicken."

The well-stocked fridge ensures that their one-year-old son, Ethan, has a nourishing diet.

"When Ethan was smaller he would be the one eating a gourmet meal, something like lentil casserole with all trimmings, and we'd only eat beans and toast," Nicole says. "Now, we tend to eat the same thing."

The key to Nicole's bountiful fridge is a regular delivery of fresh produce. Frequent trips to local food shops means visits to the supermarket are rare - only once every two or three months.

While laden with fresh, organic produce, their three-quarter size fridge isn't devoid of tempting treats. Nicole says: "I have a couple of bars of dark chocolate for cooking. There's also a couple of cans of Carlsberg for Grahame."