Object recognition system for an appliance and method for managing household inventory of consumables

A refrigerating appliance comprising:

• a cabinet having an inner liner that defines at least one aperture for accessing a corresponding refrigerating compartment;
• at least one door operably coupled to the cabinet and operable between open and closed positions, the open position defined by the refrigerating compartment being accessible through the at least one aperture, the closed position being defined by the at least one door engaging at least a portion of the at least one aperture;
• a plurality of storage surfaces and a plurality of shelves positioned within the refrigerating compartment, each of the plurality of storage surfaces and each of the plurality of shelves adapted to receive at least one temporarily stored item, wherein each shelf of the plurality of shelves are defined by a unitary U-shaped shelf;
• and
• a scanning apparatus positioned within a top portion of the refrigerating compartment, adjacent the at least one door and over a center of each shelf of the plurality of shelves, and adapted to record data related to the plurality of storage surfaces and the at least one temporarily stored item, wherein the scanning apparatus conducts separate first and second data capturing phases, and wherein secondary data recorded during the second data capturing phase is compared, by a processor, against previous data recorded during the first data capturing phase to create, by the processor, a current inventory manifest, and wherein the current inventory manifest is compared, by the processor, with a set of predetermined parameters related to the at least one temporarily stored tern to selectively provide an output, by the processor, wherein the output includes a culinary recipe related to the at least one temporarily stored item when the temporarily stored item meets a predetermined visual spoilage criteria of the predetermined set of parameters.