primitives discuss chest freezers

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115742548

Oh my.

spinbaby (11,338 posts)   Fri May 30, 2014, 12:09 PM

Is having a big chest freezer really worthwhile

We're on a mission to, over the next month or so, eat up or throw out everything in our chest freezer, so I can clean it out and start a new round of freezing stuff. I wonder if having a big freezer is really worthwhile--I do freeze produce from the farmers market and buy bulk proteins such as hamburger and salmon from Costco. I also freeze leftovers. Lots of leftovers.

The thing is, we tend not to use all this frozen food as often as we probably should because it's, well, frozen solid in the basement. I'm considering whether the freezer is worth the power and the space it takes. How do you all use a freezer and do you find it worthwhile?
 
Tonight's dinner is thawed goulash.

SheilaT (14,902 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 12:54 PM

1. It's worthwhile if you have a large enough

(and you get to define just what that is) family or people you cook for. It's especially nice if you're a hunter and need to freeze the meat from deer, elk, or other. Or if you acquire an entire hog or cow that's been butchered.
 
When I was a child, one of six children, we had one of those big chest freezer and it was wonderful. Back then refrigerators didn't have the completely separate freezer sections with its own door, so very little frozen foods could be kept. There was also a local farmer from whom we got half a butchered hog every year.
 
To me one question to ask yourself is: Just how long is it usually from when something gets put in the freezer to when it gets eaten? I think there's a real time frame for a lot of foods, generally just a few months, before it deteriorates nutritionally. If stuff is staying there for a couple of years, maybe it's more than you need.
 
I happen to have a second refrigerator (with separate freezer compartment in my garage) and it's come in handy on occasion, although I'd manage quite well without it. But then, I live alone so my food storage needs aren't that great.

one_voice (13,210 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 02:22 PM

2. I love having an extra freezer...

though I prefer an upright. I buy in bulk a lot. I also have a small extra fridge. I buy 5 dozen eggs at a time. My son eats a lot of Greek yogurt so I buy that in bulk. If butter goes on sale I'll buy xtra and put it in there. It's also nice for bbq's and holidays.
 
I have a side by side so neither the freezer isn't big anyway. My small fridge (xtra) also has a small freezer.

Erich Bloodaxe BSN (1,130 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 02:26 PM

3. Depends on your family size maybe?

Only 2 of us in my house, so we've got what I consider a small chest freezer (in addition to the even smaller freezer attached to the fridge) maybe 2.5x2.5x3 or so. We use it for stocking up on cheap protein (chicken, cow, cheese) when it goes on sale, and for freezing the things we pick in the summer (strawberries, raspberries, etc) until winter when we do our canning, since it heats up the house quite a bit. Oh, and to store girl scout cookies year round It seems really useful to me, but then I haven't put a meter on it to cost out how much it's costing me in electricity each year to see if it's really saving us anything in terms of stocking up on sale proteins. We almost never end up simply throwing anything away, since we're good at rotating the stock so newer stuff is at the bottom.

Leme (480 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 02:33 PM

4. This: rotating the stock so almost never end up simply throwing anything away

or if one feels one needs "emergency food" in case a impromptu guest/cook out occurs.

Erich Bloodaxe BSN (1,130 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 02:35 PM

5. Well, I'm good about it in the freezer, not so good in the pantry.

Which is why I'm frequently eating canned goods with 'best by' dates 2-3 years in the past. I'm just careful they're not bulging, discoloured, or smell or taste funny, but otherwise they're fair game.

Warpy (76,510 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 02:42 PM

6. I have a small freezer in the kitchen

to take the overflow from Costco. I once had a small freezer in a basement and things did tend to get lost in the bottom of it. The small kitchen freezer gets stuff rotated out of it on a timely bases--fish frozen for a year is not nice--and little has gotten lost in it.
 
I think having a freezer in a garage just outside the kitchen would probably work. There's just something about having a barrier like a flight of stairs that discourages frequent trips to forage for that night's dinner in time to thaw it.
 
I do find the freezer gets more usage in summer when it's fish in the toaster oven or grilled on top of the stove plus a veg or two. During the winter, I cook more soups and stews and eat them for a week.
 
The really big chest freezer is better for a family that either raises its own meat or hunts for it and has a lot of people to feed. Otherwise, things do get lost in it.

intheflow (24,528 posts)    Fri May 30, 2014, 05:30 PM

7. We have a small freezer in the kitchen.

About the size of a minifridge. Works really well for overflow. Seems like the regular freezer that comes with the fridge is never big enough, but we did have one of those large freezers at one time and it was waaaay too much space.

[Mr Mannn]

I'm surprised to see BainsBane hasn't piped in. She has a couple of huge chest freezers.
Ice Cold.
In the old days we would call her a witch.

[JohnnyReb]

Chest freezer......brass bra.