My family does this and it’s not such a good idea. Old forgotten food will accumulate at the bottom and you’ll have less usable space at the top. Chucking out the old food is a) a trivial inconvenience and b) guilt-inducing.
Unless it’s one of those freezers with sliding trays.
I disagree with this. Having lived in the US my entire life (specifically MA and VA), I’ve been in very few homes that had chest freezers, and as far as I recall, none that only had chest freezers (as opposed to extra storage beyond a combination refrigerator/freezer).
I’m not willing to pay to resolve this difference of perception, but if one wanted to do so, the information is probably available here.
I am not sure we disagree. I’m not saying that people are using chest freezers instead of normal refrigerators. I’m saying that if a family buys a separate freezer in addition to a regular fridge, in the US that separate freezer is likely to be a chest freezer.
Here on the West Coast I’ve seen both standing and chest models, although combination refrigerator/freezers are far more common than either. I associate the chest style with hunters and older people, but that likely reflects my upbringing; I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to which is more common overall.
Most of the food that I eat doesn’t freeze or doesn’t freeze well (think fruits and vegetables). Frozen meat is OK for a stew but not at all OK for steaks.
I find—based on my personal experience—the texture, aromas, etc. of fresh food to be quite superior to those of frozen food.
I find—based on my personal experience—the texture, aromas, etc. of fresh food to be quite superior to those of frozen food.
I hear that if you stir-fry vegetables, then frozen is a better option. (I eat most of the vegetables I eat raw or dehydrated, neither of which seem to do well if you freeze them first.)
I hear that if you stir-fry vegetables, then frozen is a better option.
I think it depends on whether you can get your heat high enough.
The point of stir-frying frozen veggies is to brown the outside while not overcooking the inside. Normally this is done by cooking non-frozen veggies at very high heat but a regular house stove can’t do it properly—so a workaround is to use frozen.
The good kind of already frozen vegetables are much tastier, have better texture and have kept more of their nutrients. That is because an ordinary freezer is not nearly quick enough to preserve most vegetables.
Alternative: buy a freezer and buy your food in bulk.
My family does this and it’s not such a good idea. Old forgotten food will accumulate at the bottom and you’ll have less usable space at the top. Chucking out the old food is a) a trivial inconvenience and b) guilt-inducing.
Unless it’s one of those freezers with sliding trays.
I have one of those. I thought the chest models are antiquity.
They are standard in the US. It’s like washers: top-loaders dominate in the US and front-loaders dominate in Europe.
I disagree with this. Having lived in the US my entire life (specifically MA and VA), I’ve been in very few homes that had chest freezers, and as far as I recall, none that only had chest freezers (as opposed to extra storage beyond a combination refrigerator/freezer).
I’m not willing to pay to resolve this difference of perception, but if one wanted to do so, the information is probably available here.
I am not sure we disagree. I’m not saying that people are using chest freezers instead of normal refrigerators. I’m saying that if a family buys a separate freezer in addition to a regular fridge, in the US that separate freezer is likely to be a chest freezer.
Here on the West Coast I’ve seen both standing and chest models, although combination refrigerator/freezers are far more common than either. I associate the chest style with hunters and older people, but that likely reflects my upbringing; I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to which is more common overall.
Assuming you are largely indifferent between fresh and frozen food (a data point: I’m not).
I find this a false dichotomy. Care to muster a rebuke?
Empiricism! :-)
Most of the food that I eat doesn’t freeze or doesn’t freeze well (think fruits and vegetables). Frozen meat is OK for a stew but not at all OK for steaks.
I find—based on my personal experience—the texture, aromas, etc. of fresh food to be quite superior to those of frozen food.
Ah, it’s funny how easily I forget food isn’t just about fueling your cells.
I was expecting some sort of a nutrition based argument.
I would point out that it’s unwise to ignore one of the major sources of pleasure in this world :-)
Must… resist… mentioning a particular stereotype about northern Europe.
I hear that if you stir-fry vegetables, then frozen is a better option. (I eat most of the vegetables I eat raw or dehydrated, neither of which seem to do well if you freeze them first.)
I think it depends on whether you can get your heat high enough.
The point of stir-frying frozen veggies is to brown the outside while not overcooking the inside. Normally this is done by cooking non-frozen veggies at very high heat but a regular house stove can’t do it properly—so a workaround is to use frozen.
How does freeze-them-yourself compare to buying vegetables which are already frozen?
The good kind of already frozen vegetables are much tastier, have better texture and have kept more of their nutrients. That is because an ordinary freezer is not nearly quick enough to preserve most vegetables.
Industrially-frozen food is frozen much faster which is good. A house freezer is not powerful (or cold) enough to freeze food sufficiently fast.
I hear that buying them already frozen is cheaper, more sanitary, and less work, but I haven’t looked into it myself.
re: steaks, that’s just not accurate. Frozen steaks are great! I say this as someone who filled his freezer with a quarter of a cow.
Maybe I just don’t know how to deal with frozen steaks, but for me fresh-meat steaks are much, much juicier.