Do we really use our freezers correctly?

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barboo
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Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by barboo »

Hello,
We've come a long way from the 50's in as much if we like it or not we're all using a lot more machines, car's household machines etc
And these are now excepted as "must have & cant live without them"
For the price of some of these machines ie the washing machine they are very good value for money and they can only be used for what they're made to do "wash clothing etc"

But when it comes to the freezer im sure a lot of people use this machine as an extention of the freezer sitting in the supermarket like that freezer is the depot to fill your freezer up from.
A home freezer can be such a good item to have if it's used to freeze your own home grown veg/fruit and home made products,

I offten see the freezer's in the super markets selling frozen veg at some stupid prices and can't help but to think why not grow your own and freeze it yourself,
that way you'll know how it was grown and whats in it plus your not paying for a fancy chuck away pkt.
We had tonight home made 2 years ago apple crumble and custard and it tasted really nice,
My wife said she'd been checking what's in the freezer and the dates on the verious items.
If we can fill a chest freezer from our garden plus wild black berries etc anyone can,
When we first married we didnt have a garden but we did use tubs etc on the balcony and that got us started in growing our own.
jannie
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by jannie »

I really don't think there is a right and wrong way to use a freezer.

For me, a farmers daughter born in the 50's, a freezer is where we store our excess produce to see us through the lean months. I don't live on a farm anymore ..in fact my garden is quite small but I still grow or forage as much as I can and still get my meat direct from the farm I grew up on. But that doesn't mean I don't use it for supermarket produce .. I do as it also saves money.

Bulk buying can also take advantage of seasonal prices and reduced stickers.. I recently bought a dozen twin packs of large corn on the cob that T@sco had on offer for 50p but were reduced on their sell by date to 10p ... that's 24 cobs for £1.20 ....couldn't have done that without a freezer. I think most families these days are savvy to buying things when they're on offer and freezing excess.. I only have to read my daughters facebook page to know that if there's a bargain to be had all her friends are sharing it.
There is also the fuel costs to take into account bulk buying saves trips to the supermarket.
fabindia
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by fabindia »

We had a new kitchen just last year and Mrs Fab got a new fridge freezer. It's built in so nothing as big and bold as these so-called 'American' fridge freezers. But I do wonder what we really use it for.

I think we could really do without a freezer. Just buy little and fresh every day. That's what most of the world, who don't have freezers do. People in India didn't have freezers when we lived there; they were expensive and daily power cuts don't really make freezers a good bet.
Michael
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by Totally Scrambled »

fabindia wrote:
I think we could really do without a freezer. Just buy little and fresh every day. That's what most of the world, who don't have freezers do. People in India didn't have freezers when we lived there; they were expensive and daily power cuts don't really make freezers a good bet.

Only problem is that for anyone who doesn't live within walking distance of shops would have to factor in the additional costs of fuel or public transport if they had to buy little and often. Certainly in rural villages like ours there is only one little shop with a very limited range of goods at a considerably higher price than the supermarkets.
I suppose you could blame the supermarkets for the death of village shops that enabled people to shop little and often, but then again until the advent of fridges, freezers and the ability to travel outside the village easily and cheaply people couldn't store fresh food which is why there were shops to cater for the need.
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manda
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by manda »

We have 2 chest freezers for 2 reasons
1) It's cheaper to buy in bulk and so we do less often and for veggies etc
2) We need room for a whole homekill cow because you can't do half a cow at a time and they take up a lot of room...that and a few sheep and pigs along with the game my hubby brings back from hunting trips, is our meat for the year so we have to have somewhere to put it.

We do through the year look at the freezers and if one is getting low the contents is moved and the other one shut down.
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barboo
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by barboo »

Hi Manda,
Thats the way to use a freezer,
Why i asked the question was because i find a lot of people dont buy in bulk dont bake infact they use the freezer as a "from of supermarket freezer collection point and then a stop off freezer in their home,

I feel if only peopel would only see the harm they're doing to them selves by what they are buying in the food chain and eating,
But more important use the freezer for more of your own home-made food and your own frozen home grown veg/fruit.

We really are at a stage we're kids are not taught to cook in schools anymore,
not shown how food is grown and what can be grown in their own back gardens.
And so the results of all this is ill health later in life,
The freezer is a good tool to have in the home if used properly;.
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mrs boodles
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by mrs boodles »

I buy things from the supermarket or wherever I shop and freeze it, especially if a use buy date or bulk buy. I could buy fresh when I lived in the town and did so but if I saw a bargain at supermarket or anywhere would buy it and freeze it. I have now moved to a small village and we have to go about 5 miles to a shop so when we shop we shop and meat etc, frozen veg gets put in freezer. I also freeze any excess left from meals that I cooked so there is a meal if I don`t feel like cooking one night. I also have bags of wild blackberries in there that I foraged and when I had allotments and veg garden froze produce from them. My daughter and I are making a veg garden in her garden (I live with her now) so hopefully we will be able to freeze home grown things as well as shop stuff.
So all in all am just trying to use my freezer the best way I can working within my budget and taking into distance factors etc.
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HedgeHugger
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by HedgeHugger »

I'm another forager, and there have been times where the blackberries have been the main thing in the freezer, filling it :)

I'm also of a mind to cook once, eat twice (or even 3 or 4 times) so have a lot of home cooked stuff in there. Being only 2 of us here, if I make cakes or other 'naughty' food. I freeze half, otherwise we'd gorge, and grow!
I have 4 children (all grown and living elsewhere), so got used to cooking for a multitude, sometimes I forget I'm not cooking for them too, and cook way too much. A freezer is an essential these days.
Like others I bulk buy as well.
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Meanqueen
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by Meanqueen »

Yes, I am using my freezer correctly. It's not very big, three drawers, but big enough for me. I cook extra portions and freeze them, I call them my home made ready meals. Tonight I microwaved a portion of rice and a portion of veg curry. Saves on gas to make several meals and freeze them.

I also freeze yellow sticker food, that's food marked down to pennies on the last day. I have bread in my freezer and take out two slices at a time and either toast them or zap them for a few seconds in the microwave. If I am making a pack up to eat when I go out, I make sandwiches with frozen bread. Much easier and will be just right when it's time to eat them.

I have a lot of home grown runner beans in there at the moment. I freeze in single portions, break them up and put in small bags.

I buy veggie food from the supermarket freezer but only if it's on special offer.
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By Halves
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by By Halves »

Yes, my freezer is full of home made ready meals too (I love that description and shall shamelessly steal it...) plus home made ingredients like seitan, stock and applesauce from the apples from my garden and a bag of cubed home baked bread nubs for breadcrumbing. There's not a lot of choice of ready made veggie food that doesn't have dairy or eggs in so I pretty much have to cook from scratch most of the time so it's always worth cooking extra to freeze. (Although I will admit to always keeping some Linda McC sausages in my OH's freezer because he has limited cooking facilities and I don't want to be slaving away over a hot microwave all day when I'm there.)

From supermarkets there are a few bags of frozen veg like sweetcorn, peas and spinach but I really hope I can grow some of these things when we've moved. There's yellow label stuff in there too, chopped up bananas and other fruit to put in smoothies for example, although I can't get to big supermarkets at the right times so I've never found things quite as cheap as you seem to Ilona - you really are the Queen of bargain hunters!
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elliebear15
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Re: Do we really use our freezers correctly?

Post by elliebear15 »

Our freezer is almost exclusively filled with meat, veg and fruit.
We moved in to our new house in December last year, and as the garden is huge we will be growing veg - but with a young baby I haven't got it started yet ( one of our winter jobs!). So the freezer will definitely be having our own produce rather than shop bought.
All the meat that is in there is short-dated produce bought cheaply. I make it a rule never to pay more than about £5.50 per kilo for meat, and very often cheaper. We have a huge range of interesting cuts and joints - a mini hog roast, a duck crown, a whole guinea fowl, loads of whole organic chickens, my best buy was a 2 kilo shoulder of lamb for £11 (originally cost £25!), among many other cuts.
Unfortunately with the 2 young kids I can't commit to getting to the shops at the best time for reduced prices, but get the best deals I can, at the time.
We definitely do not have, and never will have, any shop bought ready meals. Waste of gas/elec to heat them through, IMO.
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