On Sep 29, 7:31*am, "Declan's Dad" > wrote:
> [snip]
> So just wondering if anyone here owns one and has any advice to share?
>
We had a chest freezer when I grew up in Alaska. We thought we needed
it because the stores in our small town were quite spotty in their
offerings, especially in the winter, so when there was something good
my mom stocked in extras. Plus friends gave us frozen venison and
moose and fish.

What no one has mentioned yet is that excellent results from very
careful wrapping and containerizing and very careful slow thawing
still inevitably results in something that is not as good as fresh.
Sometimes it's more than good enough, sometimes it's discernibly
inferior. If you buy flash frozen fish and transfer it promptly to
the freezer, fine. If you buy fresh fish and freeze it, sometimes
it'll be okay, sometimes not. Chuck roast that will become stew,
fine. High quality steak, you're throwing money away. It all depends
on what the item is, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you
don't wrap well, or if there's a power outage, results will be poor.

Nowadays in the lower 48 I have had no interest in a freezer. There
are plenty of markets and they always are well stocked. Freezers can
be convenient if you're willing to do the extra work involved. I
don't know if cost savings warrant the purchase and operating cost.
For us what matters most is that fresh food is almost always better.
-aem