On Sep 29, 8:50�pm, aem > wrote:
> 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

Eggsactly!

I have a second fridge freezer because I vegetable garden as a
*hobby*... there is definitely no monetary savings in growing ones own
veggies, I do it only because I enjoy gardening. Growing my own costs
at least *ten* times as much at buying at the stupidmarket... anyone
says they save money growing their own is either lying, a pinhead, or
both. I've been growing veggies too long to think I'm saving money...
when I first started some 55 years ago I truly believed I was gonna
save money. I spend more on gardening supplies each season than any
ten of yoose spend on produce all year.