I also got a lot of reading done while my husband drove and listened to sports on the radio. One of the books I'm reading right now, The Butcher and the Vegetarian, has really got me thinking.
Most of you know I was a vegetarian before I got married. (Yes, I sold out and started incorporating meat back into my diet to accommodate cooking for my meat-eating man.) But, I've also tried to b very mindful of where our meat comes from. And, that's hard to do sometimes, unfortunately.
But, I've been doing a bit of research and found a local ranch that sells grass-fed beef to the public. The catch, they prefer to sell in 50lb. quantities. That's a lot of meat!
Which reminded me of Michael Pollan's Food Rules and rule number 28: If you have the space, buy a freezer. We do have the space, it would just require cleaning the garage up, but I don't know anyone who has an extras freezer. Do you?
My questions are these: Would it benefit us enough to justify the cost (about $300)? Would the food stay fresh and not get freezer burned and go bad? Would I truly remember what I have in the freezer?
Do you know anyone who has an additional freezer?
10 comments:
When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents always had an extra freezer full of food in the basement or garage. I know one neighbor now who does it. Good luck! I am sorry to hear about the family funeral. On another note, I am impressed/jealous that you can read in the car! That would make long drives so much better...(but I get nauseous).
I knew lots of folks growing up who had an extra freezer. My grandparents had a deep freezer, but most people I knew had a second fridge in the garage. I bet you could get a deep freezer for less than $300 if you watched for one on Craigslist? Riskier though. I buy meat on sale at the grocery store and freeze it, I've found my Better Homes & Garden red plaid cookbook to be an excellent resource on how long you can freeze certain foods. I try my hardest to package everything so that it doesn't get freezer burn, but sometimes it still does. While it's thawed from the store, I package it into individual meal portions, wrap it up, and write in perm market what it is and the date, the date being the most important part. Sausage, for example, can only be frozen for one month. Who knew?! So I think the real question is if you could eat 50 lbs of beef within the time limit for how long it can safely be frozen. I wonder if you have a friend who would like to go halvsies with you on the 50 lbs?
My parents had an extra freezer at one time & so did my grandparents. Sometimes my Mom filled the bottom half with ice blocks if we didn't have a lot to store. We used it for Thanksgiving turkeys, huge boxes of Otter Pops in the summer, and it came in handy during the holidays or before big parties. Now my parents are planning on going in with another couple to buy half of a cow from a nearby cattle farmer who specializes in hormone free, grass fed, etc.
I don't have a freezer in my garage, but I have an extra fridge and LOVE IT! I use the freezer part for meat that I get on sale and stock up on and the fridge section for drinks. It's so nice bc it cuts down on the clutter in the house fridge.
I do not have one, but I want one.
Unfortunately I don't know much about additional freezers...other then my parents have one and it seems to come in really handy. I am jealous you can read in the car though, I would get so much more reading done that way but it totally makes me carsick :x
I don't have an additional freezer, but I sound like the opposite of you - I got married and became (primarily) a vegetarian!
I know a LOT of people with extra freezers. As a matter of fact, I would love to have one of my own!
If we had the room I would definitely get an extra freezer. Not only for meat purchased in bulk but also being able to freeze fruits/veggies and just keep good buys on hand.
Post a Comment