Chipping Away
We’ve always had a deep freezer filled with garden goodness and meat from purchasing animals from farmers or from hunting. Typically we eat through the freezer in the winter, but sometimes things get pushed to the back or the bottom and are forgotten. I neglected to clean/defrost the freezers this past summer so there are some thing in there that need eaten ASAP. It needs done before I start putting things in this coming summer. One of my goals was to eat through everything in the freezer, so far we’ve been doing quite well.
As of this morning, I have 8 empty freezer bags. Most of them were filled with broccoli and green beans from this summer’s garden. Currently, I’m making a batch of strawberry rhubarb compote to put in the bottom of a batch of yogurt I’m making. I also have a batch of semolina bread retarding in the fridge using up some durum flour from the freezer. No doubt in the future we will be enjoying some fairly eclectic meals (as will with chickens depending on what is found in the bottom of the chest freezer).
How do you manage your deep freezer if you have one?
We do a defrost/clean-out in the fall when the temps drop, but I never worry about ‘found’ food that’s a little old–my mother once found a wheel of goat cheese she had made, but the last time we had goats was over twenty years prior! The cheese was dry and crumbly, but the taste was wonderful and we enjoyed every bite of it :) I know there are recommendations for storage time, but I’ve never had a problem; some things just get turned into soup or stew.
As for organization, I’ve started using grocery bags to hold like foods; it makes it easier to lift items off the top of the freezer to access items stored below. I keep meaning to make a map of the freezer so it’s easier for the kids to run down and find something quickly–maybe this year!
to Lorna's comment
I also try to do a defrost in the fall. As I pull things out, I inventory the contents, so I know how many packages of ground beef or chicken stock or whatever. I make a second list of things that need to be used up soon.
This year I did a bit of a map of the freezer as my mom is living in our house while we are overseas, listing which shelf things are on (we have an upright freezer).
to Katherine's comment
I just pulled out all of the bags of fruit I froze through the summer and made a dozen jars of triple berry preserves. Smelling strawberries in January was intoxicating, even here in Alabama where winter isn’t really winter!
to Karen's comment