Aibu to think a chest freezer is a waste of time?

[flownthecoopkiwi]

New house came with a large chest freezer. Currently only using it to store bags on. I've seen my in-laws and it's full to the brim but would probably need one of those arctic exploration core drills to get through the decades of random frozen produce that they never eat.

Are they just pointless because you forget and never eat the stuff in it OR are they brilliant?

Well, it's just a roomy freezer.

Ours is full of large joints of meat, fancy puddings, and in December, a huge turkey and salmon.

Wouldn't be without ours. We have a fridge freezer as well but it doesn't have enough capacity for us. I guess it depends if you would use it or not. I do a lot of batch cooking as it's just about as quick to make 10 portions of something as it is to make one or two.

I'm short so it wouldn't work for me delving into the depths for years old food. We decided on a full upright with drawers to avoid the double buying.

I'd love one, but no space. Then I could bulk buy massive amounts of meat on those Musclefood deals, and have loads of bread in stock, rather than having to buy it every week.

My in laws were about to purchase a third when they came to their senses. They are now down to one, and its only got sensible stuff in. Its not full of every leftover from the last 3 years.
Their 'runner beans and gravy soup' was an experience I can tell you.

I'd love one but don't have space. I'd batch cook four portions at a time and freeze three. Buy a couple of months worth of meat at a time. Buy bread for a couple of weeks and freeze.

We have an extra freezer in garage which I couldn't do without. Not a chest freezer though. We would never get to the stuff at the bottom.

They're great if you grow a lot of your own vegetables, if you buy meat in whole/half animals, if you batch cook stews, pies, crumbles, baked things.

If you mostly just shop every week and eat what you buy that week, they're not worth it.

Surely it just depends how much you freeze...?

We have a giant one that came with the house - possibly because it won't fit through a door now? I was sceptical but now wouldn't be without it, great for stocking up on bread and milk, and batch cooking. Doesn't seem too bad on electricity either.

We have a half size chest freezer and it's invaluable. We do what a pp said and bulk buy meat from muscle foods. We also have a small uptight underneath the fridge with drawers, but it's not as convenient as the chest freezer.

It was a standing joke my mum had 2 rainbow trout at the bottom of hers for 25 years, they were older than me!!!

My parents had one stuffed with ancient food - it was in the garage. It quietly conked out in the middle of summer while they were away for three weeks ... enough said.

I love mine! But I cook a lot so find it great for partially prepared recipes (bags of breadcrumbs with onion already chopped in or topping for a crumble for example) and also shepherds pies, soups, meat that can be quickly made into a great meal like pork chops and marinaded chicken breasts. I always store enough for a fry up in there in case I get to Sunday morning and my Tuesday weekly delivery is depleated if bacon and sausages.

It's fab. But I think it works best for people who cook from scratch and meal plan and run a tight ship.

Otherwise it's just a box of shop bought ready meals and junk that you might as well pick up on the same day.

we recently downsized from a giant hide many many bodies sized one to a smaller but big enough for a folded dead husband sized one

Mainly as it's pretty much dh and I and just visitations of children rather than all three of them being here eating me out of house and home all the time, but also as the big freezer was very old and I lived in fear of it breaking and wasting tonnes of food.

I do lots of batch cooking, as I still haven't wound down from cooking for five so we have lots of left overs. ...no gravy and bean soup though!

I also like the reduced counter and often buy ready meals and then they are relocated to the freezers of the student masses.

You have to be ruthless about labelling stuff and stock rotation!

And is great in the winter for milk and bread in case of emergency weather!

I have had a large chest freezer in the garage for years. It is quite well organised - boxes of veg/chips/yorkshires at the bottom, trays of fish, pies, burgers ice cream on the top. In between I have those bags for life - one with bread and one with different meats. Then I have pizzas stacked up at the side. I know where everything is although I do occasionally forget I have something in and order it again - it all fits in though so not wasted. The main advantage is that you can always fit in bulky unusual items - like at Christmas - and bulk cooking stuff.

I also have a fridge freezer and this smaller freezer is where I put packets of stuff once opened. It wouldn't be enough on its own (and there are only 2 of us here now).

I will no doubt have to get rid of the chest freezer when I downsize - not looking forward to it.

I love mine. It's got pizza in (bought on half price offers), bread, frozen batch cooked stuff, veg and a few ready meals for emergencies. Ice cream and lots of other bits. I do meal plan and because of a couple of dietary issues among us it works well.

My DH bought one and I was sceptical but its great. We use large shopping bags in it (one for meat, another for frozen veg etc) so you don't need to topple into in head first to get to the bottom - you just pull out the right bag

I have a small chest freezer, and it's a real boom. Not only for saving money in terms of bulk buying/offers but also majorly life-saving in terms of time spent shopping/prepping meals when both of us work.

I keep an anal list of what's in it- I try to have it to hand when meal planning so I know what's in there.

If I bulk buy meat/fish, I break them up into smaller portions before I freeze for our household. We have 5 people, so I either have portions x2, x3 which covers cooking for 2, 3 or 5 depending on who's in. I use the takeaway containers as they stack really well, or freezer bags. Write on the lid with permanent pen before they go in (and on the list!)

We also freeze leftovers, which DH uses for work lunches, have a choice of frozen veg, jacket potatoes and rice, brown food (chicken nuggets etc), ice creams in, plus I tend to freeze bread. I do sometimes batch cook as well.

I have a small chest freezer .. the only one I could fit in my house. It's under the stairs (again only place it would fit in my tiny terrace house) and I hate it. I never know what's in there, spend way too much time rummaging around in there. I'd replace it with a freezer with drawers in a flash if I could fit one in.

It certainly isn't for everyone. It takes a certain amount of organization and discipline.

We have two freezers. One for fish fingers, frozen peas and ice cream etc. The chest is for large bags of ice, the whole lamb and pig we raise and butcher as part of village co-operative. Also useful at Christmas and parties.

Have a small one in garage.

I've a child with food allergies/intolerances so safer for me to cook from scratch and I freeze portions of it.
Also love it in Wintery months for freezing bread. Big snow =bread dash in our area and once gone gotta wait for big thaw or hope your yeast is in date.