To ask if you ever put stuff in the garden overnight in winter when your fridge is full?

[Owlsintowels]

I do this occasionally, it feels elicit and wrong but logically I think it's fine?

Eg last night. Made a big pot of curry for friends visiting this weekend. Finished cooking at 9.30pm.

I could either put this steaming cauldron in the fridge, put it in numerous sinkfuls of cold water until the core reached something cool, or pop it on the patio in the back garden where the temp was about the same as a fridge, and the supply of extra cold is near infinite.

If I hadn't been going to bed early then I might have brought it in at 11 to move to the fridge, but as it is I left it out overnight

At 7am the temp was ~4.5, that's within the normal range for a fridge, so scientifically I don't see how this could be bad.

Does anyone else do this?

We don't get foxes and it was a big heavy lidded pot, so no wildlife concerns.

AIBU?

and i've often left soup and stews outside overnight when i had my big stock pot. I put something heavy on the lid though to stop the wildlife snaffling it

Drinks always and sometimes in cool boxes (foxes steal food unless you are careful )

We have put stuff outside before (in an insulated box) either if fridge is full (christmas) or when it broke.

yes but aways in a lockable container (really useful box with lid) to prevent foxes/cats/rats/crows eating it

Pmd you with recipe @Ibleedibreedibreaatfeed

I use my porch because it's about the same temp as the fridge in winter so I don't have to worry about foxes. If I didn't have a porch, outside in an animal proof container would do the same job.

Garage = giant fridge all year round!

There's nothing like a freezing night like the one we've just had for cooling down a giant casserole

We usually buy sprouts by the stalk, and lean it up against the wall outside the back door. Potatoes and other root veg live in the shed in the winter.

we have foxes and badgers in our garden so not outside but we do use the garage as a giant fridge at this time of year. We have a spare fridge freezer in the garage but put drinks on shelves in the garage.

If we didn't have a garage I'd use outside if I could fox proof the food.

At 7am the temp was ~4.5, that's within the normal range for a fridge,

No its not, OP. The normal range for a fridge is 0°C to 5°C.

It should never be a minus; that’s far too cold.

Drinks yes, and will likely do so at Xmas, but it was freezing here last night and well below the temp of a fridge so I'd expect food to partially freeze, ie on the outside and not on the inside. Really not sure how safe that is, but if thoroughly reheated, and not being fed to kids, the elderly or pregnant women, I think it would be ok.

Yes for booze usually

It rarely gets below 10 degrees here so no (south coast Cornwall).

If we lived further inland or maybe in the north I might.

I usually defrost the freezer on snowy days, i bag it all up into bags for life, bung it out the courtyard whilst I defrost the freezer.

Us too! I came onto the thread to say this!

We have 2 fridge/freezers. When we had the kitchen redone with an integrated fridge/freezer we put the old one in the garage.

Yes i do, but tend to use the garage mostly as it’s just as cold but not open to the elements.

We use outside as an extra fridge for drinks at Christmas and the summer house for extra food - veg and dairy mostly. No chance of wildlife getting into the summer house unless they have learned how to open doors and windows!

At 7am the temp was ~4.5, that's within the normal range for a fridge,

OP used the "~" sign, not the "-" sign. "~" is used to mean "approximately"

We keep a crate for bottles out side of the french windows at Christmas, saves slipping on the decking too as we go over to the garage. I've often used the very cold weather when I'm defrosting the rickety garage freezer, ice cream comes into the kitchen freezer though, I have my priorities right.

I use the boot of the car at Christmas time

Yes but firmly covered and locked up in the shed to eliminate possibility of contamination- slugs,mice,cats and whatever creatures are outside

Yes, I do this too - but if it's food, always in a plastic box inside a bigger plastic box with difficult-to-remove lids. And with something heavy placed on top.
The foxes round here have a higher iq than some humans.

Elicit?

We used to always keep the turkey in the porch. Moved house now and the porch here isn’t a shit plasticky lean to, so it isn’t cold enough. We have a second fridge freezer in the garage now.

Haha, my neighbours cats once feasted on my lasagna

So I now just put things like drinks outside