Putting Food By - Janet Greene [97]
Where to Put It?
Locate the freezer near the kitchen: you’ll use it more (which means using it better) than if it’s in the cellar or other remote spot.
If you have a choice of convenient locations, choose the cooler one—so long as the place isn’t actually freezing.
Put it in a relatively dry room, because moisture rusts the mechanism and can build up frost inside non-defrosting models, particularly upright ones.
And please place its back a few inches away from the wall, so there’s adequate air circulation and you can get under and around it to get out the fluff. Lack of air and a build-up of dust can make the motor overheat and even cause fire. Mounting it on small rollers is a help in cleaning.
Using a Freezer
Operating costs per pound of food are less if the freezer is kept at least ¾ full at all times.
For the initial sharp freeze, set the control at the lowest possible point: at or below–20 F/–29 C, the temperature that makes smaller ice crystals in the food and gives a better finished product.
If feasible, when initially filling the freezer, place packages in single layers and leave the food spread there for 24 hours before stacking the packages compactly for storage. For best results, don’t try to sharp-freeze, at one time, more than 2 to 3 pounds of food for each 1 cubic foot of available freezer space. Later, when you’re not sharp-freezing but simply storing, turn the controls back to no higher than Zero F/–18 C.
For storing food after it’s sharp-frozen, stack packages close together, and keep the storage section temperature at Zero F/–18 C or lower.
How Long in the Freezer?
Frozen foods lose quality when subjected to freezer temperatures above Zero F/–18 C. While the storage life of different products varies, it can be stated generally that each rise of 10 degrees Fahrenheit lowers the storage quality by half. (Thus, if a food has good quality for 8 months maintained at Zero F/–18 C, its top quality will be only 4 months maintained at 10 F/–23 C, and only 2 months if maintained at 20 F/–7 C.) Foods maintained at –10 F/–23 C in general will keep their quality longer—although keeping an item more than 12 months is uneconomical use of freezer space. The table at the end of this chapter is a workable guide to quality.
Keeping an Inventory
First, label and date each package of frozen food so you know how much of what is in each parcel; what ingredient it may be for whichever final product; and when it was put by.
Store similar foods together, and you won’t end up with a hodgepodge you have to paw through to find what you’re looking for.
Devise some sort of inventory sheet or board that lets you keep track of food going in and coming out of your freezer.
Check the contents of your freezer every so often, and put maverick or to-be-used-soon items in places where you can’t overlook them.
Caring for a Freezer
Freezers need little care—just respect.
Treat the outside the same way you do your refrigerator. Keep the surface and the door gaskets wiped clean—taking care to clean the condenser coils—and keep the protective grid over the motor free of dust.
Many are self-defrosting, others you defrost yourself. Do it once or twice a year at times when the food supply is low. Disconnect the freezer, remove the food, and wrap it in newspapers and blankets to keep it frozen. Follow the defrosting procedure given in the manufacturer’s manual. Wipe the box with a clean cloth wrung out in water and baking soda. Dry the box before restarting the motor. About once a year, really wash the inside of the freezer.
When the Freezer Stops Freezing
Now and again everybody’s electricity fails for a time. Or, Heaven forbid, someone accidentally disconnects the freezer. Or the motor isn’t working properly. Resist the impulse to open the door to check everything; make a plan of action first.
Find out, if you can, how long your freezer has been, or is likely to be, stopped. If it can be running in a few hours, don’t