Jan 10
3
I have quite a bit of food from our garden in our chest freezer, but I also use alternative methods of preserving our produce including canning and drying.
Even though I do think that freezing food is a very good option for money savings and preserving your garden bounty, I don’t talk much about frozen food for a couple of reasons.
First of all, frozen food is only good long-term when you have the ability to keep it frozen. Granted, in most disaster scenarios, you will most likely still have electricity to power your freezer, or if your power goes out, it may be short-term. If you own a generator, you can keep your freezer up and running as long as you have fuel. However, if no power is available, you risk losing your frozen food.
Another issue I have with frozen food is that it is not very portable. If you need to leave your home, or “bug out” to a new location, taking frozen food with you is probably not an option. You might be able to keep it cool for a short period in an ice chest, but that’s not an ideal situation to be in. Emergency food should be portable and easy to store long-term.
Frozen food can be rotated just like any other food. If the food is from your garden, mark the packaging either with the date you placed it in the freezer, or you can label it with an “expiration date” if you wish. I normally just use the packaging date and use my best judgment on when the food should be removed and recycled in the compost pile. If you need something more definitive, I recommend the guidelines found in the Ball Blue Book – The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing. Here are a few examples of recommended freezer storage times at 0 degrees F:
Citrus: 3 to 4 months
Fruits, except citrus: 12 months
Fish: 2 to 3 months
Ground Meat: 3 to 4 months
Vegetables, uncooked (except onions): 12 months
Vegetables, cooked: 1 month
Onions: 3 to 6 months
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