Why You Want A Chest Freezer

As an expert gear tester, my kitchen (and basement…and flooring, if I’m trustworthy) fills up quick with gizmos and devices. All of this testing additionally finally ends up stocking my larder with the varied meals required to judge stated gear. For instance, once I examined petty knives I needed to mince a ton of shallots (I’m nonetheless discovering luggage tucked away in my freezer), whereas cleavers concerned chopping up bone-in hen breasts, and my evaluate of the Traeger Ironwood XL meant I used to be consuming ribs for weeks. Mixed with my proclivity for impulse shopping for (whats up discounted turkey from the day after Thanksgiving) and you may see how it is a storage nightmare. Enter my chest freezer, which lets me stash racks of ribs, hen, and even minced greens from knife testing. It helps stop my moderately small principal freezer from overflowing, and mitigates meals waste—and it could actually enable you, pricey reader, do these items, too.

What’s a Chest Freezer Good For?

I don’t find out about you, however my backside freezer is, nicely, fairly small and fills up shortly. Enter the chest freezer, which opens from the highest and is available in quite a lot of sizes. Relatively clearly, chest freezers are nice for meals storage, however they particularly turn out to be useful if you’re internet hosting. Ever purchased a massive turkey or ham, returned house, and thought, the place the heck am I going to place this? A chest freezer solutions that query. It’s additionally simply good to not have your principal freezer packed to the brim.

So far as the place to place the chest freezer, I’ve a mud room that I maintain mine in, however you can even stash it in your storage or basement like individuals typically do with additional fridges. Simply keep watch over it if it will get actually chilly out (since, satirically, the chilly is unhealthy for freezers and might truly trigger them to close off ), and provides it a daily cleansing to forestall ice buildup. 

What’s the Finest Chest Freezer?

Whereas we haven’t formally examined chest freezers, I fairly like my 5-cubic foot Magic Chef freezer, which is simply the appropriate dimension for my two-person family (it’s additionally pretty reasonably priced, with the present worth at $190). Nevertheless, you will discover freezers as massive as 16 cubic ft (and even greater), although these are principally utilized by avid hunters or industrial kitchens. One thing to recollect past capability is the place you wish to maintain it and the colour—I’ve a white freezer that exhibits grime, particularly the place I seize the lid to open it. A black freezer could be a greater choice in the event you’re involved about aesthetics. The chest freezer needs to be straightforward to make use of, and the lid ought to keep up so you possibly can rummage round. I’ll be aware that since you’re reaching down into the freezer, it may be tough to search out issues, as stuff tends to get buried. 

How you can Use a Chest Freezer

Effectively, duh, you may suppose—you freeze issues in it. However through the years I’ve realized some sensible suggestions for storing stuff within the freezer, particularly a chest freezer, which is vulnerable to turning into a black gap for frozen items. Listed here are a number of suggestions:

• Act like a chef and label and date every thing (you possibly can write straight on freezer storage luggage or label something with freezer tape)—that means you’ll know what that baggie of freezer-burned thriller meat is, and if it’s time to toss it. 
• For those who can, attempt to be strategic about organizing stuff in it; this may very well be so simple as putting greater stuff on the backside and smaller stuff on the prime. 
• Lastly, don’t be like me and keep away from confronting the inevitable activity of cleansing your freezer—ice buildup can heat it up, resulting in smells and probably spoiled meals. 

FAQs

What’s the easiest way to scrub a chest freezer?

Sadly, you’ll need to empty it out—so I like to recommend both consuming away on the meals in it or transferring it to your principal freezer. Then, unplug the freezer and let it thaw out—if in case you have a variety of ice buildup, you may wish to take it outdoors or place it on an opulent towel. As soon as it’s thawed, dry it off and use cleansing spray and a rag or towel to sanitize and clear it. 

What dimension chest freezer is greatest?

It is dependent upon your wants, however for a two-person family, my five-cubic meals freezer is greater than sufficient.

Why We are the Consultants

• Grace Kelly has been a commerce editor for Critical Eats since 2022.
• Previous to this, she labored at America’s Check Kitchen, the place she reviewed gear and arranged style exams.
• She’s reviewed a whole bunch of merchandise and performed dozens of style exams, and a chest freezer is crucial to her job. She’s had hers since 2021.