Last week, as a belated Christmas gift from several family members, I got a deep freezer. It was something I had wanted for a long time, but wasn’t able to afford; besides, having lived for part of these past two years in a very cramped student room, I just didn’t know where I’d put a freezer anyway. So I could only do with my fridge, and its very imperfect cold compartment.
Well, things are changing now, and they’re changing fast. Of course, I didn’t need much time to fill this new freezer of mine! I immediately ordered plenty of vegetables and fruits from Picard (one of the leading frozen foods stores in France), and made sure that no ice-cream or cake would make it to my shopping list. I also took this as an opportunity to buy fish. So far, so good: these foods are really tasty, and it makes it so much easier to eat cauliflower or other vegetables that aren’t necessarily convenient to prepare when you’re living alone (I like cauliflower, but don’t necessarily want to eat it three days in a row just because I had to cook that big thing and it won’t keep good for long in the fridge).
The odd part in all of this is that it has sort of allowed me to reach a certain peace of mind in terms of food management. For instance, I bought a loaf of bread and froze it. Before, with fresh bread, I would always feel ‘compelled’ to eat it quickly, in a couple of days, so that it wouldn’t go to waste; evidently, 300g of bread for a woman my size in two or even three days is a little too much. The same thing happened with other foods, too. Now that it’s frozen, it’s all okay in my head. I know I can keep that bread for two months if I wish, and only take a slice or two once a week. It’s not a problem anymore, and I’m not wasting money on rotting food anymore either.
More astonishing, the same thing is currently happening with a… pizza. Yes, I went wild and bought a 300g pizza (a brand I really like, so that if I really want pizza, at least it’ll be the real thing and not some ersatz). However, now that I have it under the hand, knowing that I’m in no hurry to eat it, I don’t feel like eating it at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were to remain untouched in my freezer for the next fortnight or more.
I knew having a freezer would change a lot of things and allow me to manage my stocks of food in a different way. But to be honest, I hadn’t expected this side-effect of having the food and not wanting to eat it. I suppose it is a good thing!
January 28th, 2008 at 18:50
That is such a great idea! I freeze meats and fish whenever I find them on sale, but I haven’t really tried freezing my own anything else except bananas (by freezing my own, I mean buying things unfrozen and then freezing them). My tiny apartment definitely doesn’t have room for a deep freezer, but I think this is more evidence that I need to get my own apartment so I can have more room in the regular freezer for healthy stuff!
January 28th, 2008 at 19:04
We don’t have a deep freeze, but we do have a 2nd refrigerator in the garage with a large freezer. I love having that space. If I find healthy tasty things on sale I can pick them up and know there’s space for it … it is lovely. Congrats on your freezer!
January 28th, 2008 at 19:52
Laura — I didn’t use to freeze my own very often a few years ago, when I had access to a (bigger) freezer, but I also didn’t really need to. It’s going to be very convenient now, though, if only because I’ll be able to prepare more varied meals to bring to work. It’s so great.
January 28th, 2008 at 19:53
Happy — As long as it behaves like a freezer… (The ‘freezer’ compartment I have in my own fridge will keep the food at -5°C or something like this, and frozen foods can only be kept in it for 3-4 days maximum.)
January 29th, 2008 at 06:02
Wow…your french, blog in English and even threw in some German for good measure!
January 29th, 2008 at 09:07
That’s because it’s a word I like.
Actually, I haven’t practiced German in about ten years, and I’m all rusty…
Welcome to the blog, by the way.