Freeeezer Jolly Good Fellow

It’s so easy to get a little bit carried away doing the Christmas food shop. With all those delectable festive treats on display, it can be difficult not to come home with enough brussels sprouts to feed a small army! With a tendency to overestimate the amount of food we’ll munch our way through over the Christmas holiday, we don’t want to end up having to throw away quality food. This is where the freezer becomes our friend and will help us put an all-important dent in the millions of tonnes of perfectly good food that gets wasted every year.

​​​​​​

Make friends with your freezer

Here’s how to save some of those Christmas leftovers!
​​​​​​​
  • ​​​​​​​Freeze that cheese - the high fat, and low moisture content in cheese means that it keeps its flavour and texture. Pop any cheese wedges left from your cheeseboard in the freezer and simply defrost the day before you want to use it. Cheddar is best to be grated before freezing for use in cooking later.

  • Ice cube trays are the one - use them to freeze any leftover milk, stock, gravy, or even wine. These little portions are perfect to be popped out of the tray and added straight to any recipes when needed. If you have any leftover fresh herbs, pop them in an ice cube tray topped up with water. You can pop them straight from the freezer to melt into any soups, sauces, or dressings to give you months of flavour. 

  • Veg matters - whilst freezing vegetables can slightly affect their crisp texture, once defrosted this won’t matter as they can be a great addition to stews, used to make stock, mash, or bubble and squeak!

  • Tutti Frutti - pop any whole fruit into ice cube trays to add to your drinks or blitz it into a nutritious smoothie straight from the freezer.

Make friends with your freezer

Here’s how to save some of those Christmas leftovers!
​​​​​​​
  • ​​​​​​​Freeze that cheese - the high fat, and low moisture content in cheese means that it keeps its flavour and texture. Pop any cheese wedges left from your cheeseboard in the freezer and simply defrost the day before you want to use it. Cheddar is best to be grated before freezing for use in cooking later.

  • Ice cube trays are the one - use them to freeze any leftover milk, stock, gravy, or even wine. These little portions are perfect to be popped out of the tray and added straight to any recipes when needed. If you have any leftover fresh herbs, pop them in an ice cube tray topped up with water. You can pop them straight from the freezer to melt into any soups, sauces, or dressings to give you months of flavour. 

  • Veg matters - whilst freezing vegetables can slightly affect their crisp texture, once defrosted this won’t matter as they can be a great addition to stews, used to make stock, mash, or bubble and squeak!

  • Tutti Frutti - pop any whole fruit into ice cube trays to add to your drinks or blitz it into a nutritious smoothie straight from the freezer.

The Best Refrigeration Brands in 2020

As a group, our independent store owners certainly noticed the trend in product demand for refrigeration machines when the first lockdown was implemented! But which refrigeration manufacturers were the consumers choice for 2020? 

Which? conducted a reliability test with 2,776 models in September 2019. Those manufacturers who scored over 80% on both reliability and consumer rankings, were Fisher & Paykel, Samsung, LG and Bosch. 

The best refrigeration technology chills or freezes your food fast, consistently around the clock, doesn’t sound like an old accumulator or cost an arm or a leg to run.​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​

​​​​How long will my freezer last?

According to Which?’s reliability rating and survey, your average refrigeration device will last up to 11 years! This is based upon the experiences of Which readers. However, with a bit of maintenance you can prolong the life of your appliance, we’d recommend the following:​​
​​​​​​​
  • Safety first! Always turn off the power at the mains and unplug before cleaning!

  • Clean compressor coils every six months. The coils located at the back of your freezer can get greasy and dusty. When fully powered down and unplugged, if accessible vacuum any dust off, or wipe any residue with a damp cloth.

  • Sealed with love? If you’re having to make like Thor to open your freezer door, it’s saying that it’s due for some attention. Remember if your freezer door won’t seal properly, it will be working harder, and probably costing you more money. So best to clean any sticky debris with warm water, then dry with a towel. Avoid using chemicals, which can break down rubber. You can even test how well the seal is working by seeing if it will grip a piece of paper when you shut the door. If it doesn’t, the seal will soon need replacing.

  • Ice is nice! If you have a water filter in your freezer ensure you change every 3 to 6 months, or in line with the manufacturer’s instructions to avoid consumption of potentially harmful contaminants!​​​​​​​

  • Cold enough? Check the temperature of your freezer regularly! Freezers should be set at around -18°C.

​​​​How long will my freezer last?

According to Which?’s reliability rating and survey, your average refrigeration device will last up to 11 years! This is based upon the experiences of Which readers. However, with a bit of maintenance you can prolong the life of your appliance, we’d recommend the following:​​
​​​​​​​
  • Safety first! Always turn off the power at the mains and unplug before cleaning!

  • Clean compressor coils every six months. The coils located at the back of your freezer can get greasy and dusty. When fully powered down and unplugged, if accessible vacuum any dust off, or wipe any residue with a damp cloth.

  • Sealed with love? If you’re having to make like Thor to open your freezer door, it’s saying that it’s due for some attention. Remember if your freezer door won’t seal properly, it will be working harder, and probably costing you more money. So best to clean any sticky debris with warm water, then dry with a towel. Avoid using chemicals, which can break down rubber. You can even test how well the seal is working by seeing if it will grip a piece of paper when you shut the door. If it doesn’t, the seal will soon need replacing.

  • Ice is nice! If you have a water filter in your freezer ensure you change every 3 to 6 months, or in line with the manufacturer’s instructions to avoid consumption of potentially harmful contaminants!​​​​​​​

  • Cold enough? Check the temperature of your freezer regularly! Freezers should be set at around -18°C.

Buying the right kind of refrigeration technology

Refrigeration technology is constantly improving, so we’ve put together some handy buyer's guides for you, complete with our top tips on buying your new fridge, freezer, or combined fridge freezer. Or why not pop into your local Euronics UK store and ask the experts for their opinion? They’d love to show you the latest technology from your favourite manufacturers.​​​​​

​​​​​​​
Would you like to know when our next post is live?​​​​
Follow us on your social media of choice (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) for all the latest updates as well as news, offers and promotions.​​​​

​​​​​​​
Sources: