What To Look For In A Refrigerator's Freezer

Sat Jan 21 2017

• Refrigerators

Maybe it's the cold weather or the resolution to get eat healthier that has us talking so much about freezers lately. We recently gave you a basic guide to freezing foods along with the advantages of keeping frozen foods on hand (good stuff). Now we want to discuss the freezer itself.

 

 

When purchasing a refrigerator, it can be easy to overlook the freezer. As long as it freezes stuff and keeps it frozen, it's good enough - right? Sure freezing is the ultimate goal but there's more to consider when purchasing this icy appliance, such as will your food actually come out fresh or will frost, freezer burn, or inconsistent temperatures damage it? Below is a simple list of what to look for in a freezer when purchasing your refrigerator. 

 

Configuration For Organizing Depending on the refrigerator's configuration (french door, side-by-side, top mount, or bottom freezer), the freezer will also offer different arrangements to keep foods organized and accessible. The freezer on most bottom freezer refrigerators and french door refrigerators include pull-out drawers that allow you to easily organize and access your food. However, frequently bending over to reach your foods can be straining on your back. Side-by-side refrigerators usually offer the most options with drawers, shelves, and door storage, whereas top mount refrigerators usually provide just one shelf and some door storage. No matter the configuration, make sure you're not having to stack too many foods on top of each other as this is how foods usually get forgotten or misplaced. Check out the different layouts yourself to get a feel of how you would keep your foods arranged.

 

 

Capacity Consider how much food and other items you freeze throughout the year. Popsicles in summer, soups in the winter, cookie dough for your child's school bake sale, gallons of Ben & Jerry's to get through 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls. Whether you purchase in bulk or only freeze foods occasionally, you don't want to risk purchasing a freezer that is too small to meet your needs. One cubic foot of freezer space will accommodate around 35 pounds of food, though keep in mind packaging can take up a lot of that space. A freezer with only 3.2 cu. ft likely won't suit the normal eating habits of a family of four. It's safer to aim closer to 7 cu. ft. for an average sized family. And don't forget to consider the space an ice maker will take up!

 

 

Temperature Warning If you keep a healthily stocked freezer, you've probably experienced the fear of anything happening to your foods, such as the door left open or power cord coming unplugged causing your expensive foods to slowly thaw out to an inedible slop while you sleep peacefully in your bed. Don't lose sleep worrying over your food. A temperature alarm constantly monitors your freezer's temperatures and will alert you anytime the it rises above optimal freezer temperature.  

 

 

LED Lighting It's not uncommon for a freezer to not have lighting. While there are lots of theories out there as to why, the fact is people simply don't peruse the freezer as often as the refrigerator (cause let's face it, we know exactly where we hid those ice cream sandwiches). However, when the lightbulb in a refrigerator goes out it's suddenly like you're Indiana Jones exploring an ancient tomb full of someone else's food. "When did we buy tofu?! Oh never mind, it's just the cheese." Just because you're used to being in the dark doesn't mean you should be when it comes to your freezer. Lighting not only helps you find your foods quicker and reduce risking temperature change, it helps you keep track of your foods so they don't mysteriously get lost and go to waste. 

 

 

Frost-Free Food isn't the only thing your freezer will freeze. It will also freeze any moisture in the air creating a frost build-up inside the freezer and on your foods. Unfortunately, said frost can aid in freezer burn, creating an unpleasant taste and texture to your valuable foods. Always check first if the freezer has an auto-defroster that will automatically dehumidify your freezer everyday. Manually defrosting a freezer is no fun task.

 

 

What do you look for in a freezer?