Chest freezer temp question

Post #424,920 by crazy 7/29/18 3:18:27 PM 7/29/18 3:18:27 PM Reply	Chest freezer temp question Is there any reason to turn it down lower than the standard freezer? Frozen is frozen, right, no need for the food to go to 20 below, which just costs more and takes longer to defrost. Or have I missed something?
Post #424,924 by Ashton 7/29/18 4:32:35 PM 7/29/18 4:32:35 PM Reply	Methinks that the now-cheap handheld IR-Temp devices is the solution here; seen some ~$10=bargain. I note that my freezer compartment, at 'Normal' setting gets 3-5º below 0 F reliably and I've calibrated the Chinese yellow device (now small-thus-'hand'ier than the earlier models): via melting-ice+its H₂O water == near-enough Lab-std accuracy; mine happens to be within +/- a degree at that 32º F. Concur ya need not -20, but allowing for temp-rise during inevitable Defrost periods: believe it safest to keep the sucker below -4F, and if you ever keep $expensive viands for long periods.. going lower yet may prove cheap insurance, but YMMV.
Post #424,929 by Another Scott 7/29/18 6:11:53 PM 7/29/18 6:11:53 PM Reply	FDA recommendations. https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm093704.htm They say 0F freezer, below 40F for the fridge. If you buy lots of milk, keeping it as close to freezing as possible extends the life greatly. Spoilage is exponential with temperature, after all. Years ago I could keep a gallon of milk for a month if I kept it around 33F. Just a few degrees warmer would take a couple of weeks off its shelf life. Similar issues don't exist with freezers, once the stuff is cold enough (and 0F seems to be cold enough). Cheers, Scott.
Post #424,931 by Andrew Grygus 7/29/18 9:47:15 PM 7/29/18 9:47:15 PM Reply	Re: Chest freezer temp question The colder the freezer is, the faster meats, fish, shellfish will freeze, and the less the cell damage from growing ice crystals. I always freeze such thing unwrapped and in a single layer so they freeze as fast as possible, then wrap in plastic. Things with salt in them are subject to rancidity because they aren't entirely frozen. Ham, for instance, is notorious for going rancid in regular freezer compartments. Lower temperature helps but may not cure. Oily fish also goes rancid fairly quickly. Again, lower temperature may help. Killing parasites in fish, -4F/-20C is recommended.
Post #424,935 by static 7/30/18 6:49:07 AM 7/30/18 6:49:07 AM Reply	Pro-sumer. There are situations where someone needs to freeze colder than domestically conventional but investing in a commercial unit is overkill. Probably the best example is like what Andrew said: fish needs to be pretty cold to kill parasites. A keen fisherman who can hook enough for a bit of a side business or even enough to readily hand out to friends and family would benefit from such a freezer. Wade.
Post #424,948 by crazy 7/30/18 10:30:18 PM 7/30/18 10:30:18 PM Reply	Yup, Kenmore Heavy Duty Not really commercial, a bit bigger and colder than the standard consumer. Can fit about 6 bodies in it. Cost $60 at Goodwill - SCORE! I have a handheld remote thermometer. When set on "7", thermometer reads -14F. When set on "9", it went to "LOW", ie, too low to this thing to measure. Assume -25f to -35f. As other have mentioned, 0 is the recommendation. As Gryg pointed out, there are perfectly valid reasons to go lower if I want to pay for the electricity. I'll keep it at -10f for now.

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