The kitchen appliance that fattens your wallet

When was the last time you took a handful of money from your wallet and put it in the trash?

With the current high cost of food, every time you toss out your leftovers or accidentally let something “go bad,” you’re essentially throwing away your hard-earned money.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

A recent study from Ohio State University has shown that the simple answer is making better use of one particular appliance…

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Freezing food means less waste, less loss

Recent estimates suggest that about 30% of food in the United States is wasted. Professor Brian Roe says it’s probably even more than that.

And according to ReFED.org, in 2023, the average American spent $782 on food that went uneaten.

But using data from 2022, Roe and his colleagues have shown that frozen foods make up only about six percent of wasted household food.

That means that if we can get everyone in the habit of freezing food, less food will go to waste.

But this will help far more than your budget…

“Food waste is not just an economic loss — it also causes environmental damage because more than 90% of wasted food goes to the landfill, and this can produce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Lei Xu, first author of the study.

“The findings suggest that in the future, if we can encourage households to have home freezing behaviors, this small change in food storage habits can have a large environmental impact.”

I’m on board with that — and keeping my wallet a little fatter, too.

Familiarize yourself with your freezer

Freezing food is a simple and effective way to take control of your budget and reduce waste.

In addition to freezing leftovers, I’ve gotten in the habit of freezing other food items that I just don’t consume quickly enough.

Take a loaf of bread, for instance. I’ll freeze half the loaf by putting a slice of parchment paper between each slice before placing several into an airtight container and popping in the freezer.

When my bananas get too ripe (and I’m not ready to make banana nut bread), I’ll slice them up and freeze them for smoothies.

You can freeze almost anything. Of course, some foods won’t freeze well, like leafy greens — unless cooked in a soup. Luckily, with the internet at our fingertips, you can look up how to freeze any food you might have questions about. That’s where I learned how to freeze eggs!

The cost of eggs may continue to rise. Treat them like gold if you have a great source for reasonably priced eggs. You can freeze them for up to one year, and it’s pretty simple, according to what I read at Beyond The Chicken Coop.

I usually cook two to four scrambled eggs at a time. So, to prepare some for freezing, crack them into a bowl and discard the shells. Then, add a pinch of salt (it keeps them from becoming gelatinous) and lightly scramble to combine the whites and yolks without allowing too much air into the mixture.

Pour that into a container, add a label that includes the date and how many eggs it contains, and then freeze. I let mine thaw the night before in my refrigerator.

You can also separate and freeze egg whites and yolks separately. But always mix your yolks with salt to ensure a pleasant texture. A muffin tin is great to initially freeze them in before removing them and placing them into a freezer bag.

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Here are some practical tips to help you make freezing food a regular part of your routine. These tips will not only save you money but also ensure you have meals ready to go on those ‘I-don’t-want-to-cook’ nights.

• Use a refrigerator-freezer thermometer (not a food thermometer) to ensure your freezer temperature is zero degrees or less.
• Freeze food in individual portions. It will be more convenient to use them later on.
• Once you defrost frozen food, eat/cook it within a day or two at most. Do not refreeze it.
• Use resealable plastic containers or freezer bags, not glass, which can crack when subjected to rapid changes in temperature.
• Freeze produce when it’s at its peak of freshness. If you freeze mushy berries, you’ll get mushy thawed berries.
• Cool cooked foods before freezing them. Putting something hot into your freezer will warm the foods beside it and make them unsafe to eat.
• Thaw foods like meat, chicken, and fish in the refrigerator overnight. Trying to defrost frozen meats, fish or poultry at room temperature or using warm or hot water may lead to food poisoning.
• Freeze raw meat and seafood as soon as you get it home. Do not keep it in the fridge for three days and then freeze it. Double wrapping (plastic wrap and a zip-top freezer bag) will prevent freezer burn and extend the time it can be kept.
• Fruits like berries freeze well in freezer bags that are vacuum-sealed. Bananas can be frozen in their skin; the skin will turn brown, but the fruit will be fine. Keeping frozen fruit on hand is great for smoothies.
• Vegetables need to be blanched before frozen. Find info on that here.
• Wrapping foods like meat, poultry, fish, or servings of casseroles that do not contain a lot of liquid in parchment paper can protect them from freezer burn and create a barrier between your food and the plastic it’s stored in.
• Wondering how long you can keep various foods frozen? Here’s a handy reference from FoodSafety.gov.

Sources:

How the freezer factors into lowering food waste — Eureka Alert

Frozen food purchasing and homeo freezingof fresh foods: associations with household food waste — British Food Journal

Cold food storage chart — FoodSafety.gov

How to freeze anything —The Spruce