Within a few days, the stand-alone freezer, an appliance often relegated to the basement, was as hard to get ahold of as hand sanitizer. Now, waiting lists for freezers are growing as consumers seek the comfort of knowing that they’ll have plenty of food at home throughout a shutdown of unknown length.
Jim Estill, chief executive of Danby, which makes 20 different types of freezers, thinks the pandemic will permanently change this market. “Now people who are single want freezers, and people in apartments think they need a freezer,” Estill says. “Households who already have two refrigerators with freezers also want a separate freezer.”
Freezer shipments for the month of March were up 45 percent over the same period in 2019, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. Frozen food sales skyrocketed, too: American Frozen Food Institute figures show a sales increase of 94 percent in March compared with a year ago.
“At first, covid-19 caused a bit of panic-buying and turning to freezing for a longer shelf life,” says Adrienne Seiling, vice president of strategic communications at the American Frozen Food Institute. Now, she says, it’s all about the “level of satisfaction and comfort” of having a full freezer.
A stocked pantry is a big concern when there is no way to know what a trip to the grocery store will yield, says Michael Ruhlman, food journalist and author of “Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America.” Some shoppers are checking out the variety of goods in the freezer cases for the first time. “As this period unfolds, we will become better and better freezers and more organized freezers,” Ruhlman says.
Jessica Petrino, editorial director at AJ Madison, a national appliance dealer, says the industry did not foresee the ferocity of the pandemic and was not prepared for the spike in demand. “These were not hot-ticket items,” Petrino says. Because many freezer parts are sourced in China, some manufacturers are having difficulty getting more freezers into stores. Hundreds of thousands of freezers are on back order, she says.
“Everyone is rethinking how they purchase food. In parts of the country, going to the grocery store is a scary event,” Petrino says.
Coming to love frozen foods
Clarence Birdseye introduced flash-freezing methods for fish and vegetables in the 1920s. His company was eventually sold and became the Birds Eye division of General Foods. In the 1930s and 1940s, more Americans replaced their ice boxes with electric refrigerators, which had small compartments for ice trays and other frozen items. By the late 1940s, the country’s postwar boom brought busy families more selections of frozen fruits and vegetables to make meal planning easier. Because more women were now working outside the home, the appeal of frozen meals as a timesaver grew. Hunters and farmers, too, used chest freezers for storing large quantities of meat and farm products.
In the 1950s, with the invention of fast-cook foods such as frozen fish sticks and TV dinners, frozen meals became an important part of Americans’ meals, and separate freezers were in demand. Victoria Matranga, design programs coordinator at the International Housewares Association, says the use of free-
standing freezers closely correlated to the mass production and lower cost of frozen foods.
There are still basically two types of freezers, but according to Jill Notini, vice president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the variety of configurations, sizes and features has grown.
Buying tips
Stand-alone freezers might not be as buzzy as the latest smart fridges, but there are some new features to be aware of, including LED lighting, door alarms to let you know when the temperature is not being maintained, reversible doors, security locks and better organizational compartments. Some uprights have built-in ice makers.
The majority of freezers are white, but you can find stainless and black finishes. Make sure the one you choose is manufactured to be “garage-ready” if you plan to keep it in your unheated or uncooled garage; some models aren’t made to withstand extreme heat or cold. Also decide whether you are okay with a model that needs to be defrosted (usually once or twice a year) or if you prefer one with auto-defrost.
David McCalpin, vice president of refrigeration at GE Appliances, says to consider the space you have available and how much money you want to invest. (Most freezers cost between $300 and $1,500.) Most stand-alone freezers range in size from about three cubic feet to about 22 cubic feet. Upright freezers generally will have a smaller footprint than chest models. Manufacturers make freezers that work for smaller households and apartments, such as Danby’s Diplomat, a compact chest freezer available in four sizes, from 3½ to nine cubic feet. The seven-cubic-foot model, at 33 inches high and 35 inches wide, is similar to the size of dishwasher.
Chest freezers tend to be less expensive than uprights, and they could be harder to organize; look for models with storage baskets. Think about whether you will just use it for storing bagels and lasagnas for the long term, or want your kids to be able to easily grab Popsicles on a daily basis. Features to look for in uprights include glass shelves and transparent door bins, McCalpin says. These allow you to keep an eye on your inventory. “Uprights give you better storage and visibility than a chest style,” McCalpin says.
Freezers used to be known as energy hogs, but no more. According to the Energy Star website, freezers manufactured today use a lot less energy because of improvements in insulation and compressor design. Models with the Energy Star designation save the most in energy use and costs. About 38 million separate freezers are in use in the United States, according to the website. More than 17 million of those freezers are more than 10 years old, costing consumers $1.3 billion per year on their energy bills. Replacing your old freezer with an Energy Star model could save you $195 over the next five years.
Usage tips
There is an art to loading your freezer properly and keeping your food from developing the dreaded ice crystals or freezer burn. Consult your freezer’s manual for specific information.
Electrolux, which has been making home freezers since 1929, has a number of best practices for freezing, says Eloise Hale, a spokeswoman for the company.
●Let hot foods cool. Wait until hot foods get to room temperature before placing them in your freezer. Overloading the appliance with hot food forces the compressor to run longer. Foods that freeze too slowly may lose quality or spoil.
●Freeze items flat. Putting items in freezer bags and placing them flat in the freezer allows you to stack them in bins once completely frozen.
●Rethink packaging. Boxes are bulky. If possible, remove items from packaging before storing, and recycle the packaging.
●Ensure cold air is circulating. Shelves and baskets should not be lined with aluminum foil, wax paper or paper towels. Liners interfere with cold air circulation, making the freezer less efficient.
For information on recommended length of freezing times, go to foodsafety.gov. (For example, a refrigerated, cooked rotisserie chicken should be consumed within four days; if stored frozen, it should be consumed within four months.)
Ruhlman says it’s important to know what you have and to label it with the date so you don’t waste food. His household keeps a roll of blue painter’s tape and a marker at the ready. Keep a master list of your freezer contents to help in meal planning and shopping. “We keep a list of foodstuffs taped to our freezer,” he says. “We cross off what we take out.” Among the things in there now: four jars of Mom’s tomato sauce, chicken stock, lentil soup, meatballs, a bag of artichoke hearts, peas and six Klondike bars.
Thinking your household could use a freezer? McCalpin says GE is trying its best to keep up with demand. “We have the factories running flat out. Typically, we have excess capacity, but not to meet this kind of a surge,” he says. “Be a little patient right now. There are a lot of them on their way, and I expect supplies will improve over the next few months.”
Article written by Jura Koncius of the Washington Post. Click here for the original article.
Published May 13, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT
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