(C) Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural This story was originally published by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . 45 Degrees North: Freezer Culture [1] ['Donna Kallner', 'The Daily Yonder', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Date: 2025-05-02 My BS barometer redlined recently at a tone-deaf email that started with “help us understand” and ended by suggesting an amount I should donate to a group that admittedly has not grasped what I think or why. Being overly hot under the collar, I stuck my head in the freezer to cool off while pulling out something to thaw for supper the next day. That’s when it occurred to me: I’m not a demographic; I’m a rural Freezer Culture warrior. Of course, I’m a mystery to people who pass six supermarkets on their way home from work, who have a dozen choices of retailers and services that will deliver groceries to their doorstep any day of the week, and who have the economic resources to embrace options. Out here, on the other hand, it’s easier and more affordable to have stuff in the freezer and habits that include planning, thawing, and preparing meals every blessed day. A freezer isn’t just a home appliance: It’s a cultural icon. For many rural families, Freezer Culture is a household management psychology, so different from how people elsewhere live that it represents a cultural divide. To help bridge that divide, here are some things you should know about rural Freezer Culture. Chest vs. Upright. An upright freezer looks like a refrigerator, with a door that opens in front, and is often considered more convenient to use (but not by me). A chest freezer is wider and not as tall, box-like with a hinged lid on top. We have a 50-year-old upright in the basement that holds mostly veggies and fruits. Upstairs, an 11-cubic-foot chest freezer is the largest capacity unit that would fit in the available space in our laundry room with enough clearance for ventilation. That’s where we store meat, poultry, and fish. That freezer is next to an exterior door through which we can run an extension cord to a gas-powered portable generator if necessary during an extended power outage – and those are a fact of life out here. Top Of The Fridge. People who haven’t lived in a culture where chest or upright is a meaningful phrase may think a small freezer compartment in the fridge is sufficient. It’s certainly important: That’s for ice cream, pizzas, containers of soup and spaghetti sauce, veggies and fruits you expect to use soon, pinto beans and garbanzos portioned out the last time you cooked dry beans, and frozen sticks of slice-and-bake sourdough dog biscuits (way cheaper than store-bought). Some people even keep ice trays there. And when we anticipate weather that might result in an extended power outage, I might move a few things to that small freezer compartment so I can access them without opening either of the big freezers. Power Outages. A recent ice storm dropped trees onto power lines. We felt lucky to get restoration in just 48 hours, and never had to hook up the generator. A full chest freezer can maintain a safe temperature for several days if you don’t open it. But a longer outage can cost a rural family dearly. Many people I know have a plan for canning meat as quickly as possible before it spoils (doable if you have a gas rangetop and a pressure canner). Others load ice chests and hope that family or friends with power and freezer space can foster food for a while. Someone who isn’t home or is too busy to can or relocate their freezer contents can lose everything. If you’ve shopped for groceries lately, you can imagine the monetary loss that represents. Now imagine an extra concern for rural families: Many of us have to transport our own trash to a municipal waste handling center. So, after an extended power outage, making time to haul away spoiled food is a priority before stinking bags attract skunks and bears. And yet, rural freezer culture supports taking that risk. After all, I risk an increase in gas prices and drivers who pass on the double yellow every time I make the 52-mile round trip to a supermarket. I risk the impacts of inflation, tariffs, transportation costs, worker shortages at meat packing facilities, decreased availability due to drought, and panic buying for whatever reason that clears supermarket shelves. Having food in the freezer feels pretty secure in comparison. A Treasure Chest. Our chest freezer was full when we lost power in that recent ice storm. We had just purchased a quarter of beef. For those who have only purchased cuts from a supermarket meat case, here’s what that means: We buy direct from the farmer, but our two-person household can’t afford and doesn’t need all the meat from one cow. So we and three other families each commit to take a quarter of that. We pay the farmer for our share of the cow, and we pay a locker plant for butchering and packaging the meat. It’s frozen when we pick it up. It’s a big expense all at once, but it reduces our weekly grocery bill, and the money stays in our community. And we get locally grown roasts and steaks for the same price per pound as a hamburger. Our freezer also contains chickens that our neighbor raises (we help with butchering), game birds (my husband hunts), fish he catches, venison, and other game gifted by neighbors. Occasionally, I buy a whole pork loin when it’s on sale and slice it up myself into meal-size portions to freeze. I buy bacon and breakfast sausage when they’re on sale. But the supermarket gets very little of our meat budget. Meal Planning. Instead of picking options from the meat case at the store, I shop the freezer a couple of times a week. My selections go into a big stainless steel bowl in the refrigerator to thaw. It can take a couple of days for a 1.5-pound block of ground beef to thaw in the fridge. But at 40°F, any bacteria present when the food was frozen have less opportunity to multiply than they would thawing at room temperature on the counter. And if something comes up and my planning goes sideways, I can wait another day or two to prepare something thawed in the fridge. I learned meal planning from my mother, who worked full-time but also shopped her freezer and pantry. She wore out at least one old-school pressure cooker, turning tough cuts from butchered dairy cows into tender, delicious meals. Many of my rural friends swear by the modern “instant pot” for making quick work of meal preparation. I tend to prefer the slow route of throwing thawed meat and veggies into a crock pot, or a quick sear on the stovetop in a cast iron pan. And I love any meal plan that produces leftovers – a.k.a a night of minimal prep and clean-up. One thing I did not learn from my mother was about frozen pizza. My husband was a 39-year-old bachelor when I married him. Bill could make a great meatloaf, but also knew how to take care of himself when that wasn’t possible. When you live where no pizzeria delivers, having pizza and ice cream in the freezer sure beats cold cereal for supper. I’m sure many rural parents feel the same way about frozen chicken nuggets. Freezer Culture Families. Here’s another thing that might help others better understand people who live in a freezer culture: We know we’re lucky. Lucky to have the space for those freezers. Lucky to have their contents, whether it’s food we raised ourselves, food we hunted or fished ourselves, or food we purchased. A friend of mine has five freezers. That might sound like a lot for a two-person household. But most of us lucky enough to have a treasure chest of frozen food don’t hoard it all. We share with friends and family. Sending your adult children and grandchildren off with a few bags of frozen burger meat is a way to help support them in tough times and in good times. Maybe we can’t fill their gas tanks, but we can help fill their bellies. Donna Kallner writes from Langlade County in rural northern Wisconsin. Related Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailyyonder.com/45-degrees-north-freezer-culture/2025/05/02/ Published and (C) by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailyyonder/