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Result? Otherwise good food is ruined. Frozen-then-leftover-then-reheated food loses a lot of flavor and texture. It tastes awful.
I can’t figure out why in the world someone would do this, other than to save time.
Thanks.
I can't figure out why in the world someone would be so judgmental and critical of someone who's FEEDING them!
There are lots of reasons people prepare and store food this way. Taste is individual. Just because you think something tastes "awful" doesn't mean either of them do. Buying in bulk, preparing in advance and freezing can be more economical, especially if its a small family or single person. Harder to use up fresh ingredients as quickly before they decline in flavor, texture as it is. It could certainly be due to time. If the adults in that home work full time they don't necessarily want to come home and spend the next hour deciding what to prepare and then cooking it day in and day out, month after month, year after year. If they have long-time favorite meals prepared this way it works for them. Not everyone enjoys cooking. Sure, it could be generational too. When they were growing up and getting established there were fewer choices in grocery stores. They may feel frozen is a step up from canned...which would have been more common when they were learning to cook. Simpler, less diversity. We tend to stick to the familiar; recipes, methods of preparing food, tastes, brands, preparations, etc.
IMHO you sound rather spoiled OP. If you don't like the food at this relative's home, eat elsewhere. Whatever you do, don't insult them and tell them why.
I roasted a 6.5# chicken last night. Some of the leftover meat was stripped off the carcass was frozen. In addition, I frozen two quarts of chicken soup base for future meals.
It IS a generational thing. Older people tend to shop better and tend to better utilize the food that they purchase.
I purchase a gallon jug of milk at a time because it is $1.79/gal while half gallons are $1.59. Freezing milk does not impact its quality.
I can understand why an older person wants to minimize the number of trips to the market during these times.
Where do you live? Milk costs more here in North Texas. I can get it at $2/gallon at certain stores, but generally more like $2.59-$3.
I love freezer cooking, but I focus on items that freeze really well like homemade spaghetti sauce, chili, beans, and soup.
I buy meat on special, vacuum seal in meal sizes, and drop in my garage deep freeze. I heard there’s a problem with some meat plants closing due to the virus this week, so I got chicken, pork, and some beef stew meat today and froze them all. Hopefully everything will be closer to normal before I have to buy meat again.
I buy meat or chicken when on sale, & I also then freeze it, in meal size portions. I like to cook it from raw, so I do not freeze cooked meals. But I see nothing wrong with trying to save money by buying more items when it is on sale, as long as it will be used.
I can prepare 2+ gallons of marinara sauce in three days; it would take virtually the same time to prepare one quart. I freeze it in freezer-safe canning jars with plastic lids. There is no degradation of taste whatsoever: I have used some after six months in the freezer. I do not add any meat when preparing the sauce. That would be added after defrosting, however, my marinara sauce is so flavorful that it needs none.
Why do you not take over meal prep and serving?
At least she did not have to freak with he shut downs.
On the other hand you apparently never had goulash, pot roast, chili con carne or rouladen?
I constantly offer to bring restaurant meals and she says no.
The food that she freezes is things such as yogurt, wine, French fries, cookies, etc.: everything.
Family members almost unanimously decline meals (including Thanksgiving and Christmas) due to the bad food, and even when people visit, they eat beforehand and have told her that they do so.
I can by a whole pork loin for $1.69/lb, far cheaper than the price per pound for already-cut chops in the grocery store, then I can slice it up to the optimal thickness for perfect grilling (takes about 10 minutes) and freeze the chops in pairs for two-person meals. I've found that pork takes freezing much better than beef.
I buy chicken in bulk packs too, at a much better price than it costs in smaller quantities. Divvy it up in meal portions and freeze. Doesn't take much time and saves a lot of money.
When I'm growing veggies, anything that doesn't take well to root cellar-type storage gets processed and frozen. Tomatoes get cooked down into sauce and frozen in meal-size containers. Super simple.
I often use a large crock pot slow cooker to make soups, stews, beans and chili, divvy it up and freeze it. No loss of quality and you have good home cookin' for a number of meals with the fuss of only making it once- after that it's just thaw, heat and eat.
Some people scoff at the things that other people do to conserve cash flow, and turn around and moan that the world is 'so unfair' because they don't have a pot to P in. Sometimes that's the same people whining about a 'living wage' because they can't have 3 beds/2 baths, a new car, the latest iphone, and a full cable TV package on burger-flipper wage; they're in hock on credit cards and one missed paycheck away from disaster...and then they act like you owe them something because it looks like you are doing so much better, but they turn deaf when you try to explain how they can do it too.
Family members almost unanimously decline meals (including Thanksgiving and Christmas) due to the bad food, and even when people visit, they eat beforehand and have told her that they do so.
She obviously doesn't care what others think. Her cooking hasn't killed anyone. Leave her alone and keep your opinion to yourself. She's not breaking any laws and you were not deputized by the food sheriff.
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