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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 1:15 pm Post subject: Freezers
With quite a few people processing your own animals etc how do you store the products? Does everyone have a large number of freezers? Where are they kept?

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 1:31 pm Post subject:

We have 2 huge chest freezers where we store just meat for seven people.

Because there are so many power cuts here in deepest France, (and the freezers are almost a kilometre from our house) as soon as we can, we process the meat (curries, stews, sauces for lasagne, spag bol etc.) and sterilise then in the French equivalent of Kilner jars. We've enough for a year's supply of basic food supplemented by fresh stuff from the garden and "treats" which we buy.

Today for lunch we've eaten a wonderful curry made in August last year from our own goat meat and garden veg. Our pal (who just popped in) brought his own Chilli mix from last year's crop, some cheese and fresh bread bought today at the market and some figs in eau de vie for pud - we've really had a lovely meal.

I never freeze veg. Peas are about the only veg I can eat from the freezer and still really taste the original product. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but that's how it works for us.

HWH

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 2:57 pm Post subject:
HWH, you say you process the food and store it in kilner jars. Where do you keep the jars? Is it sufficient to keep them in a store cupboard or do you keep them somewhere cold if you have power cuts? Does the meat keep ok in them once its been turned into spag bol or whatever? Sorry if these are newbie questions !!

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 3:30 pm Post subject:
Good questions moogie, I was thinking the same things.

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 5:45 pm Post subject:

Hi folks!

After sterilising the jars, we keep them in a cellar we dug out of the side of a hill near our house.

The temperature doesn't fluctuate much and we can hang meat and keep wine in there too.

After the jars have been sterilized (or rather the food in them) they'll keep for a good few years.

It's handy for us because there are no shops for miles, no curry shops

etc either! We can open a jar or two and feed people or even just ourselves when we're busy at short notice.

I'm a bit busy at the moment (isn't everybody - it's Spring!

) but if nobody else posts to say how to sterilize, I've got a "how to" ready somewhere...

HWH

Last edited by hardworkinghippy on Fri Mar 18, 05 12:42 pm; edited 1 time in total

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 9:45 pm Post subject:
Yes please give us the how to on how to sterilise HWH! That would be most handy. Thank you

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 9:41 am Post subject:
If nobody else comes up with some info, then I'll gladly do a "how to". I'd like to wait until the right time of the year - when everyone is getting in their copious amounts of veggies and killing their pigs etc. and needs to store the stuff for winter. There's no rush eh? HWH

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 9:45 am Post subject:
Look forward to it and there's plenty of time. An ideal late Summer article.

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 5:56 pm Post subject:
Sounds good to me! Thanks HWH

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28235
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 6:30 pm Post subject:
I love that side of hill cellar We are on a hill here, and the feasibility of doing this is something I have pondered long and hard, before unfortunately concluding it is not suitable for here

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 6:48 pm Post subject:
It's a shame Jema, because underground storage is perfect for lots of things and you don't need PP. This is a pic of the outside of the store.The roof of the "gloriette"/pagoda thing is now finished and this spring the climbing plants should start to make a nice leafy covering. Wisteria, honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, vines, a Banksii rose... I can hardly wait! HWH

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 6:52 pm Post subject:
Argh, Just noticed the grey pipe with water coming out, which has now been hidden and feeds the fish pond and water storage barrels further down. Sorry, we're supposed to be talking about freezers... I get a bit carried away sometimes.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28235
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 6:52 pm Post subject:
Great pic again. As you say underground where it is cool and well insulated is ideal for loads of things.

mrsnesbitt

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1576

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 11:34 pm Post subject:
I want a chest freezer.anybody know where reasonably priced ones are?

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 12:17 am Post subject: Re: Freezers

Treacodactyl wrote:

With quite a few people processing your own animals etc how do you store the products? Does everyone have a large number of freezers? Where are they kept?

I have one freezer in the house for routine foods, and another in the outhouse which is for stuff i shoot.

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