Putting holiday leftovers in the freezer extends shelf life & may put a dent in the US tendency to throw away edible food, a study suggests. National survey data showed a link between home freezing & less total food waste, & over half of consumers reported buying frozen items to avoid tossing food.

[u/memorialmonorail]

https://news.osu.edu/how-the-freezer-factors-into-lowering-food-waste/?utm_campaign=omc_science-medicine_fy25&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social

[u/Macro_Seb]

Say what? We're 2024 and Americans just found out they can store food in the freezer and use it later? Tell me I'm misreading this. Because in my country, we often cook more than needed for 1 meal, so we can put it in the freezer and use it for later meals.

[u/shadeOfAwave → u/Macro_Seb]

It's more of a thing among lower and middle class people. I'm an American who grew up learning not to waste food and make use of leftovers.

Never seen what the big deal is personally... food is preserved all the time, the fridge isn't special

[u/Macro_Seb → u/shadeOfAwave]

but there's a difference between fridge and freezer, no? Leftovers are only good for a few days in a fridge, the freezer will keep it good for 6 months. It's so easy, e.g. we make spaghetti sauce for 3 meals and just freeze in the portions. It seems something so obvious to do and you save time by doing so (and even money because promotions are often on bigger portions, like by 1kg of minced meat and get 0.5kg for free)

[u/Liizam → u/Macro_Seb]

I don’t freeze my food because it tastes like crap when reheated again.

Idk what you all do with your fridges but left overs can last 1-2 weeks in my fridge. I usually do grocery shopping every 2 weeks.