People putting food that should be frozen in the fridge

Because they aren't important questions so I ask them when I feel like it.  I'm not asking if I should start storing  my food in ice cream containers or if I should sell my freezer.

As has been mentioned, I've lived here long enough to have figured out my own way of doing things.

I'm not asking for advice.

I'm just wondering why other people do the things that they do. I'm an observant, analytical person. That's just how I am.

What's so strange about that?

Since it is possibly annoying to some people, I will stop mentioning these things.

Our ice cream containers that we reuse are plastic - the Mackies ones I was talking about do happen to be round.

sweetpeach, I don't think you should not ask questions that you feel like asking.  It's an internet forum - don't read too much into things. 

Sorry, it wasn't meant as a criticism, just an observation. Everyone who replied to this thread seemed surprised that you didn't know about reusing plastic ice cream tubs, or indeed that ice cream tubs are plastic. It's not annoying as such, just surprising.

I also use ice cream containers--Carte D'Or I think.  They are plastic and sort of oval and a bit bigger than I'd really need, but yeah I'd rather recycle than buy more plastic junk and put the ice cream containers into the landfill.  Even to recycle plastic lots of resources are used, so yeah re-use is best.  Other than smallish sizes I don't think I've seen a cardboard ice cream container in decades.  I wish it still came in cardboard (less plastic for the landfill!)

Hubby will often use an ice cream container for a sandwich and a banana and a few trail mix bars, etc when going on a long hike--perfect size for that.

Because they aren't important questions so I ask them when I feel like it.  I'm not asking if I should start storing  my food in ice cream containers or if I should sell my freezer.

As has been mentioned, I've lived here long enough to have figured out my own way of doing things.

I'm not asking for advice.

I'm just wondering why other people do the things that they do. I'm an observant, analytical person. That's just how I am.

What's so strange about that?

Since it is possibly annoying to some people, I will stop mentioning these things.

Sweetpeach- Regardless if you've been living in the UK for 2 months or 2 years, don't EVER feel like you can't ask questions here. This is what these boards are for! If people thinks it "weird or strange" that you're asking a question/posting an observation then they have a choice not to respond to said posting. I haven't moved to the UK yet and I'm sure once I'm there I'll be trying to figure things out for a long time.. So if people here tried to give me a hard time or make me feel bad for asking a question I would have a similar rection as you have. It's a life change moving from one country to another so let's all try to be a little kind and remember we're all on here to help people out. On that note I do find it bizzare that there are a lot of places that don't offer freezers. I think recycle, reduce, reuse is a good motto too

I suppose a fridge alone works if you have time to shop every few days.

We have one of those large American style fridge freezers here in the US, and the freezer bit is definitely on the smaller side.  I had actually wondered whether Americans use less frozen food than Brits! 

Anyway, I'm one of those people who could definitely get away with not having a freezer.  We do have things in there, but nothing that we use on a regular basis.  Currently it has a big bag of frozen blueberries and strawberries, some zucchini bread, and a big bag of mozzarella.  I mean, it's handy for those things, but I don't use them that often that I really need it.  Other than that, I rarely buy frozen food, and leftovers go in the fridge and get eaten up within a few days.

Do people actually live without freezers and just put everything they buy in the fridge - even if it's supposed to be frozen?

I've spent the last year living without a freezer (there wasn't one in my flat in Exeter and I couldn't afford to buy one and I was living in a room above someone's garage with only a tiny fridge in Shropshire) - but I just ate my fridge food within a few days and didn't buy any freezer items at all. I've never stored freezer items in the fridge though .

Why would anyone put their lunch in a big, round ice cream container? You can buy cheap, reusable plastic containers.

My family has been doing this for over 30 years - we buy ice cream in plastic containers and then just re-use the containers for storing food or for carrying packed lunches (which are put in the fridge at work) .

Some frozen food has storage instructions for fridges as well as freezer, especially on the ready meals/pizzas.  A lot of it says keep frozen, but sometimes you can store things in the fridge for a few days if you don't have a freezer.  We have a big freezer for the UK and bought a chest freezer off our inlaws.  Before we had the chest freezer, though, we sometimes would store a few things in the fridge if we were going to eat them in a day or two.  I freeze a lot of what I cook, so there isn't always a lot of room.  We have more now, of course, but at one time, we were really pressed for space.

Back to the question about your house, I would have just guessed the previous owners took the freezer with them and left the fridge because they didn't want/like it. Or perhaps they had their own fridge/freezer that they had and took with them and didn't bother with the small fridge.

I haven't bought ice cream in years, other than from a truck once in a while on a hot summer day.

Some of the ice cream we buy is in waxed paper containers. The fancy-schmancy stuff often is.

We have two small chest freezers and they make me completely nuts. I can never find anything; I'm absolutely sure three quarters of the stuff in there just needs to go. Whenever we eat something from the freezer, he has to replace it immediately. And then he's all, like, "how come this freezer is so full again?"

Um, because you replaced everything we took out?

I got by my whole adult life with just the little compartment at the top of the fridge. Some shrimp, a couple of chicken pies, ice trays.

I'll take this one step further and say that I've worked in places with not even a fridge, and still brought frozen meals to work.  Like others have said, the only difference is it takes less time and sometimes lower power to cook once it's thawed.  We're only talking about a few hours.  Do you also throw all your food away when there's a short power outage?  Same thing.

The other thing Americans (myself included) insist on refrigerating but don't need to are eggs.  Eggs will last for weeks at room temperature.  Hell, they're over 100F when they come out of the chicken!

But yes, people do shop every day or every few days here.  It's easy to do if your walk home from the train station takes you past the shops, which is why you'll notice at least in London that there's usually at least a "express" market near the station.

i've not yet seen the ice cream containers in the fridge, but I know my husband's ex has a small, under-the-counter fridge with no freezer.

Makes me wonder at how you can do that with two children, but they seem to get by. I think we are just so used to big fridges and freezers and shopping for the next 2-4 weeks.  Meanwhile I notice people around me tend to go to the market often, if not every day.

On a personal note, when I took frozen lunches to work, I never even bothered putting them in the freezer.  By the time it was lunch time, they'd thawed and poof...shortened zap time.

The other thing Americans (myself included) insist on refrigerating but don't need to are eggs.  Eggs will last for weeks at room temperature.  Hell, they're over 100F when they come out of the chicken!

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated if they've not previously been refrigerated. Eggs have a protective coating on when they are laid....refrigerating them breaks down this layer so once they've been in the fridge they need to be kept in the fridge.

My parents always kept a tray of eggs in the walk-in pantry....I don't really have anywhere to keep them other than in the fridge.

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated if they've not previously been refrigerated. Eggs have a protective coating on when they are laid....refrigerating them breaks down this layer so once they've been in the fridge they need to be kept in the fridge.

My parents always kept a tray of eggs in the walk-in pantry....I don't really have anywhere to keep them other than in the fridge.

When I first came over and saw MIL had hers in the cabinet with the canned goods, my first thought was 'My God! They are going to DIE!' A lifetime of refrigerated eggs and everything I learned about food safety over the years, including the ServSafe course,  came flooding into my head at once. Then I noticed they sat on the shelves of the shops too. I'd buy them and put them in the fridge, hoping we didn't die. Even though I now know they can sit out, I still keep them in the fridge because it makes me feel better.