I live in a cold environment and sometimes put food/drinks outside as extra freezer space for fairly short periods of time. It can get to -30 degrees Fahrenheit. I am mildly curious if most food is preserved the same way as long as the temperature is below the freezing point, or if something else happens (like if it could last longer or if it would dry out quicker when it’s too cold).
In: 8
It is more about how fast you can get it to sub zero temps. You want the liquids to turn to solids as fast as possible AND as low as possible. This gives less time for bacteria / organisms to develop and keeps water crystals small.
The colder, the better.
The faster you get it to cold, the better.
The primary goal is to get the food below freezing quickly and keep it there. The more time the food spends above freezing, the higher the risk of microbial spoilage occurring. Colder temperatures will result in faster freezing of the food as well as minimizing chemical spoilage (eg, fats going rancid).
The primary harm that comes from very low temperatures is that they will also tend to increase the risk of freezer burn, which is caused by the ice sublimating (turning from solid to gas) and dehydrating the food. This is less of an issue outdoors where humidity levels are higher, and more of an issue in a freezer which will innately dehumidify the air.
Very fast freezing may also damage some materials, making them more brittle, which may damage storage containers, especially if you frequently and quickly cycle them.
Its not normally recommended to keep freezers at lower temperatures as the benefits are very minimal and the cost is high.
I think what OP is asking is if lower-than-freezer (“it can get to -30F [-35C]) temperatures will harm his food.
No damage will occur as long as you take care to package your food properly and if stored outdoors; kept away from direct sunlight. In fact your frozen items may have a longer shelf life than if kept in the freezer at 0F [-18C]
Edit: OP also asked about his food drying out more at lower temperatures; yes, since lower temp=lower humidity this is true. Be more worried about the sun beating down on your food, which would cause temperature swings above freezing.
What people didn’t mention is that certain food ingredients has a certain limit tolerance to cold. If you go lower than that , you are gonna get cold injuries to said ingredients. A lot of vegetable suffer from this.
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