Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

My biggest problem in my side-by-side freezer is losing things then finding a nasty old freezer-burned brick of something that never makes it to the table. I've tried to keep an inventory sheet for the freezer and my pantry - works for awhile until I forget to update it ...

I'm glad you mentioned the FoodSaver vacuum sealers. I just bought one at Sam's (about half the Amazon price) and have been having a ball dividing up two-person portions for my wife and I. Boneless chicken breasts are on sale this week so I pounded some cutlets, chopped some up for stir fry, seasoned some and left others plain. They are all neatly vacuum sealed, labeled and ready to grab.

As to labeling, sometimes I prepare and season things so I have a start on a specific recipe. I usually put a note on the freezer container as to what recipe the item goes with, along with the date.

I'm a bit surprised at your comment about canning corn and beans. My mother and grandmother canned bushels of corn, green beans, apple sauce, peaches, and tomatoes using a standard water bath canner and we never had problems - maybe we ate it all up between seasons.

As an aside, my grandmother had a food drier and my uncle LOVED dried corn. It had a very different taste from any other preservation method that I never acquired . . .

I like to freeze snack-size zipper bags full of salsa makings (everything but the tomatoes). A bunch of cilantro, several limes, a couple red onions, and a handful of jalapenos turn into about a dozen little frozen batches ready to thaw and add to chopped fresh tomatoes.

I like all sorts of soda. I guess I rarely drink grape because typically I'm looking for "cold caffeine" and less sugar. But, if we are at a cookout or other event where tubs of sodas are iced down and I find a grape, I'll go for it.

Now, if you want to find most of the grape soda lovers in the world, head to South America, especially Brazil. Fanta orange and grape are big sellers there - if you need a break from the guarana ...