How cold should a deep freezer be?

[El Puerco]

I think fridges should be around 38F, freezers 28F, but what about deep freezers?

[JMF]

Fridge should be 35-38F
Freezer 0 to 5F
Chest freezer -5F to -10F

[El Puerco]

Pardon my faulty conversion. I read that a freezer should be about -2F. 28F is about -2C. My freezer is about -3F. My chest freezer is below -20F and I've been slowly raising it for days.

I can't dispute JMFs info, but what's the source of it?

[jlawrence01]

0F has generally the standard freezer temperature in any kitchen that I have ever worked in. I know it was the standard in military kitchens also.

28F will yield very soft ice cream. Also, if you keep going in and out of a 28F freezer, there will probably be some thawing in the warmest segments of the freezer.

[nyfoodjoe]

I have always been told that minus 10 is ideal...not all freezers get that cold though, so I think next best would be 0

[nyfoodjoe]

you know, I mis-read you question....I do not believe any freezer should be 28 degrees....too warm...you could not keep ice cream hard enough...and what is the difference between a freezer and a deep freezer??