Over Christmas, we all spend vast amounts of money to ensure the homestead is stocked up to see us through the festive season. From the mandatory massive turkey to nibbles and canapés for when the neighbours pop round. It all adds up to a fairly sizable outlay that, according to some insurers, warrants cover under your contents insurance.

But it's not just at Christmas that the freezer can be chocker. Many are now turning more and more to home cooking and freezing. In part, it's inspired by the recent explosion in cookery programmes but it's also a great way to save money. Individually cooked prepared meals are expensive.

There are sound environmental reasons for freezing as well. The amount of packaging involved in ready meals is wasteful and ingredients often come with excessive food miles, flown here from places such as Israel and South Africa.

So, to get the most out of your freezer here is a handy guide to what ratings actually mean.

Star ratings

All freezers come with a star rating that defines its capability. This is what they mean.

**** Below -18 degrees Celsius.

You can freeze fresh food and store any food (fresh or frozen) for up to 12 months.

*** -12 and -18 degrees Celsius.

You can store pre-frozen food for up to 12 months.

** Up to -12 degrees Celsius.

You can store pre-frozen food for up to one month.

* Around -6 degrees Celsius.

You can store pre-frozen food for up to one week.

These last two categories (* and **) are usually found in small freezer compartments at the top of a fridge. Most dedicated freezers nowadays are likely to be ****.
Letter ratings

All freezers (along with many other electrical goods, such as microwaves) are awarded a letter rating to comply with European Union requirements. This is essential as your freezer is probably the only appliance in your household that is left on 24 hours a day. In fact, after your central heating it is likely to be the biggest contributor to your household energy bills.

A is the most energy efficient and the ratings go down to G - which might stand for Ghastly as this rating applies to the most profligate and inefficient freezers.

A+ and A++ ratings have also been introduced as newer freezers and fridge-freezers have become increasingly efficient. A+ is around 25 per cent more efficient than A, and A++ is around 40 per cent more efficient.

And most new freezers should come with a guide to kWh usage that will give you an idea of how much you can expect to spend on bills.

Armed with all this new knowledge, you should be able to chill out.