Serving Christmas guests freezer food would once have been considered a major faux-pas among discerning middle-class hosts.

 

在过去，圣诞节用冷冻食物招待客人会被眼光敏锐的中产阶级看作极为失礼的行为。

 

But now a new wave of upmarket frozen food appears to be winning over those who feel guilty over the huge amount of fresh food they buy which ends up being throw in the bin¹.

 

Shops have developed frozen versions of dishes adored by foodies such as gourmet² king prawns³, sweet potato chips and quinoa in recent months and they are flying off the shelves, according to a report by the Grocer.

 

Frozen food maker⁴ Young's "Gastro" range sold nearly £10 million of food alone, it said.

 

As well as appealing to slightly more sophisticated taste buds, luxury frozen food may also help families reduce food waste, as unlike fresh food it does not go off within days.

 

Government figures recently showed the average household throws £700 of food in the bin every year, with the festive⁵ season particularly bad for waste levels.

 

Unilever research found the equivalent of over 4 million Christmas dinners were wasted with an estimated 17.2 million Brussels sprouts⁶, 11.9 million carrots and 11.3 million roast potatoes ending up on the bin this Christmas.

 

Iceland is a major driver behind the upmarket frozen food trend, the report said, as the store has undergone an image overhaul⁷ in a bid to rival Aldi and Lidl by becoming the next middle-class bargain haven⁸.

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