Depends on the food. Meat stays fresh a lot longer, some fruits, some vegetables. Mayonnaise, too. And milk. [Man, Norrington, this is going to rock your world. IMAGINE AN EXISTENCE WITHOUT SALT PORK or whatever the non-Little House equivalent is.] And if you just want something chilled--say you made aspic--then it's good for that, too.

[But don't make aspic (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Aspic), Norrington. Use this technology for good, not what the 1950s thought was good.]