Freezer Time

Spring Chicken

I've been looking through some of my old recipes and ran across this little tidbit. I don't recall if I posted it or someone else did but it's good information and worthy of posting again.

You're welcome.

Spring "Frozen Limp Is Not A Good Thing" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

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Freshness Guide

Foods frozen for longer than the recommended times aren't harmful — they just won't be at their peak flavor and texture.

FOOD - TIME IN FREEZER (0°F)
Milk - 3 months
Butter - 6 to 9 months
Cheese, hard (Cheddar, Swiss) - 6 months
Cheese, soft (Brie, Bel Paese) - 6 months
Cream, half-and-half - 4 months
Sour cream - don't feeze
Eggs (raw yolks, whites) - 1 year
Frankfurters (opened or unopened packages) - 1 to 2 months
Luncheon meats (opened or unopened packages) - 1 to 2 months
Bacon - 1 month
Sausage, raw, links or patties - 1 to 2 months
Ham, fully cooked (whole, half, slices) - 1 to 2 months
Ground or stew meat - 3 to 4 months
Steaks - 6 to 12 months
Chops - 3 to 6 months
Roasts - 4 to 12 months
Chicken or turkey, whole - 1 year
Chicken or turkey, pieces - 9 months
Casseroles, cooked, poultry - 4 to 6 months
Casseroles, cooked, meat - 2 to 3 months
Soups and stews - 2 to 3 months
Fish, lean (cod, flounder, haddock) - 6 months
Fish, fatty (bluefish, mackerel, salmon) - 2 to 3 months
Fish, cooked - 4 to 6 months
Fish, smoked - 2 months in vacuum pack
Shrimp, scallops, squid, shucked clams, mussels, oysters - 3 to 6 months
Pizza - 1 to 2 months
Breads and rolls, yeast - 3 to 6 month
Breads, quick - 2 to 3 months
Cakes, unfrosted - 3 months
Cheesecakes - 2 to 3 months
Cookies, baked - 3 months
Cookie dough, raw - 2 to 3 months
Pies, fruit, unbaked - 8 months
Pies, custard or meringue-topped - don't freeze
Piecrust, raw - 2 to 3 months
Nuts, salted - 6 to 8 months
Nuts, unsalted - 9 to 12 months

Excerpted from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook (Hearst Books/Sterling Publishing).

Sundown

And, I guess, if I read my FoodSaver instructions correctly we can double those time using the FoodSaver?

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

that topic was a frequent question here last year.

it might help if the "not harmful" aspect were in blinking bold letters. :laugh:

properly frozen, food can be kept about five or ten thousand or so years before you need to worry about food SAFETY. even then, your worries would be overblown. but as you say, "quality" is another thing.

Spring Chicken

I recall reading an article when I was about ten years old about an Eskimo tribe finding a frozen mammoth. They thawed some of the meat and ate it with no ill effects.

I suppose I would too if I happened on a mammoth in the ice and did not understand the significance of the discovery other than it being a convenient dinner.

Spring "Hungry Makes Anything Taste Good" Chicken

Spring Chicken

Absolutely...

Spring "Food Saving Is Like Not Being Really, Really Hungry" Chicken

Grandpas Grub

 
In addition to the above, here is what the USDA has to say
... Cold Storage Temperatures
Properly handled food stored in a freezer at 0 °F will
always be safe. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing
the movement of molecules, causing bacteria to
enter a dormant stage. Once thawed, these
bacteria can again become active and multiply to
levels that may lead to foodborne illness. Because
bacteria on these foods will grow at about the same
rate as they would on fresh food, thawed foods
should be handled as any other perishable food....

Here is the full article.


- USDA Cold Storage - Freezing and Food Safety

GG

Spring Chicken

Well, you must be feeling good to be looking up USDA info. Fantastic! I guess its back to 'business as usual' for you huh...

Spring "Usual Is Sometimes Boring But It's Always Subject To Change" Chicken

fishlessman

limoncello doesn't last long at all, couple days if your lucky

Grandpas Grub

 
hehehe... I had that page on my tips FAQ post and luckily 'remembered' it was there. Remembering was a miracle in and of itself. The Doc's don't want me moving around much for a while. I spend a little time at the computer then fall asleep then something else then doze off and on and on the day/night goes.

Kent