How Long Can We Keep Food In The Freezer?

Rainy-Days

I have had stuff in my freezer for quite some time. Soft fruits, berries strawberries and such don't seem to withstand the freezing process for long periods I have found, they tend to go slightly mushy and softer when thawed. Other things though seem to last up for ages.

We did freeze a duck one year and it was in there two years before we got it out and cooked it - the longest period ever - and it had a funny slightly metallic taste to it, wheras the other one whihc we froze and had out within 6 months was fine. I don't know whether that was something akin to the meat not being well protected I don't know, but it was just something that I personally noticed.

I bought a turkey reduced form Sainsbury's one year and I wrapped it up well, covered it with foil then put it in a carrier bag, froze t down and brought it out the following Christmas and it was fabulous! Saved us £30.00 on the label price as well

Marm0set11

rosieben wrote: »

I keep meat, bread, all sorts for months and months; it needs to be wrapped well, otherwise 'freezer burn' may affect the taste

This is exactly what I do. And also try to make sure when you have wrapped the item well that it is clearly labeled- we have had many "surprise" parcels out of the freezer lately...

Sunnyday

I`m the naughty one who has eaten food around the three year old mark from the freezer.:p

This was a turkey bought frozen by a colleague who had found it in her freezer and was going to throw it out, i took it off her hands and kept it frozen for a good while longer before we cooked & ate it.
There was nothing wrong with it at all.

In my freezer right now there are a few things coming up to two years old - mainly meat joints bought when on offer. I`ve just ordered a vacuum sealer in the hope that freezer burn is a thing of the past.

I tend to bulk buy in the run up to the winter months or when something is on offer, last year when everyone was down the shops fighting for the Christmas goodies i was warm and smug at home with everything safely tucked away in the freezer - including the cooked meats and deli stuff so i was well happy. I`ll be doing the same this year as i`m working all over Christmas so i will be making sure that i`m organised as i`m the cook and bottle washer too :rotfl:

Also last year when we were snowed in the shops all had empty shelves as the deliveries couldn`t get through, my freezer stash supplied us and other people who needed items too.

I love my freezers - i have two and i always make the most of decent offers.

SD

MessyMare

goalseeker wrote: »

Obviously you are talking about a domestic situation when it is personal choice as to how long you store foods it is at your risk. Commercially the recommendation is 1 month for bread products and 2 months for prepared meat products unless they are purchased commercially frozen when the use by date will be displayed on the packaging. It is amazing how quickly quality falls when food is frozen rememeber your freezer will not kill bacteria only slow its growth when thawing the little beggars multply quickly. Personally I would never freeze bread - why bother it is cheap enough in fact I cannot understand anyone who says they have frozen foods for months it is not as if we are on rationing or that inflation is rampant, buy what you will use in the next couple of weeks that way you will enjoy your food far more. Anyone who buys bargain items in supermarkets should look at the use by date very carefully, especially products that have been kept in an ambient temperature during their store life, bacteria has already started to develop and as I say you do not kill bacteria in a freezer, buyer beware.

Then make sure you cook it properly. I buy reduced chilled chicken, chuck it straight in the freezer, defrost in the fridge then cook it through properly (normally fry it off then it gets bunged in curry sauce or whatever for usually at least half an hour)...I'm still here. And I've got a rubbish immune system so if anyone was going to cop it from meat this way, it'd be me.

lostinrates

goalseeker wrote: »

Personally I would never freeze bread - why bother it is cheap enough in fact I cannot understand anyone who says they have frozen foods for months it is not as if we are on rationing or that inflation is rampant, .

Um, inflation is twice what its aimed at being, that's 100% more!

we ALWAYS have bread on the freezer, I rarely eat it and dh is only here at weekends, he doesn't eat a loaf at a time. we do make bread but also buy it, and I supermarket shop as oinfrequently as possible....once a month or less ideally. This saves money, not just on purchasing and food wastage, but on petrol: we don't all live in towns/walking distance from corner shops!

Also, we are not self sufficient but aiming to be increasingly self provident. We recently had a chicken cull (this years hatched boys). They'll be eaten over the next year....thanks to the freezer.

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