that has great info about how long things keep.
But if you don't want to get into too much detail,
while not exactly scientific, I use an old 'rule of 3' for perishables that hasn't killed me yet:
3 hours unrefrigerated
3 days refrigerated
3 months frozen
3 days refrigerated
3 months frozen
and it is easy to remember.
Tins or canisters are important to keep your dry goods dry and free from critters. Beans, rice, and pasta should be stored in canisters instead of the plastic bags. pests can eat through the plastic.
Keep your potatos and onions in a hanging basket or in a cardboard box in the cabinet. take them out of the bags even the mesh ones - they need good circulation. Use the potatos that are softer or have sprouts first. Use the onions that are sprouting first. Yes it is true that the green part of the potato under the skin is not good.
Carrots and cabbage keep in the crisper all month long wrapped in plastic, or aluminum foil.
Fruits and tomatos do not ripen in the fridge. Do not refrigerate fruit unless it has been cut.
Put fruit in a paperbag to make it ripen. (some say add an apple)
Don't keep eggs on the door in the little eggholes, it is too warm. If you must use a cracked egg. Check it first by smell, then look to see if it is cloudy or if the yellow bursts when you crack it - I wouldn't use that one. A good way to not waste eggs is to crack each one separately into a cup and make sure it is good before adding it to the rest.
Buy cheese in big block (24 oz). Cut it up in 8 oz chunks and wrap separately. *Note: do not touch the cheese with your bare hands. This is how it gets that mold on it. Use plastic bags as gloves to avoid touching the cheese. Keep in dairy drawer. I haven't ever got sick from eating cheddar that i cut the white mold off of. Cheese gets crumbly if frozen and doesn't melt as well.
I freeze a lot of stuff. I use aluminum foil and ziploc sandwich bags. The freezer bags are too large - 1 qt - for two people and the sandwich bags seem to protect from freezer burn as well as a half filled quart bag, and they are cheaper.
Freeze any meat that you don't plan to use especially right away. (and especially if it is a 'quick sale').
I freeze ground meat in 1/2 lb blocks in aluminum foil. mold the foil around odd shaped pieces of meat or bone. Watch the bones do not cut the foil. If it does. You will have to double wrap it - a patch won't work.
I bake the roast and freeze the left overs as cubes or slices in 2 servings per ziploc.
If I buy chicken quarters I boil them and bone them. This saves space in the freezer. 1 c of chicken meat per ziploc bag. If I buy breasts, I bone them and freeze the breast strips raw. If I boil the chicken, I use boil the stock down and cool it. The fat will harden on top in the fridge, take it off and keep the stock for recipes. it will freeze.
I divide lunchmeat and hotdogs into meal-size packs to keep things from hanging around the fridge way too long.
Bread will freeze in the wrapper, just watch how you thaw it out. If you put the frozen loaf somewhere warm, the moisture will condense on the inside of the wrapper and you will end up with bread that is hard at the bottom and soggy at the top. Very unpleasant. Let the bread thaw slowly. If you need some quick - take out a couple of slices and set them out on a plate for 10 min or so. Or if you're really impatient put it in the toaster - watch sparks from melting ice.
There are things that don't freeze well. DON'T FREEZE
potatos, sweet potatos (puree okay),eggs,milk, whole raw large fruits and veggies, salted stuff, canned things. Cream sauces and gravies.
some things are not worth freezer space: cooked rice, cooked pasta, onions.
Bell pepper and celery can be diced and frozen raw for use in recipes later.
Mushrooms must be sliced or diced and fried in butter before frozen for use in recipes later.
Strawberries and other small berries can be frozen raw. small beans and peas can also - but are easier to store dried. Wash the strawberries first then cut the tops off and they won't be soggy. Large strawberries or ones that are not quite ripe can be cooked in a light syrup and frozen.
Bananas can be mashed and frozen raw for bread or cake.
Larger fruits like apples and peaches must be cut up and cooked lightly before freezing. They are usually frozen in a light sugar syrup.
Veggies should be chopped or sliced and blanched - this is when they are put in boiling water for a minute or two til they change color, then drained and cooled off in cold water.
Soups stews and casseroles can usually be frozen - if they don't have potatos
freeze a single serving of leftovers for a quick lunch.
Cool these before you bag and freeze them. Watch how you load your freezer - spread the new packages out flat so they cool quickly - instead of stacking them in a pile. organize later.
If you want to do a lot of food storage preparation use a book like the 'Joy of Cooking'.
read more cooking tips
find out about kitchen utensils
or return to front page
Tins or canisters are important to keep your dry goods dry and free from critters. Beans, rice, and pasta should be stored in canisters instead of the plastic bags. pests can eat through the plastic.
Keep your potatos and onions in a hanging basket or in a cardboard box in the cabinet. take them out of the bags even the mesh ones - they need good circulation. Use the potatos that are softer or have sprouts first. Use the onions that are sprouting first. Yes it is true that the green part of the potato under the skin is not good.
Carrots and cabbage keep in the crisper all month long wrapped in plastic, or aluminum foil.
Fruits and tomatos do not ripen in the fridge. Do not refrigerate fruit unless it has been cut.
Put fruit in a paperbag to make it ripen. (some say add an apple)
Don't keep eggs on the door in the little eggholes, it is too warm. If you must use a cracked egg. Check it first by smell, then look to see if it is cloudy or if the yellow bursts when you crack it - I wouldn't use that one. A good way to not waste eggs is to crack each one separately into a cup and make sure it is good before adding it to the rest.
Buy cheese in big block (24 oz). Cut it up in 8 oz chunks and wrap separately. *Note: do not touch the cheese with your bare hands. This is how it gets that mold on it. Use plastic bags as gloves to avoid touching the cheese. Keep in dairy drawer. I haven't ever got sick from eating cheddar that i cut the white mold off of. Cheese gets crumbly if frozen and doesn't melt as well.
I freeze a lot of stuff. I use aluminum foil and ziploc sandwich bags. The freezer bags are too large - 1 qt - for two people and the sandwich bags seem to protect from freezer burn as well as a half filled quart bag, and they are cheaper.
Freeze any meat that you don't plan to use especially right away. (and especially if it is a 'quick sale').
I freeze ground meat in 1/2 lb blocks in aluminum foil. mold the foil around odd shaped pieces of meat or bone. Watch the bones do not cut the foil. If it does. You will have to double wrap it - a patch won't work.
I bake the roast and freeze the left overs as cubes or slices in 2 servings per ziploc.
If I buy chicken quarters I boil them and bone them. This saves space in the freezer. 1 c of chicken meat per ziploc bag. If I buy breasts, I bone them and freeze the breast strips raw. If I boil the chicken, I use boil the stock down and cool it. The fat will harden on top in the fridge, take it off and keep the stock for recipes. it will freeze.
I divide lunchmeat and hotdogs into meal-size packs to keep things from hanging around the fridge way too long.
Bread will freeze in the wrapper, just watch how you thaw it out. If you put the frozen loaf somewhere warm, the moisture will condense on the inside of the wrapper and you will end up with bread that is hard at the bottom and soggy at the top. Very unpleasant. Let the bread thaw slowly. If you need some quick - take out a couple of slices and set them out on a plate for 10 min or so. Or if you're really impatient put it in the toaster - watch sparks from melting ice.
There are things that don't freeze well. DON'T FREEZE
potatos, sweet potatos (puree okay),eggs,milk, whole raw large fruits and veggies, salted stuff, canned things. Cream sauces and gravies.
some things are not worth freezer space: cooked rice, cooked pasta, onions.
Bell pepper and celery can be diced and frozen raw for use in recipes later.
Mushrooms must be sliced or diced and fried in butter before frozen for use in recipes later.
Strawberries and other small berries can be frozen raw. small beans and peas can also - but are easier to store dried. Wash the strawberries first then cut the tops off and they won't be soggy. Large strawberries or ones that are not quite ripe can be cooked in a light syrup and frozen.
Bananas can be mashed and frozen raw for bread or cake.
Larger fruits like apples and peaches must be cut up and cooked lightly before freezing. They are usually frozen in a light sugar syrup.
Veggies should be chopped or sliced and blanched - this is when they are put in boiling water for a minute or two til they change color, then drained and cooled off in cold water.
Soups stews and casseroles can usually be frozen - if they don't have potatos
freeze a single serving of leftovers for a quick lunch.
Cool these before you bag and freeze them. Watch how you load your freezer - spread the new packages out flat so they cool quickly - instead of stacking them in a pile. organize later.
If you want to do a lot of food storage preparation use a book like the 'Joy of Cooking'.
read more cooking tips
find out about kitchen utensils
or return to front page
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