When Good Food Goes Bad
From Rachel Ray Show
Don't keep frozen meat in the freezer more than a couple of months - When it starts to look a little white, toss. The meat may still be edible, but after a few months of freezer burn it might not taste or look as good. Heavily freezer-burned foods may lose their flavor entirely.
Don't keep leftovers in the freezer for more than a month - kept in Tupperware, you can keep for a couple of weeks to a month tops.
Nuts kept in the freezer will last longer - nuts have a lot of oils in them, so if you store them in the freezer youll get a good lifespan out of them the oils never get a chance to age and they stay tasty for a long time.
Put breadcrumbs in the freezer to keep the bugs out - you can keep them in the cupboard if you want, but little things will start to hatch in them, and you dont want that (unless you like a little protein!)
Mold can be cut off prepackaged cheese with a clean knife But dont let the cheese get too moldy to the point that it becomes a penicillin farm! Once you start to see some mold, cut off at least 1 inch around and below the mold spot (keep the knife out of the mold itself so it will not cross-contaminate other parts of the cheese). After trimming off the mold, re-cover the cheese in fresh wrap. Mold generally cannot penetrate deep into the product.
Throw food out when it is past the expiration date!
Store spices in a cool, dry, dark place.
More helpful suggestions:
Ice cream you can scrape off the crystals, but it still wont taste as good as when its fresh. The quality is best if used by 2 months so eat more ice cream right when you buy it!
Melon thats something you cant salvage; if its got any bit of mold (or bugs flying out of it), toss it!
Condiments
- Ketchup 6 -12 months in the fridge, though some sources list 2 years. Otherwise 1month at room temperature (though I am not sure I've ever heard of anyone keeping ketchup in the pantry)
- Mayo 2 - 6 months, after opening 2 months
- Relish 1 year
- Mustard 8 months
- Jam, jelly, or preserves 1 year , after opening 5 months
- Salad dressing 9 months, after opening 3 months
- Maple Syrup 1 year
- Soy sauce 3 months (and if you look on the bottle, it says you're supposed to keep soy sauce refrigerated!)
- Butter 1-3 months
Foods in the freezer shelf life:
- Frozen Meat The quality is best is used by 4-12 months. The more tender the cut of meat, the quality lasts longer.
- Frozen Hamburgers The quality is best if used by 3-4 months.
- Frozen Fish The quality is best if used by 2-3 months.
- Frozen Sauce (Marinara) The quality best if used by 2-3 months.
- Ice Cream / Sorbet The quality is best if used by 2 months.
- Frozen Loaf of Bread The quality is best if used by 3 months.
Pantry food shelf life:
- Peanut Butter 2-3 months once opened
- Canned Vegetables 2 years
- Pasta 2 years
- Chocolate 18 months to 2 years, in a cool place
- Garlic (Bulbs) 3-4 months
~I also keep my flour in the fridge to keep out those darn little bugs~
From Rachel Ray Show
Don't keep frozen meat in the freezer more than a couple of months - When it starts to look a little white, toss. The meat may still be edible, but after a few months of freezer burn it might not taste or look as good. Heavily freezer-burned foods may lose their flavor entirely.
Don't keep leftovers in the freezer for more than a month - kept in Tupperware, you can keep for a couple of weeks to a month tops.
Nuts kept in the freezer will last longer - nuts have a lot of oils in them, so if you store them in the freezer youll get a good lifespan out of them the oils never get a chance to age and they stay tasty for a long time.
Put breadcrumbs in the freezer to keep the bugs out - you can keep them in the cupboard if you want, but little things will start to hatch in them, and you dont want that (unless you like a little protein!)
Mold can be cut off prepackaged cheese with a clean knife But dont let the cheese get too moldy to the point that it becomes a penicillin farm! Once you start to see some mold, cut off at least 1 inch around and below the mold spot (keep the knife out of the mold itself so it will not cross-contaminate other parts of the cheese). After trimming off the mold, re-cover the cheese in fresh wrap. Mold generally cannot penetrate deep into the product.
Throw food out when it is past the expiration date!
Store spices in a cool, dry, dark place.
More helpful suggestions:
Ice cream you can scrape off the crystals, but it still wont taste as good as when its fresh. The quality is best if used by 2 months so eat more ice cream right when you buy it!
Melon thats something you cant salvage; if its got any bit of mold (or bugs flying out of it), toss it!
Condiments
- Ketchup 6 -12 months in the fridge, though some sources list 2 years. Otherwise 1month at room temperature (though I am not sure I've ever heard of anyone keeping ketchup in the pantry)
- Mayo 2 - 6 months, after opening 2 months
- Relish 1 year
- Mustard 8 months
- Jam, jelly, or preserves 1 year , after opening 5 months
- Salad dressing 9 months, after opening 3 months
- Maple Syrup 1 year
- Soy sauce 3 months (and if you look on the bottle, it says you're supposed to keep soy sauce refrigerated!)
- Butter 1-3 months
Foods in the freezer shelf life:
- Frozen Meat The quality is best is used by 4-12 months. The more tender the cut of meat, the quality lasts longer.
- Frozen Hamburgers The quality is best if used by 3-4 months.
- Frozen Fish The quality is best if used by 2-3 months.
- Frozen Sauce (Marinara) The quality best if used by 2-3 months.
- Ice Cream / Sorbet The quality is best if used by 2 months.
- Frozen Loaf of Bread The quality is best if used by 3 months.
Pantry food shelf life:
- Peanut Butter 2-3 months once opened
- Canned Vegetables 2 years
- Pasta 2 years
- Chocolate 18 months to 2 years, in a cool place
- Garlic (Bulbs) 3-4 months
~I also keep my flour in the fridge to keep out those darn little bugs~
*~*~*Becca~*~*~
