Moroccan chicken stew Frozen puff and phyllo pastry Puréed and broth-based soups and stocks will last for up to 4 months. So you’re a meal-prep overachiever and have stacked your freezer with ready-to-defrost meals for busy weeks ahead, but how long are they good for? Cooked meat, stews, and vegetable dishes will keep for 2-3 months, while cooked poultry and fish is good for 4-6 months.
HOW LONG DOES COOKED FISH LAST IN THE FREEZER HOW TO
How to use up frozen butterīrown butter green beans Cooked casseroles, soups and stews Why? Salt acts as a preservative to slow bacterial growth.
But be aware of what kind of butter it is - salted butter will last for up to 1 year, while unsalted is only good for 3 months. Leftover butter from a weekend baking project or from the occasional dinner recipe can be safely stored in the freezer and defrosted for the next time you need it. Tortellini alfredo with peas and bacon Butter Macaroni and cheese with roasted butternut squash For crisp vegetables that maintain their colour (like asparagus), blanch your fresh vegetables before freezing. Hardier vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and beans, freeze well and will last anywhere from 8 months to 1 year. 10 foods that shouldn’t go in the refrigerator How to use up frozen fishįor vegetables with a higher water content (like lettuce and tomatoes) it’s best to store them in the fridge.
Frozen shrimp, scallops, lobster and crab can last a bit longer, anywhere from 2 to 4 months. Lean fish (cod, tilapia, haddock) can last up to 6 months in the freezer, while fattier varieties (salmon, swordfish, tuna) have a shorter lifespan of up to 2 months. If that ground beef has been kicking around for more than 2-3 months, toss it, and if you have chicken breasts or thighs that have been in there for more than 6 months, it’s time to say sayonara. Ground meat and smaller pieces last for significantly less time in the freezer than their whole counterparts (a larger surface area means more opportunity for contamination). Whole roasts, birds and steaks can last up to 12 months in the freezer before they need to be thrown out, so go ahead and buy your Thanksgiving turkey early.
We put together a freezer timeline of commonly kept items (and which foods you should never freeze, period) so you can make sure the contents of your freezer remain ready to eat.Īnd one essential tip before we start - make it a habit to keep blank sticky labels and a Sharpie in a kitchen drawer so you can write the date on everything you’re about to park in the freezer.
We reviewed Health Canada’s safe food-storage guidelines and found that the rules vary significantly depending on how food is processed. To stay safe and prevent food-borne illness (and unnecessary food waste), it’s important to use proper freezing and thawing techniques and to make sure your freezer is at the proper temperature of -18 ☌ or lower.īut even if you do everything right, how long are frozen foods really good for? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletters - You'll Thank Us In The Morning When it comes to stocking up on basics (and for last-minute, hanger-fuelled cravings), the freezer can be your best friend. It extends the lifespan of food by putting the brakes on bacterial growth, making our busy lives that much more convenient.īut we’re all guilty of throwing unlabelled, butcher-wrapped food into that icy abyss without a plan as to when we’ll use it (beyond “someday soon”).