How Long Does Frozen Food Last?

This is always an issue when you love to prepare food in advance and want to keep it frozen for future use.

It may also be a problem if you want to buy in bulk to save money on the price of meat and other foods.

How long can you keep those foods frozen before they become spoiled or inedible? Let’s investigate the possibilities of frozen food and if it is safe.

Is It Safe?

Food will not lose its fiber content or calorie count when you freeze it and thaw it later to prepare. You may lose some vitamins when you freeze your food, but it will retain most of the nutritional value.

It is safe to freeze most of your food to be cooked at a later time if you want to buy in bulk.

What Foods Can Be Frozen?

It is always difficult to decide what type of food you want to keep for a long time and what you must buy regularly. The following is a list of the food that can be successfully frozen to help it last for much longer.

• Most dairy products like butter, cheese, milk, yogurt, and eggs
• Fruits and vegetables
• Beans, grains, and nuts
• Raw or cooked meat
• Raw or cooked fish
• Raw or cooked poultry 
• Cooked noodles and pasta
• Stews and soups, as well as meat and vegetable stocks
• Baked goods

How Long Can You Freeze It?

Some types of food can be kept frozen for quite a long time, while others can not be kept for very long. There are also different safe freezing periods for cooked, uncooked, or half-cooked food.

Meat

Raw meat can be kept in the freezer for a very long time before it will become unsafe to eat or prepare. Meat can be kept frozen for up to 3 months, and that includes all red meats, as well as poultry.

Bacon, ham, and lamb can only be frozen for 2 months to be on the safe side. Cooked meat can also be kept frozen for up to 3 months and should be kept in sealed packaging or containers.

Fruits and Vegetables

Blanched vegetables can be safely kept frozen for up to 12 months before they become unsafe to eat. Unbalanced vegetables can only be kept for 3 months before you will have to use it or throw it out.

Tomatoes and other vegetable purees can be kept frozen safely for up to 6 months before you must throw it out. All cooked vegetables and fruits can be kept frozen for as long as 6 months before they become inedible.

Fruit juices and all other juices can be kept in the freezer for as long as 12 months before they become undrinkable. However, fruit purees can only stay in the freezer for 6 months before you must throw them out.

Prepared Food

All prepared food can be kept in the freezer for 3 to 6 months if it is kept in a sealed container. Pastries can only stay frozen for 3 months, and bread dough can be kept frozen for 1 month only.

Most baked foods can stay in the freezer for 3 to 6 months and should be thrown out if it has been in the freezer for longer than that.

Dairy Products

Most dairy products, like salted butter and ice cream, can stay in the freezer for up to 12 months. Unsalted butter can only stay frozen for 6 months and needs to be used within that time period.

General Information

If you want to keep food frozen for a long time, there are some things you need to keep in mind.

• Make small portions so you can use it all when you thaw it
• Always keep the food sealed so it will not be affected by moisture
• Use containers that can be easily stacked in the freezer
• For liquids, leave a little bit of space in the container for expansion

Summary

When you buy vegetables and meat from the store, you will find that they will usually give information about freezing times. It is safe to follow those instructions to keep yourself and loved ones safe.

See the following YouTube video on the best way to safely freeze your food.