How long should you really keep food in the freezer for?

by Mamamia Team June 4, 2015

Image: iStock.

If I don’t pre-plan my meals, I spend the following weekend throwing out food I hadn’t eaten. It’s like opening my wallet straight into the bin.

Freezing leftovers is like buying your future self a free pass from cookin g duty for those nights when you’re too tired to even look at a fry pan.

But here’s an important question: how long should you really freeze food for? Once it’s frozen, it’s frozen and fresh forever, right? Wrong, actually.

Take bread for example – this only lasts around two to three months in freezer-land. Bacon only lasts a month (crap, I have some very vintage bacon in my freezer right now), and baked frosted cakes last up to a month (sorry, newlyweds hoping to eat wedding cake on their one year anniversary).

This guide, produced by FreezerLabels.net, tells you everything you need to know about freezing your groceries. It’s eye-opening to say the least.

Well, this is eye-opening.

It's important to remember to label everything properly with the date it was purchased or opened, and to store it properly; either in freezer safe bags or using a vacuum system. This will preserve your food and make it taste as fresh as possible when you use it.

Plus, there are certain foods you should never let take up residence in your freezer. These include eggs (both in their shell or hardboiled), uncooked pasta and rice, deli meats, coffee, mayonnaise, cream cheese, sour cream, apples, artichokes, eggplant, potatoes and salads — especially ones containing sprouts.

Some greens just do not stand up to sub-zero temperatures, apparently. (Post continues after gallery.)

Healthy Breakfast Ideas

However, items like butter and cheese freeze quite well, and can save you when you're halfway through a recipe and realise you've run out of the fresh stuff.