Your freezer:like going on an archaeological dig?

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from the NY Post

WHAT do you do when your refrigerator and freezer are so jam-packed with aging foods that trying to find a bite to eat is like going on an archaeological dig?

True or false: Foods can last forever in the freezer.

True or false: A doggie bag from my favorite restaurant will last at least a week if the fridge is cold enough.

True or false: Using the salad and/or meat drawer in the fridge preserves your food for months

True or false: If cheese gets moldy, it's safe to take the mold off and eat the cheese.

True or false: Condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce can last almost forever in the fridge

I actually did find this article extremely interesting but also learned a few new things which will most definitely make my freezer a much more valuable asset ...

and you??

[DTBarton]

Pretty good information, I mostly agree.

True or false: Foods can last forever in the freezer. - Certainly true barring power failure, but quality obviously suffers. Wrapping makes a huge difference. For short term storage a double wrap of Saran and then in a freezer bag makes a big difference. Long term, you can't underestimate the value of vacuum packing. I find sausage freezes particularly well if wrapped properly.

A tip from my parents who have a vacation house where they leave the freezer on while they're gone with food in it. They put a "canary" in the freezer, which is an ice cube on a saucer. If you get back and the icecube has melted and is a frozen puddle on the saucer, you know the power has been off and the food in the freezer may be suspect.

True or false: A doggie bag from my favorite restaurant will last at least a week if the fridge is cold enough. - Depends on what it is. Your leftover fried shrimp won't hold at all very well, your leftover osso bucco might be better 5 days later. Definitely re-wrap, don't throw it in in the foam box or foil unless you're going to eat it in a few hours. Chect the temp on your fridge occasionally and don't let it get overloaded, this will help keep it colder. Also, the bottom shelf towards the back is the coldest spot, door the warmest.

True or false: Using the salad and/or meat drawer in the fridge preserves your food for months - These areas are where the fridge tries to maintain a little humidity, the regular parts of the fridge are very dry. Again, wrap, package well.

The best thing to do is try not to overbuy and use up your stuff. It's taken years, but we've gotten pretty good about periodically (quarterly, or so) going through, throwing out jars with little bits in them, purging nasty stuff. We also declare a "freezer week" every couple of months to make us eat the nice stuff we have frozen.

[cakewalk]

Every time I open my freezer, I have to watch out for my toes. I know that nothing in there dates back before the last NY blackout, but since that was over a year and a half ago I guess it's time to check things out. At least I know that nothing will be smelly and mushy. Cleaning out my fridge, however, promises no such good fortune.

An interesting article, with good supplemental information by DTBarton. Thanks.

[WHS]

I got ambitious yesterday and cleaned out the freezer in the cellar. I reacquainted myself with some items that have been languishing for a long, long, long time. For example:

Sweetbreads dated 1998!

Duck Legs from 2000!

Tupperware containers filled with ??? I think it was pesto from the summer of '02, and that prune compote....what was that about?

Also, onion rolls from Ratners-remember when they closed?

This is the tip of the (literal) iceberg. I ended up taking two 33 gallon hefty bags of freezer-burned mystery meat and other sundry items to the dump. My New Year's resolution is to label everything that goes downstairs.

Share your horror stories...

[jayt90]

When I clean out the freezer I save the best for the family dog, say old freezer burned steaks chops, or fish, and give them a quick microwave.

The rest goes to a nearby conservation area for wild animals, including foxes and coyotes.

[moosnsqrl]

Tupperware containers filled with ???  I think it was pesto from the summer of '02

←

Ah, yes. '02 was a fine year for pesto. We tried to lay it down and let it age but we just couldn't stay out of it. Never did have any willpower.

Sadly, we also have the makings of a fine vertical tasting of western KS pheasant. I'm not sure even the wolves deserve (or would eat) that.

Edited to add:

Maybe I will serve it to Osnav this weekend.

Edited December 28, 2005 by moosnsqrl (log)

[I_call_the_duck]

I was unable to link to the post, but I got the gist of the article. My husband has a bad habit of wanting to restock the freezer before I've had a chance to empty it out, so we periodically have "freezer fun" for dinner. I've been pretty good about putting a date on almost everything that goes in, but every now and then one escapes my grasp. But since we've only been in the house for a little under a year, the stuff in the freezer isn't that old, but who knows what lies in the bottom depths? I remember freezing some shrimp a while ago, but don't remember eating it. Must be in there somewhere.

And my pantry? That's another story...

[purplewiz]

I generally know pretty much what's in the freezers. That isn't to say I don't have archaeological specimens in there, just that I know they're there.

But I did recently find a box of Omaha Steaks bonus hamburgers that I'd forgotten about....they grilled up fine.

Marcia.

[snowangel]

My husband reminds me frequently that the freezer is not a safe deposit box, and these things do not necessarily improve with age.

To whit, click here.

[Marlene]

I was informed tonight that our upright freezer shelves are bowing under the weight of a variety of items. Opps. Time to do a whole bunch of cooking I think, which means having a lot of people over, since the roasts in my freezer would feed most of my neighbourhood.

[WHS]

But I did recently find a box of Omaha Steaks bonus hamburgers that I'd forgotten about....they grilled up fine.

Marcia.

←

Yeah, I found a couple too--sort of like finding that extra sock in the dryer...

[Kim Shook]

We have finally, after having a big freezer (as well as the one in the fridge) and a computer for many years, realized that we can 'combine' the two. We did a freezer inventory and put everything on a spread sheet. Now, when we go shopping or take stuff out of either freezer we either add or subtract from the list. It's not perfect, because we sometimes forget, but it is a LOT better.

[annecros]

Say what you will about living in hurricane country, but one of the bonuses is that everything goes when the electric is out for days at a time.

After the last two hurricane season's, I think the neighborhood BBQ free for all may become an annual event if we are fortunate to avoid a long power outage next summer!

[Eden]

We have finally, after having a big freezer (as well as the one in the fridge) and a computer for many years, realized that we can 'combine' the two.  We did a freezer inventory and put everything on a spread sheet.  Now, when we go shopping or take stuff out of either freezer we either add or subtract from the list.  It's not perfect, because we sometimes forget, but it is a LOT better.

←

That's not a bad idea. We have a paper list tacked up above the freezer, but completely fail to update it. Being keyboard junkies, it wouldn't surprise me if we were much better about this if the list was online.

I have a chest freezer and it's my impression that they are more susceptible to "archaeology" than uprights because it's a pain to get down to that bottom level. Friends of ours address this problem by having several sturdy milk crates in the freezer with foods compartmentalized by type, and relatively easy to lift in & out, but I'm worried that would waste a fair amount of space, which is at a premium in mine...

edited for typo

Edited December 29, 2005 by Eden (log)