Do you know how long you can keep food in the freezer?
The freezer is a great anti-waste solution for storing food.
But do you know how long you can keep them without risking your health?
That's a very good question !
To answer them, we have prepared a practical table with storage times for each type of food.
By respecting these storage times, you are sure not to degrade their taste, texture and quality. Look :
Click here to easily print this guide in PDF.
How long to keep food in the freezer?
- Entire chicken : 1 year
- Chicken in pieces: 9 months
- Salmon : 3 months
- Cod and dab: 6 months
- Minced meat (beef, lamb, pork): 3 months
- Pork ribs & lamb chops: 6 months
- Steaks: 6 months
- Roast beef : 6 months
- Fruits and vegetables : 8 to 12 months
- Nuts & almonds: 6 months
- Bread: 1 month
- Soups: 2 months
- Simmered dishes: 2 months
Additional advice
According to food professionals, keeping food frozen for long periods of time is not really a health problem.
However, food cannot stay frozen. indefinitely.
Indeed, after a certain delay, the taste and the texture of the food begin to deteriorate seriously ...
Here are some examples :
- The chicken : a whole chicken has a freezing time of up to a year, but the chicken pieces (thighs, wings, drumsticks) should be eaten within 6 to 9 months. As for leftover cooked chicken, it can be kept for 4 to 6 months.
- Oily fish: fatty fish like salmon have a freezing time of 2 to 3 months, while lean fish like cod or dab can be stored for up to 6 months. As for leftover cooked fish, you should not exceed 3 months.
- Meat (beef, lamb, pork): minced, the meat can only be kept for 2 to 3 months. Larger pieces like roasts, steaks and chops have a freezing time of at least 6 months. And for leftover cooked meat: 2 to 3 months.
- Fruits and vegetables can be kept in the freezer for 8 to 12 months without affecting their taste.
However, be aware that food will spoil faster if your freezer is not kept at the ideal temperature!
What is the ideal temperature in the freezer?
Food professionals recommend a freezing temperature of -18 ° C.
That is, a temperature cold enough that the ice cream in it becomes rock hard.
By the way, speaking of ice cream, know that it has a freezing time of up to 2 months!
To make sure you have the right temperature in your freezer, you can put a special freezer thermometer inside.
How to defrost food?
- First of all, know that freezing does not kill bacteria - thus, be particularly vigilant when cooking food.
- To destroy all bacteria, cook your leftovers to a core temperature of 75 ° C. As for stews and soups, be sure to bring them to a boil.
- It is advisable to defrost food in the refrigerator. Indeed, the temperature of the refrigerator keeps your food below 4 ° C. This temperature is the critical threshold above which bacteria proliferate.
- Usually it takes a whole day in the fridge to thaw poultry and beef.
- For frozen turkey and the largest pieces of meat, it takes about 10 hours of thawing per kilo.
- Dishes with meat cut into small pieces, it takes a little less than 1 day.
- Most of the time, frozen vegetables can go directly to cooking.
- Finally, to preserve their flavor, most foods should be cooked immediately after thawing.
Your turn…
Have you tried this practical guide to storing food in the freezer? Tell us in the comments if it worked for you. We can't wait to hear from you!
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Also to discover:
27 Things You Can Freeze To Save Money and Time!
How long can you keep food in the freezer? The ESSENTIAL Practical Guide.
