The FastDay Forum

Do you take any notice of how long you can keep something in the freezer. It won't kill you, if you keep something there for longer than the recommendations. I have blended up blackberries for smoothies that were 3 years in the freezer.
I have heard that meat won't poison you , because its frozen, but it might be dry or frost bit. less tasty but not bad.
I'm going to sus out a turkey thats been there and got forgotten about. This freezer lives out int he shed and has tools etc dumped on it. so getting in there is fun not.

any stories about freezer food out of time. Love to hear.

Manufacturers would love it if we adhere to their exaggerated expiry dates. more cash for them.

Off to look at the turkey.

I write the date and contents on the package with a "Sharpie" marker which means I can still figure out what is in that frozen lump of ????

What I do to prevent stuff hanging around for too long in my freezer is that I menu plan. Once every so often I live for a week (sometimes longer) out of the freezer (and pantry). I can buy staples like milk, flour, eggs etc but I can not buy meat or any premade foods.

It's great for the budget and it is great for cleaning out the freezer of things that have been there for a while.

We used to have a small chest style freezer and once a year we would throw out acres of stuff that had migrated to the bottom of the pit to be forgotten by time and us. We replaced it with an upright, still small with 4 drawers, but at least we save a small fortune by not 'losing' stuff only to find it again on it's journey to the bin. We also tend to batch cook these days and then box, label and date before freezing and this has been wonderful as there is always a home cooked meal available, even if it has to be defrosted first. Almost nothing gets 'lost' now but in answer to your question, if is frozen, in my opinion, it should be edible. With fresh food, I NEVER pay attention to 'sell by dates' as I am quite capable of deciding if food is safe or not, just common sense, I think.

Ballerina x

I also run my freezer down perodically. I live on an island that is only accessable by ferry or car barge so buy in bulk and freeze lots! Most probably every 3-4 months I run it down. Grab something out of a morning and work out what to do with it!

Islandmum

I agree with Ballerina, I think the food might have a funny texture or not taste as good but otherwise it should be fine.

My parents have a holiday house and last year we cleaned out the freezer, we found things like frozen veggies and ice creams that were about 3 years out of date...still ate them though and we were all fine! It's not a problem I have at home as our freezer is pretty small and twice a year before our holidays I always try to use everything up to save a bit of money and defrost, I quite like the challenge of finding ways to use up the stuff we have in there!

The only issue you might have is with meat, as it can get something called freezer burn. If your meat is in clear packaging you'll be able to see any deterioration quite clearly as the texture appearance will start to change and the colour will appear greyer. Even prepacked meat can get freezer burn and if you're home-freezing bulk purchases and splitting the packs (as I do) then make sure you package meat portions properly - they should go in a ziplock freezer bag with all the air squeezed out. Make sure you label with date and contents! I try and rotate meat in my freezer every three months or so although I have a haggis in there that is nearly a year old!

I try and rotate food in our chest freezer, but sometimes it just doesn't work. I'm currently trying to run it down entirely for our house move next week and, yes, it's been fun discovering things and working out what to do with them. I absolutely ABHOR food wastage, far too much of it goes on IMHO..... if it smells and tastes OK then, in my book, it's OK to be eaten! Who cares about best before, use by etc., etc., dates...... I've survived to mid my 50s and hubby and grown up children all seem to be thriving on it too so reckon my method can't be too wrong

I regularly have a freezer diving session here too. Whatever comes out of the freezer whether its that lone fish finger that's migrated to the bottom of the freezer or the escapee peas. It gets used somehow or other.
They even do it on the cartoon film 'The Incredibles'.

I had some cooked ham slices in the freezer which I took out yesterday to defrost. They had some freezer burn so had to throw out.

Freezer burn shortens the life.

Sausages, mince & bacon do not keep long - 1-2 months max. They do change taste quite a bit.

Joints of meat or say food cooked with braising/stewing steak last ages.

I will label them up more with dates next time I do batch cooking as my food habits are changing alot

I buy all my meat from butchers/farm shops which most of the time works out alot better value, and so much more tasty and not governed by how much pre-packed you have to buy than supermarkets.

Thanks, we are all alike with some things it seems. I read somewhere as long as the chord is plugged in, nothing really goes off, just lacking in taste due to freezer burn.