'Shelf life' of food in a freezer

[remedy]

If my freezer is set at -20 degrees C, how long can I expect my home cooked food to last?

I cook chinese, thai, italian, mexican, indian etc with the occasional stew. Whilst I tend to cycle through them within a month there are some portions that have been in there since early this year.

Similarly with some once 'fresh' sirloin steak - I'm sure the fresh 'use-by' was March? It looks a bit 'dry' now and I'm scared to defrost it

Help!

[sherman]

As long as it is covered at that temp it should last at least a year. If the food is uncovered and dry looking it will of probably suffered freezer burn and should be binned.

[grumbledoak]

I assume a year, provided it is in e.g. a tupperware container. Your nose should tell you enough when it is defrosted.

ETA- the steak will not be as good as it would have been. It'll be perfectly safe to eat, though.

Edited by grumbledoak on Monday 30th November 21:08

[sherman]

A year as long as the cold air cant get to it so even a sandwich bag would suffice.

[remedy]

That's good, all the meals are in the plastic microwaveable containers or foil dishes.

The steak is still in the polystyrene tray with cling film wrap but does definately look like 'frezer burn'.
I guess it's only good to slow cook on low heat with lots of liquid for a few hours?

[mattley]

I don't trust those star symbols either. They led me to believe I could keep a chicken in the freezer for 3 months, I put one in last Wednesday, by the weekend it was dead.

[sherman]

If you cook the steak in a liquid it will regain some of its texture but it has been burnt so will still be tougher than normal.

[remedy]

mattley said:

I don't trust those star symbols either. They led me to believe I could keep a chicken in the freezer for 3 months, I put one in last Wednesday, by the weekend it was dead.

[Cotty]

remedy said:

mattley said:

I don't trust those star symbols either. They led me to believe I could keep a chicken in the freezer for 3 months, I put one in last Wednesday, by the weekend it was dead.

[Goughie]

The higher the fat content of the food the shorter the shelf life. This is because fat oxidizes even in a freezer. Med/High fat food I'd give no more than 2 months personally.

[bazking69]

Well I'm still eating curry that I made last December using meat leftover from Christmas day. Still tastes spot on and hasn't killed me yet.

That said, I do have my freezer at -26.

[Rags]

mattley said:

I don't trust those star symbols either. They led me to believe I could keep a chicken in the freezer for 3 months, I put one in last Wednesday, by the weekend it was dead.

[shoggoth1]

As long as the freezer is cold enough (-18C or lower) it takes a very long time for food to actually go bad (it could be years, if at all). The problem is the formation of ice crystals which, over time, destroy the structure/texture of the food. So, on defrosting, you're left with mush - not actually toxic, but the first bite is with the eyes and all that...

[remedy]

Thanks guys, that's a great help.
I'll cook up the steak this weekend and get through some of the older stuff.

Ona similar note, what's the deal with freezing rice - i.e. rissoto? I think I remember hearing the rice doesn't take to freezing too well but the missus made a lovely rissoto and that's one that's quite old.

[grumbledoak]

remedy said:

Ona similar note, what's the deal with freezing rice - i.e. rissoto? I think I remember hearing the rice doesn't take to freezing too well but the missus made a lovely rissoto and that's one that's quite old.

Much like the steak, really - it'll lose texture, so you can eat it but it won't be as nice. Unless you like wallpaper paste, I suppose.

[remedy]

What a fountain of knowledge this place is!

I think I was getting confused with refridgerating cooked rice, not freezing it.

[grumbledoak]

You can refridgerate and re-heat rice, that is how most fried rice is made. There is some (very) nasty that grows in it, so the usual advice is 'next day and piping hot'. I'm told that two days is still ok but 'piping hot' is quite important. Over 80°C+ IIRC.

[sherman]

It's true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's steaming hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once.

[collateral]

sherman said:

It's true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's steaming hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once.

Hrm, I've always wondered about the rice thing.

Quite often I'll sling some left over rice takeaway (or similar) in the fridge and then microwave it at a later date. Touch wood nothing bad's happened yet

[A911DOM]

I deliberately avoid any rice based salads at the summer bbq's for this very reason.

The thought of the luke warm rice sporning all kinds of nastys is enough to put me off.

But, I do regularly reheat rice at home and serve again (ensuring of course that its heated through properly).