(no subject)

[ksmith]

How long can food keep in a regular freezer?

Last August or September, I made some chicken-leek stew, and froze the leftovers. In the process of cleaning out the freezer today, I excavated two containers of it. Should I dump it?

Comments

[torrilin.livejournal.com]

Eggs (and frozen stuff) do *not* expire easily. The expiry dates are mostly decorative. At around 3 months past, eggs in a dry climate will be starting to dry out, so they don't work well for baking (repeats to herself "Los Angeles is a desert, Los Angeles is a desert"). And around a year, stuff might be freezerburnt enough to be irritating, or it might be losing flavor.

As long as the freezer hasn't been left open for the night or anything similarly entertaining, it should still be edible.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The freezer never went wonky. Even during the few times that the power went off for several hours, I kept the door closed.

Thanks for the info about the eggs. I often use them past their date, but I still wonder.