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Finally getting serious about cleaning out the freezer.
Dog sure got a lot of treats (to him) once some smaller packages of meats were too freezer burned to eat or salvage but yesterday found a whole tenderloin that must have been bought for some occassion and never used.
I knew for sure it has been in there so long I can't remember from when.
It was cyro-wrapped plus in 'hidden' in a plastic bag.
Thawed it and it looked fine....looked like I bought it yesterday.
Cut off two filets to see how tender it was and we happily ate them.
Went to take care of the rest and noticed the meat market dated label.
Now, I'm telling you, it was in there a long time but looks and tastes like I bought it yesterday.
What's your best guess as to how long is a long time?
What date would have made you throw it out without even checking?
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I'd guess 5 years. If it didn't make you sick, then it must be okay to eat it.
The theory is that nutrients degrade over time, hence recommended times for storage.
I just met a lady before she passed away at the age of 90. She used self canned goods that were sometimes years old. Certainly not in the recommended time frame. No harm done to her. So, of course when I was given some of her canned veggies, which I'd previously tasted at a delicious dinner she'd shared, I was not put off by the date nor the slightly faded color...
Some things are in a perspective of a "perfect world" & we don't really live in a perfect world.
Nice to hear you have a great freezer & were able to retrieve otherwise disposable food & enjoy it *smiles* Maybe it was so deeply frozen that it was merely "suspended" indefinitely!
Meat well wrapped, frozen solid? I'd guess that you could keep it for years and not get sick if properly cooked. Usually, the wrapping makes all the difference.
I've slung things into the freezer in haste because I wasn't going to use them right away and tossed them because they looked terrible, all freezer burned and dried out looking.
On the other hand, I've taken the time to properly wrap meat and eaten it well after the recommended toss date. It looked good; it smelled good.
I hope people will see this and be more careful about what they may been influenced to believe since usually recommended time is given in terms of weeks and months.
No sense in throwing out good food.
I also did use up green beans this summer that I had frozen 4 summers ago using a Seal-a-Meal.
In the case of the tenderloin...the purchase date was 1998!
Meat? I'd probably keep it up to two years; maybe longer, depending on how it's wrapped. I've used freezer-burned ground beef in spicy chilis before; you really don't notice the difference, what with all the garlic and chile in there.
I just finished off some home-canned salsa from 2004. Not as good as if I'd canned it this summer, but it wasn't bad at all.
How long would you say fish in a freezer is good for? I have two beautiful mahi mahi filets that came sealed and I never opened that have been in my freezer for about two years now. I don't see any freezer burn on it at all.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kathleen1971
How long would you say fish in a freezer is good for? I have two beautiful mahi mahi filets that came sealed and I never opened that have been in my freezer for about two years now. I don't see any freezer burn on it at all.
It depends on how oxidized the oils become... If it smells/tastes good when you cook it... all must be well, basically.
Some people believe nutritional values are lost over time... Maybe deeply frozen food degrades more slowly or is suspended...
As long as there is no freezer burn everything is fine. But every six months I have a freezer pitch BBQ on the meat. As for veggies, fruit and others once there are crystals.
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