Last night I was cleaning some freezer burned meat out of my small chest freezer and thawed out a bowl of homemade chili from last fall. It smells and looks fine. Is it still safe to eat?
What would be ths LONGEST you would consider keeping homemade soups or sauces frozen?
Bonus question: Last week I made a lasagna and had about half of the noodles left over; I put wax paper between them, wrapped then tightly and froze them for future use. I’ve never done this before. Will they be OK to use?
Generally, frozen soups/stews should probably be eaten within 6 months, but I believe that’s usually more of a taste/texture thing (any longer than that, and there’s a good risk that freezer burn will be an issue).
That said, I’ve eaten spaghetti sauces and chilis that were frozen for around 8-9 months without noticing too much of a change in taste or texture. I’ve also kept frozen stock for nearly a year without any significant deterioration, and have used year-old pork chops and pot roasts without any trouble (though I vacuum-seal any raw meat that will be staying in the freezer for more than a month or two)
As for your lasagna noodles, I’d probably use them within a month - cooked pasta tends to get a noticeably mushy texture if it’s been frozen for a while and it’s hard to wrap tightly enough to ward off freezer burn for long.
My mother has eaten things that have been in her freezer for years…I think her record was some meat that had been in there for 9 years. She said it wasn’t great, but it was okay and edible, and it didn’t kill her…heck, she’s 84! Soup I know she has kept for a year or three.
I’d worry about the waxed paper more than anything…waxed paper doesn’t hold up well to wetness, and it may prove messy when you thaw it out. I’d use plastic wrap instead.
My family has never followed the rules about freezing time limits, obviously…my mom’s philosophy is that you freeze up your surplus or your great buy to tide you over during emergencies, and those may not happen during the next 6 months. She does date everything, and tries to use the oldest first…even keeps a detailed list on the freezer…especially since the 9-year-old meat incident. But obviously she would never, ever throw away a perfectly okay piece of anything just because it had been 7 months instead of 6.
I would wager that anything sealed up tight and frozen would be perfectly safe to eat, but may get freezer -burned or mooshy when thawed. Soup should be fine for a long time, unless it has potatoes in it! :mad: Try to label and use in a month, and if it tastes bad - well, you tried, so just toss it.
What’s the deal with potatoes? Do they not freeze well?
So, and I approach this question most delicately, are you sure your mom is not a guy? I ask because my wife, who may be a guy otherwise, throws away food I’d find perfectly wholesome (well, mostly and warily) and our daughter, who is licensed in food safety, races to throw stuff out before her.
OTOH, there’s a sausage in our fridge that not even I would eat. Or give to the dogs, who can digest anything. Rule of thumb for fridge food: If you can’t remember when you cooked it, don’t eat it. Rule of thumb for freezer food: If the frost is thicker than the sample, it’s probably okay, but don’t let your wife catch you eating it because she will regale you with tales from the ER of guys even dumber than you.
IMO, no, they break down, turn mealy, and taste disgusting. But then, I found this:
[EMAIL=“Freezing Potatoes | ThriftyFun”]
And it seems to imply you can freeze them if prepared correctly. Haven’t tried these tips myself, though.
I’ve cooked frozen venison steaks that were 2-3 years old. They were wrapped very tightly in freezer paper and when thawed showed no grayish patches of freezer burn.
But even marinating wouldn’t disguise that freezer taste.thriftyfun.com/tf000995.tip.html
No, she’s not a guy…she was just poor during the Depression and thinks wasting food is a sin.
And she’s absolutely right. The amount of stuff we throw away is shameful, and I mean that in its fullest sense.
To answer the OP - depends on the kind of soup; fully liquidised ones are probably good for a few years.
This is chili. I haven’t gotten brave enough to try it yet, it’s still in the fridge. I will probably end up tossing it; with no medical insurance I can’t afford to take chances LOL.