Saving Money by Freezing Food - what are the time limits on frozen foods?

[woman*mama*wife]

Does anyone know of good resources for how long food stays good while frozen??

I've heard mixed answers when I ask people.... it'd be nice to get a universal list, ya know?

[BlueRoseMama]

I try never to freeze more than I will use in a year. Each year I freeze (and this just went up due to Logan):

3 flats of strawberries (about 12 gallon sized bags, at 1-2 high)
25 lbs of blueberries (about 20 quart sized bags, pretty full (4 or 5 deep))
25lbs of broccoli (about 9 gallon sized bags, blanched and cooled, then frozen)
30lbs of green beans; I buy a case (about 12 gallon sized bags, blanched and cool then frozen)
4lbs of snap peas (1 - 2 gallon bags... this is what I did last year. This year I am putting them in quarts. So it should be about 4 of those.)
20lbs of beets (topped, blanched and frozen, this makes about 5 gallon bags)

I try to use these in one year. We haven't failed yet... although every now and then we have a left over blueberry bag or two.

Bread: I buy at Costco in the 2 large loaf packs and freeze one. I use it within about two weeks. Sometimes they have sit for 4 months and been totally fine.

My mom froze cheese one time (grated Mozzerella, and grated Parmesean) and it just didn't work out well. Sometimes you just have to buy fresh. (It was great for pizza though!)

Here is a decent guide to see other things:
Food Storage: Refrigerator and Freezer

HTH!

Blessings,

Val

[starkl]

We've never had a dedicated freezer, but the two things that I always manage to sneak in there for the long haul are baguettes and shredded cheese. I use the baguettes for french toast, and the cheese I defrost in the fridge and it's still great for quesadillas ansd such.

[BlueRoseMama]

The dedicated freezer I have I picked up used for $100 at a used applience store. It isn't fancy. It doesn't even have a light. lol... but the seal was good, and so was the price. I have not regretted it for a single day. I totally thought that I would turn it off when I wasn't using it, but just when it is getting empty enough to think about transfering everything to the small freezer and turning it off, it is berry season again, and there goes that. For our family, it is completely worth it.

Val

[woman*mama*wife]

BlueRoseMama...that link was EXACTLY what I was hoping for! I printed it out and taped it to the inside of my cupboard for easy reference. I also sent it to a bunch of people... Thank you!

[BlueRoseMama]

So welcome. I have used it many times.

Val

[beautifulfreak]

Thanks Val that is a really great informative link. I think I need to clean out my freezer now.

[Kerri]

I try to use everything in under a year, so we're rotating stuff before it comes back into season. Vegetables will deteriorate somewhat, but they won't get dangerous or spoiled. Meat, same thing. Meat you can disguise with marinades or sauces if it tastes freezerburnt though. But we're all quite content with our frozen food.