How long to keep?

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Kooky
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Kooky » 15th Jul, '08, 10:41

You can get pink ones, Daff.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by daffodil » 15th Jul, '08, 10:42

That's a relief.
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Satellite
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Satellite » 15th Jul, '08, 10:43

Generally, in the fridge, 4 days max although I my mother always says not more than 2 days.

In the freezer, I think most things are good for a month, some 6 months!

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Bender » 15th Jul, '08, 11:45

daffodil wrote:Labelmaker? Where's the fun in taking out a container from the freezer for dinner only to find out it's a rhubarb tart? :P
I have a crap memory, can be phenomenally disorganised and have more than my share of senior moments - microwaved salad anyone?
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Morrolan » 15th Jul, '08, 12:04

Bender wrote:When freezing, we always label things using a labelmaker which prints the date on the label. This helps us manage what we've stored, saves throwing stuff out and we have no more 'mystery' items in the freezer. (I mentioned this somewhere in an earlier post about personal productivity websites)
so how to come by freeze-able lables? there's this vision i have of a fridge full of unidentifiable frozen food and a little pile of frozen paper lables on the bottom shelf.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Bender » 15th Jul, '08, 12:26

Morrolan wrote:so how to come by freeze-able lables? there's this vision i have of a fridge full of unidentifiable frozen food and a little pile of frozen paper lables on the bottom shelf.
The labelmaker we have is a Dymo Letra Tag, which you can get at shops like Kmart, BigW and Officeworks. Apart from being available in girly pink, you can also get blue and silver ones for men. :)

The best label tape for the freezer is the white paper - they stick well (as long as you stick them on before freezing the container) and come off easily. The plastic labels don't seem to stick as well as the paper. A bonus is that the paper tape is the cheapest variety, and if you forget to remove the label it dissolves in the dishwasher.
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Morrolan » 15th Jul, '08, 12:45

kewl, thanks, Bender. i'll go and pick one up. [smilie=groovy.gif]

anyway, it's too late for all the rabbits that currently occupy our freezer. then again: they are easily recognisable and hard to confuse with a container of spaghetti...

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Burbage » 15th Jul, '08, 12:46

Reminds me of the endorphin isolation method.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Blossom » 15th Jul, '08, 12:52

Can you use defrosted meat, cook it and then re-freeze? Didn't think you could re-freeze meat

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Pinklepurr » 15th Jul, '08, 12:57

Blossom wrote:Can you use defrosted meat, cook it and then re-freeze? Didn't think you could re-freeze meat
I sure hope so, I do it all the time. :shock:
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Burbage » 15th Jul, '08, 13:03

The problem is the thawing, not the freezing. Usually food is thawed at room temperature for several hours. The more you thaw the more bacteria can grow.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Morrolan » 15th Jul, '08, 13:04

Blossom wrote:Can you use defrosted meat, cook it and then re-freeze? Didn't think you could re-freeze meat
i think you can. we at least always do it with no ill effects. it has to be cooked though, otherwise there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by daffodil » 15th Jul, '08, 13:05

So, quick defrosting in a microwave would be preferable?
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by slinky » 15th Jul, '08, 13:10

I think it's best to defrost in the fridge, but then that means you have to plan about a day in advance :roll: Never seems to happen that way for me - I defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours & then place in the fridge until I'm ready to cook. Hasn't killed us yet..... [smilie=mango.gif] ;)

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Burbage » 15th Jul, '08, 13:20

daffodil wrote:So, quick defrosting in a microwave would be preferable?
Sure. The microwave will sterilise the food. Theoretically you can refreeze food safely afterwards even without cooking it. Of course refreezing several times reduces the quality of food as well.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Bender » 15th Jul, '08, 13:24

Blossom wrote:Can you use defrosted meat, cook it and then re-freeze?
Yes.

It's safe to defrost, cook, freeze and defrost/reheat food once, but it's not advisable to re-freeze it again after that. Although it will likely be safe to eat, the flavour and texture would suffer.
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Blossom » 21st Jul, '08, 16:09

I just found this in an article "Top 10 food myths revealed" on ninemsn.com

4 It is not safe to refreeze meat after it has thawed
Most mums have trotted out this myth ... however, it is actually safe to thaw and refreeze meat. But you do have to be very careful. The meat must be thawed in a fridge at five degrees or less. At this temperature, most bacteria responsible for food poisoning cannot grow and those that can, do so very slowly and are killed by subsequent cooking. "Keeping it cold will keep it safer. I actually do this myself," Burrell says. So no defrosting on the kitchen sink then chucking it back in the freezer or you'll be driving the porcelain bus. And just a warning, thawing and refreezing meat makes it lose its juices and go tough.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Lichtgestalt » 21st Jul, '08, 16:12

Kooky wrote:Thanks, Bender - I didn't know that was the preferred method. I always cook too much so often freeze a third portion for when Neo's away.
You cook? Or do you mean you order a 3rd portion from the delivery man? [smilie=tease.gif]

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Possum » 21st Jul, '08, 16:25

3 days for pasta sauce if it contains chicken, 4 for beef and 5 for Veg
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Pinklepurr » 21st Jul, '08, 16:27

I just found some spaghetti sauce that must be at least 3 weeks old in my fridge, I'm surprised it didn't walk out on its own... :o I have just thrown out the container and all.
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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Satellite » 21st Jul, '08, 16:29

Possum wrote:5 for Veg
5 days for vege? From my experience with curries, or even salads, veges should be consumed on the day of preparation. It doesnt keep well at all.

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Re: How long to keep?

Post by Lichtgestalt » 21st Jul, '08, 17:47

How about pasta with carrot sauce?

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