Food Storage Conditions and Shelf Life

 Although food storage guidelines vary depending on the type of food, all storage life can be significantly impacted by the following conditions:

Temperature:

Store products at a temperature of 75°F/24°C (room temperature) or lower whenever possible – the lower the better.

 If storage temperatures are higher than this, faster rotation of products is needed to maintain food quality.

Moisture and Elements:

All storage areas should be kept dry.

It is best to keep containers off of the floor to allow for proper air circulation.

Remember if storing food in your basement to keep it off of the floor.  If your basement flooded; from water, sewage backup, etc. everything on the floor risks the possibility of contamination or spoilage.  A few inches could provide you with plenty of time to relocate items if necessary.

Light: 

For the most part, light should be kept to a minimum, if not eliminated completely.

Especially protect cooking oil and products stored in PETE bottles from light.

Insects and Rodents:

All food storage should ideally be packaged in containers that will keep rodents out.

Avoid (or protect) foil pouches, PETE bottles, cardboard, plastic and paper bags, or any other container that rodents could penetrate.

If evidence of rodent activity is presented, properly clean food containers before use.

Freezing Meals Technique

Freezing meals is a great way to stock up on your food storage, save yourself time, and still enjoy delicious meals.

I love having a meal or two (or more if there is room) in my freezer for busy days, but I hate when they take up all of my freezer space, and when all of my dishes are in the freezer and I can't use them. This is the best idea to solve that problem; (though I am sure this idea has been done before, I've never heard of anyone else doing it so I will take the credit).

I used this idea all the time when it was just me and my hubby... we could never finish a whole 9x13" casserole, but half that size would be great. That is when I started making two smaller dinners out of one large recipe:

You will need one or more small casserole dish; 8x6", 8x8" and 9x9" all work well. You can go smaller for individual servings, but the listed sizes will feed my small family of 4 (without leftovers). Most importantly, you need a small enough dish that the contents will be able to fit into a gallon freezer ziplock bag.

The basic idea is to make one large recipe and divide it up between two smaller casserole dishes (or more for individual servings). I usually make one to eat immediately, and freeze the other.

First, line the casserole dishes that will be frozen with tin-foil. Fill the dishes with whatever it is you are making (this picture is two different recipes, but you get the idea).

Put the casserole dish in freezer overnight or for several hours. When frozen, take out and remove the food from the dish (this is where the tinfoil comes in handy).

Once removed, place in a freezer bag - I label with the item, the date, and the cooking instructions.

Soups, stews, and sauces can be poured into quart or gallon sized bags and frozen.

And there it is! No mess, less space, and no freezer burn!

When ready to eat, take out of bag and put back in casserole dish.

For larger families, you can use your old (or purchase) aluminum dishes that are perfect for freezing.

Bread loaf pan are perfect for 1-2 servings, pie plates work great for chicken pot pie, and old roasting pans can be used for normal sized casseroles.

You can purchase lids, or use tinfoil.

Frozen meals are best if used within 3 months, but I have had them when they are much older than that.

To access all of my 'freezer meals' recipes, click here.

Happy Freezing!

Freezing Eggs

I had never thought about freezing eggs - because I didn't think it possible, or just because the thought had never occured to me; I'm not sure. Either way, this is a fantastic way to stock up on eggs, or a great idea to use them up when you have a lot about to expire. So easy AND practical!
Frozen eggs prepared as instructed below can be stored for up to 1 year!
Information provided by Tipnut.com - Author: Hilda B. Hawkins, published in American Poultry Journal (1952)

There are two ways to freeze eggs: Broken-yolked or Sperated.

Broken-Yolked

A lightly stirred whole egg; this type of egg will fulfill most uses in the kitchen.

Here's How:
- Crack a single egg into a bowl. Break the yolk with a fork and lightly stir.
- Avoid whipping air into the eggs - excess air will form a 'crust' and may make your eggs gummy once thawed.
- Pour the entire egg into a single compartment of an ice-cube tray. Skim off any air bubbles. Once the tray is filled, freeze eggs solid.
- Once frozen, remove eggs and place in freezer bags/plastic/glass containers and stash away in the freezer.

Uses:
- When ready to use, take out the number of eggs needed and allow to thaw at room temperature.
- This type of egg can be used for any recipe requiring a whole egg: baking, breading chicken/chops, scrambled eggs, french toast, etc.

Seperated

Yolks and Whites; once eggs have been frozen, they cannot be seperated, so the process is done prior to freezing.

Here's How:
- Yolks can be frozen on cookie sheets/pie plates or by using the ice-cube tray.
- To help prevent the yolk from being too thick once thawed, sprinkle a pinch of sugar or salt on each yolk (sugar should be used on yolks that will be used for baking, and salt for yolks that will be used in dishes.
- Once frozen they should be placed in freezer bags/platic/glass containers with appropriate labels (dishes or baking).
- Whites can be frozen in ice-cube trays, or in amounts most frequently used (ie: 1 1/2 c. for angel food cake, etc.)
- Label and place in freezer bags/plastic/glass containers
Uses:
- When ready to use, take out and allow to thaw at room temperature.
- Separated eggs are required for several baking/cooking recipes, as well as regular dishes.
Notes:
Depending on the size of your ice-cube trays, you may not be able to fit a whole egg into one cube. Mine are too small (as pictured above), so I did all of my eggs seperately.

Freezing Meat

I love buying in bulk; especially meat.  It is so much cheaper that way, and it provides a great addition to your food storage.
This is my number one choice when it comes to freezing meat.  I started doing it a few years ago.  I wanted a system that would allow me easy access to individual serving sizes, save me a ton of space in my freezer, didn't cost a lot of money, was easy to rotate, and would prevent freezer burn even after months of storage.  This is what I came up with...

The first step is to get organized; don't just come home and shove everything into the freezer - that pushes old stuff to the back, leaves the new stuff in the front, freezes things in odd shapes, and nothing is labeled or packaged correctly.  If you don't have time after putting all of the other groceries away, stick it in the fridge - hamburger will last 1-2 days before it needs to be used or frozen, and other meats last up to 5 days.
It might seem like a lot of work at first, but in the end it will save you time, space, and money.

Materials Needed: 
- sandwich baggies (snap and seal)
- quart sized freezer bags
- gallon sized freezer bags

Getting Started:divide meat into serving size portions

The main concept is to put individual serving sizes into one sandwich bag.  4 sandwich bags will fit into one gallon bag.  Multiple gallon bags can be stacked on top of each other, or placed upright in your freezer.

For example:
- After buying hamburger, I divide it into individual 1 lbs. baggies, (which is the amount that most recipes call for).  Each pound is put into 1 sandwich bag.  I prefer the snap and seal sandwich baggies - they keep all juices in the bag when defrosting, which saves on cleanup. 

- Be sure and squish the meat into the corners, pressing all of the air out, and forming an even square (when everything is even, it helps when you defrost - no cooked corners and frozen middle).  Getting rid of all the air will prevent freezer burn.

- After all of my baggies are formed and sealed, I put 4 into a gallon ziplock: be sure and suck all of the air out of that bag as well.  Everything should be air free and compact, as shown below.

- Label the gallon bag, and put the date on it.
- Repeat with remaining baggies.

This same concept works with almost all types of meats:
Personally, I do this with my hamburger, chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs, chicken chunks, Italian and regular sausage, pork chops, cooked ham, stew meat, etc.
I always put 2 chicken breasts per bag (even 2 large breasts will fit if bones are removed) - and everything else I use in 1 lb. portions, since that is what recipes commonly call for.  If you only cook for 1, you can freeze 1 breast per bag, etc. - use portions that you commonly cook with.

For larger cuts of meat, like steak, I use a quart size freezer bag.  I also use the quart bags when freezing meats with marinade - just take it out to defrost and it is ready by dinner time.  Depending on what I have planned for meals, I will put 1-2 steaks in each bag; enough for one dinner. 
 For roasts, bacon, or anything too big for a quart bag, I keep it in the original package, and put it in a gallon freezer bag.

 Storing:
 Since everything is the same size, it easily stacks on top of each other or will fit upright.  As you can see, I can easily fit 40+ lbs. of meat in less than half of the space in my little freezer; still leaving plenty of room for everything else.

If you have a side to side fridge/freezer, after freezing on a level surface, bags can be stacked like a file in one of the drawers, standing upright.
If you have an extra freezer in the garage, this allows you to have small portions of each type of meat in your immediate freezer, with replacements in the extra one.

Use and Shelf Life:
When you need meat, simply take one baggy out of the large ziplock, seal it up again, and put it back.
Gallon bags with only 1 or 2 small portions inside can be packed together on top of full bags to save space and ensure that they get used first.

Double bagging, along with removing all of the air will provide an excellent shelf life.  My meat easily lasts over 6 months using this method.  It always come out tasting fresh - and I never get freezer burn!  We recently had a roast that was over 12 months frozen, and it was delicious!


Rotating:
It is important to rotate all of your food storage; meaning you eat the oldest thing first.
After I empty a gallon bag, I wash it out, fold it up, and put it under my box of gallon bags.  That way, I know what types of meat I need, and how many pounds to get to restock my supply (and not overstock my freezer).  Just be sure to scribble out the old date and write the new one.  (Bags should not be reused if they have holes or are noticeably worn - I can use mine 2-3 times before throwing them out).

When you buy meat again and package it the same way, take the old bags out of the freezer, put the new ones in, and place the old back on top.  That way the oldest meat is always on the top, and everything rotates through.

Freezing Meat - Instructions for wrapping with freezer paper

I personally don't use this method for freezing my meats (I'll get around to posting how I do it later), but I am a fan of options.  This method of meat wrapping is also known as "The Drug Store Wrap".  Again, useful information I retrieved from Tipnut.com.
To make a good, air tight package that will protect the meat, make sure to use good quality freezer paper.

1. Place meat on paper. Tear off enough paper to go about one and a half times around meat, put shiny side next to meat (if using wax coated paper). Lay meat on center of paper and allow ample paper at sides.

2. Bring ends together. Start folding ends of paper together over center of meat. Turn edges over to make a fold about an inch deep. Run your fingers along fold to make a good crease.

3. Fold to meat. Keep turning paper over and crease each fold. The last fold should pull paper tight around meat. You want to get all the air out of package to prevent “freezer burn”.

4. Fold ends. Press paper down close to sides of meat. Press out all the air you can to make a tight package. Fold in each of the four corners of paper. This will make a point at each end.

5. Turn under ends. Turn pointed ends of paper under package. Then fold under about an inch at each end of package. You have made a tight package that will keep air out and moisture in . . . moisture-vapor-proof.

6. Seal and label. Seal with tape (you can use masking tape or freezer tape). Label each package with kind and amount of meat and date you put into your freezer. Now it’s ready to go into freezer.

Tips: Store wrapped items seam side down to protect seal. You can double wrap meat if the freezer paper you’re using isn’t the best quality (or use one layer aluminum foil or plastic wrap then cover with freezer paper).