how long are things ok in the freezer?

[steve208]

i know they say keep for one or three months but...

I have some bread in the freezer which has prob been there for about 2 months, i use it to put straight in the toaster but am an infrequent user of toast. Will it be ok for a while or should i chuck it?!

Also i froze some sausage in tomato sauce and onion (home made) how long is it ok for?!

T.I.A

[Snowy Owl]

As a general rule, if it`s OK when it goes into the freezer, it`s OK when it comes out. Obviously some things freeze `better` than others, but certainly as far as bread is concerned there`s no reason why it shouldn`t be OK for 2/3 months. Use it immediately when it`s defrosted (or as you say...straight into the toaster, frozen), don`t let it hang about and don`t be tempted to refreeze ANYTHING AT ALL.

As for your sausage in tomato and onion sauce....wouldn`t leave it for more than a couple of weeks if I was you, the taste may not be so good!

Most freezers indicate how long fresh foods should be kept and processed foods will have a recommended time on them too.

Hope this helps.

[tobeloy]

I put items in the freezer for months on end and never had any problems....I have a habit of finding bargains and freezing them for xmas...

some foods with a high water content are not suitable, melon ,celery etc but I have been doing this for a while and I am still here, I assume the product stops degrading once frozen.

[mlbt]

ditto

[whiffey]

I have runner beans in my freezer that are 5 years old and still excellent eating. Snowy Owl is right, if it was OK when it went in (no bugs), what is going to happen to it at -18C to make it dodgy ? The eating quality might be impaired, but there is no risk to health.

[steve208]

Thanks everyone!

[WendyS]

Am embarrassed to admit that some months ago I came across a few bags of home-made tomato purree tucked away at the back of our freezer which were seven years old.
Believe it or not, when I opened them up to include in sauces and soups they were still perfectly edible.
Our freezer is so full of home grown veg, soft fruit or bulk meals cooked and frozen in portions that it's impossible to rotate everything very efficiently by date so we often eat stuff which has been frozen a couple of years ago. Never had any problems with it so far.