Spring Cleaning - Freezer Burn
By Anthony Todd in Food on May 12, 2010 3:20PM
It's almost summer, and time to do some cleaning. Kitchens are full of "non-perishable" items that get kept until the dust coating them is thick enough to use for socks. Most of these items DO have a shelf life, and it's often shorter than you think. Last time, we tackled spice cabinets - today, we'll talk your freezer.
Leaving things in your freezer until humanity enters a new era of geological time is such a cliche. It pops up in sitcoms, cartoons and bad comic strips - do you really want to be that person? While frozen food companies may try to convince us that frozen means forever, it is vitally important to keep track of what is in your freezer and when it has gotten a bit too senior and needs to be retired. Plus, farmer's market season is starting, and you'll need a place to store all of your local produce!
It's not so much that storing foods past deadlines is dangerous. Rather, the food just starts to lose all flavor and nutritional value. So, the first step is to take everything out of your freezer. Anything that made you wince as you took it out and wish you were using tongs? Throw that away first. After that, there are a few simple guidelines to follow. Anything that has been there more than a year should go. Anything you can't remember putting in the freezer should go - you won't miss it. Anything prepared (soups, stews, cookie dough, casseroles) has a freezer life of about 3 months - if you don't clean your freezer every three months, get rid of it. Frozen fruit? Around 6 months. Look hereif you want a more detailed list.
After you throw out all the bad stuff, give your freezer a good scrub. No need to use anything fancy - soap and water will do just fine. Most modern freezers don't need to be defrosted, but if you have an older model, follow the instructions.
Throwing out the bad stuff isn't the end of the process. We use a couple of techniques to minimize freezer pain and waste. Label anything you put into the freezer. If you have trouble remembering this, keep a roll of masking tape on top of the fridge with a sharpie. We keep a list of everything we want to make sure to use, and put it just above our grocery list on the fridge. This will remind you to cook all that stuff - or substitute it into the list instead of fresh stuff. With just an hours' effort and a few tips, your freezer can be the stuff of culinary genius, rather than bad comedy.