You buy a whole lamb or a carton of chicken at a good price, split it into bags and fill the freezer. Months later you pull one out and wonder whether it is still good. Then, in the morning, you leave it on the counter to defrost in time for lunch. The first question has published answers; the second is a habit food-safety agencies tell you to drop.
Set the temperatures first
Every figure below assumes a fridge at 4°C or colder and a freezer at -18°C or colder. If you are not sure yours are, a cheap thermometer inside each will tell you.
Fridge and freezer times
From the cold food storage chart published by the US government’s FoodSafety.gov:
- Raw minced meat: 1 to 2 days in the fridge; 3 to 4 months frozen.
- Raw steaks, chops and roasts: 3 to 5 days in the fridge; 4 to 12 months frozen.
- Whole raw chicken: 1 to 2 days in the fridge; 1 year frozen.
- Raw chicken pieces: 1 to 2 days in the fridge; 9 months frozen.
- Oily fish such as mackerel or salmon: 1 to 3 days in the fridge; 2 to 3 months frozen.
- Cooked meat and chicken leftovers: 3 to 4 days in the fridge; 2 to 6 months frozen.
- Soups and stews: 3 to 4 days in the fridge; 2 to 3 months frozen.
- Raw eggs in the shell: 3 to 5 weeks in the fridge. Do not freeze them in the shell; beat yolks and whites together, then freeze.
The chart’s key note: freezer times are about quality, not safety. Food kept continuously at -18°C stays safe indefinitely, but its taste and texture fade. Write the freezing date on every bag before it goes in.
Three ways to thaw
- In the fridge: the safest and slowest. Move the bag down a day ahead; large cuts need longer.
- In cold water: submerge the sealed bag and change the water every 30 minutes.
- In the microwave: on the defrost setting, then cook straight away, because parts of the food can warm up and start cooking as it thaws.
Not on the counter. Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority, citing the US Department of Agriculture, warns against thawing meat on the counter or anywhere the temperature is not controlled, because bacteria grow and multiply there.
Photo: Sliced lamb defrosting in its bag on a kitchen table; the fridge is the right place for it. By 100yen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: “Cold Food Storage Charts”, FoodSafety.gov; “What is the safest way to thaw a frozen meat?”, FAQ, Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
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