Should be 0 degrees F. To test the temperature of your freezer, place a refrigerator thermometer between packages of frozen food and leave it for 24 hours. Measure, then measure again a few hours later, fluctuations of more than 5 degrees could indicate a problem.
|
Food
|
Storage
time in months
|
|
Dairy
Products
|
|
|
Butter, Margarine
|
6-8
|
|
Cottage Cheese, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs
|
Do Not Freeze * see
post
|
|
Hard Cheeses (Cheddar, Edam, Swiss)
|
6
|
|
Soft Cheeses (Brie, blue, Camembert
|
4
|
|
Milk
|
1
|
|
Fish
|
|
|
Lean fish fillets and steaks (cod, flounder, halibut, sole
|
6
|
|
Oily fish fillets and steaks ( mackerel, salmon)
|
3
|
|
Poultry
and Meats
|
|
|
Bacon
|
1
|
|
Beef roasts, steaks
|
6-12
|
|
Chicken or turkey, whole or pieces
|
6-7
|
|
Cooked Meats
|
2-3
|
|
Ground beef, veal, and lamb
|
3-4
|
|
Ground pork
|
1-3
|
|
Lamb, veal roasts
|
6-9
|
|
Pork, roasts, chops
|
3-6
|
|
Sausage
|
2
|
|
Pies
and Cakes
|
|
|
Unbaked fruit pie, unfrosted cakes
|
6-8
|
|
Baked fruit pie
|
2-4
|
|
Frosted Cake
|
2-4
|
|
Fruit
|
|
|
Apples, citrus fruit, cranberries, apricots, ripe bananas, (skin will
darken), berries, cherries, avocados, melons, nectarines, peaches, pears,
plums
|
Commercially frozen 12, Home frozen 8-12
|
|
Vegetables
|
|
|
Artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, eggplant, peas,
peppers, radishes, spinach
|
Commercially frozen 12, Home frozen 8-12
|
|
Asparagus, cooked vegetables
|
Do not freeze
|
|
Beets, green and red cabbage, carrots, turnips, squash, corn
|
Commercially frozen, Home frozen 8-12
|
|
Lettuce, tomatoes, celery
|
Do not freeze
|
Information taken from Reader's Digest Householder's Survival Manual
