To Keep or Not to Keep?
Tips for refreshing your fridge, freezer and pantry
Do you have canned goods that are older than your children? Have you been harboring the same bottle of dressing since the Obama administration? And do you even know what’s in your freezer anyway? While many food items, especially dry and frozen goods, do have long shelf lives, nothing lasts forever. Take stock of the food in your kitchen with this handy reference guide:
Refrigerator 1, 2
● Eggs: 3 to 5 weeks if purchased by the sell-by-date on the carton
● Milk: 7 days after opening
● Butter: 1 to 2 months
● Cold Cuts: 3 to 5 days if opened; Up to 2 weeks if unopened
● Cheese: Hard cheeses can be stored unopened for up to 6 months; 3 to 4 weeks once opened
● Fish: 1 to 2 days if fresh; 3 to 4 days if cooked; 14 days if smoked; 5 years if canned and unopened; 3 to 4 days if canned and opened
● Uncooked meat:
- Ground and stew meat: 1 to 2 days
- Chicken or turkey; whole and pieces: 1 to 2 days
- Steak and roasts: 3 to 5 days
● Cooked meat or poultry: 3 to 4 days
● Mayonnaise: 2 months in refrigerator after opening
● Flour, Whole Wheat: 6 to 8 months in the refrigerator
● Jams and Jellies (commercially produced): 6 to 12 months opened
● Salad Dressing (commercially produced): 1 to 3 months opened
● Coffee, Non-Vacuum Packed (commercial ground)3: 1 month opened
Freezer 1, 2
● Ice Cream: 2 to 4 months
● Uncooked Meat:
- Ground and stew meat: 3 to 4 months
- Chicken or turkey; pieces: 9 months
- Steaks: 6 to 12 months
- Roasts: 4 to 12 months
- Whole turkey and chicken: 12 months
● Cooked meat dishes: 2 to 3 months
● Cooked poultry dishes: 4 to 6 months
● Frozen fruit and vegetables: up to 1 year
● Butter: up to 9 months
● Flour, Whole Wheat: 2 years
● Coffee, Non-Vacuum Packed (commercial ground)3: 6 to 12 months unopened
Pantry 2
● Baking Powder: 3 to 6 months opened; 6 to 18 months unopened
● Baking Soda: 2 years opened; 2 to 3 years unopened
● Breadcrumbs[3]: 6 months
● Canned Foods, High Acidic (juices, fruit, tomato soup, etc.): 12 to 18 months for quality; well past “use by” and “sell by” dates if free from dents, rust and swelling
● Canned Foods, Low Acidic (meat, soups, beans, carrots, corn, peas, etc.): 2 to 5 years; well past “use by” and “sell by” dates if free from dents, rust and swelling
● Coffee, Non-Vacuum Packed (commercial ground)3: 2 weeks opened; 2 years unopened
● Cornstarch[4]: Indefinitely when stored in an airtight container and dry location
● Dry Cereals: 2 to 3 months opened; 6 to 12 months unopened
● Flour, All-Purpose: 6 to 8 months opened; 6 to 12 months unopened
● Flour, Whole Wheat: 3 to 6 months opened
● Jams and Jellies (commercially produced): 6 to 18 months unopened
● Mayonnaise: 3 to 6 months unopened
● Oil, Vegetable & Olive: 3 to 5 months opened; 6 to 12 months unopened
● Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: 6 to 12 months opened; 12 months unopened
● Pasta: 1 to 2 years
● Peanut Butter: 2 to 3 months opened; 6 to 12 months unopened
● Rice, Brown: 1 year
● Rice, White or Wild: 2 years
● Salad Dressing (commercially produced): 10 to 12 months unopened
● Spices, Ground: 2 to 3 years
● Spices, Whole: 3 to 4 years
● Sugar, (brown, powdered, granulated): 18 to 24 months
● Vanilla Extract, Pure3: 12 months opened; 2 years unopened
● Vinegars: 1 year opened; 2 years unopened
Ok, now that you know what to keep and what to let go from your pantry, refrigerator and freezer, how about restocking with top food items? That’s where our quality brands, like Food Club and Full Circle Market, come in. We have the best world-inspired foods, organics, household products, pet products and specialty food items you love. See for yourself on your next visit.
