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WHAT GOES IN THE REFRIGERATOR?
WHAT GOES ON THE SHELF?
HOW LONG CAN YOU SAFELY KEEP AN ITEM?
Learning about the “shelf life” of the items that are stored in your refrigerator, pantry or food shelf will help you be a better meal planner and also save money!
Below are some common items that are “non-perishable” and usually stored in a pantry or food shelf. You may also explore common staples that must be kept refrigerated.
Store in a sealed container.
- Brown rice: 3–6 months from the date of manufacture (Healthiest option)
- White rice: up to 2 years
- Refrigerating and freezing may significantly extend both their shelf lives.
Store in a sealed container.
- Dried pasta will last for 1-2 years beyond a “best by” date.
- Fresh pasta will last for 4-5 days beyond a “best by” date.
- The shelf life of pasta depends on a variety of factors, such as the best by date, the preparation method and how it was stored.
Store in a sealed container.
- Beans in normal polyethylene (food-grade) bags have a shelf life of 1 year or more.
- Like most stored foods, colder storage temperatures will increase shelf life.
- When packaged in #10 cans or Mylar-type bags, with the oxygen removed, they have a shelf life of 10 or more years.
- A BYU study indicated that pinto beans did experience a slight loss of quality during storage. However, samples that had been stored up to 30 years had greater than 80 percent acceptance by a consumer taste panel for emergency food use. The study concluded that pinto beans should be considered acceptable for use in long-term food storage efforts.
- Make sure your bread is sealed well to prevent drying and that there’s no visible moisture in the packaging.
- Frozen bread may last up to 6 months. Although freezing may not kill all dangerous compounds, it will stop them from growing.
- Room-temperature bread typically lasts 3–4 days if it’s homemade or up to 7 days if it’s store-bought.
- Refrigeration can increase the shelf life of both commercial and homemade bread by 3–5 days.
- Keeping milk cold is essential to extending its shelf life. You can help keep milk fresh longer by keeping it away from light and by placing it back into your refrigerator immediately after each use.
- Store milk on an interior refrigerator shelf rather than in the door, where the temperature fluctuates with frequent opening. In addition, opened milk should be stored tightly in its original container as the containers were specifically designed for this purpose.
- According to Eat By Date, once opened, all milk lasts 4-7 days PAST its printed date, if refrigerated.
- If unopened, whole milk lasts 5-7 days, reduced-fat and skim milk last 7 days, and non-fat and lactose-free milk last 7-10 past its printed date, if refrigerated.
- After opening, you should consume refrigerated almond milk within 7 days, while shelf-stable almond milk should be consumed within 7-10 days. Some almond milks do not contain preservatives, so keep them refrigerated after opening to prevent spoilage.
- Store opened, shelf-stable almond milk in the main body or in the back of the fridge, where the temperature is coldest and most stable, rather than on the back of the door.
- Store unopened, shelf-stable almond milk in your cabinet, unrefrigerated, until the best-by date on the milk carton. Refrigerate it as soon as you open it to prevent spoilage.
- For homemade almond milk, rinse almonds very well. Store them in an airtight container to prevent bacteria from creeping in.
Always return your almond milk carton or container to the fridge after using it.
Refrigerate eggs at 40°F or less.
- Store them in their original carton on an inside shelf and away from pungent foods.
- The temperature on an inside shelf remains more constant than one on the door, which is opened and closed frequently.
- The carton keeps the eggs from picking up odors or flavors from other foods and helps prevent moisture loss.
- Raw whole eggs in shell may be safe 4 to 5 weeks beyond the pack date or about 3 weeks after purchase if kept refrigerated properly.
Yes, eggs may be frozen!
- If you have more eggs than you can use within a few weeks, you can freeze them, out of their shells.
- Freeze only clean, fresh eggs. Place them in freezer containers, seal tightly and label with the number of eggs, whites or yolks and the date. Defrost frozen eggs overnight in the refrigerator.
- Packaged lunch meats can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks before breaking the seal.
- After opening a package of lunch meats or buying sliced lunch meats at a deli, you can refrigerate them for three to five days. Keep your refrigerator at 40 °F or less.
- These meats can also be frozen for one to two months for best quality.
- Frozen foods are safe indefinitely (kept at 0 °F).
PICKLES
https://www.purewow.com/food/do-pickles-go-bad
Note: For maximum freshness, it’s wise to pluck your pickles from the jar with a clean utensil rather than your fingers, as this will minimize the amount of bad bacteria introduced with every snack.
- Pickles are fermented veggies, and their storage is very similar to storing sauerkraut. When you buy a jar, its most important characteristic is whether or not it was pasteurized. Most pickles you can find in the supermarket are, but if you look thoroughly, you often can find unpasteurized ones too.
- The pasteurized ones usually sit on the shelves at room temperature. The pasteurization process kills all of the beneficial bacteria inside the jar, so the fermentation process has been stopped.
- Because of that, all such a jar needs when it’s unopened is that it sits away from sunlight and sources of heat. A dark cabinet in the pantry or kitchen is a perfect choice.
- An unopened jar of pickles can be stored at room temperature (i.e., the pantry) or in the fridge for up to two years past the expiration date.
- Once opened, pickles will stay fresh for roughly the same length of time as long as they are stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.
Salad Dressing: Once opened, sealed tightly, and stored in the refrigerator (proper temps of below 40), bottled salad dressings can last up to 1-3 months. Vinaigrettes can last a little longer at up to 3 months while mayo or cream based dressings last a shorter time at about 1-2 months after opening. Unopened bottles kept at a stable temperature can last up to 1 year in the pantry.
Ketchup: Once opened it can last up to 6 months in the refrigerator. Unopened, it can last in the pantry for about 1 year.
Mustard: Once opened and stored in the refrigerator, mustard can last up to 1 year. Unopened, in the pantry, it can last for about 2 years.
Mayo: The “best if used by” date on mayo assures optimum quality and freshness by the manufacturer. It is recommended to use the mayo by that date and once opened and refrigerated, it should be used within 2 months.
FRUIT
BANANAS
- Bananas can be stored in a room without direct sunlight until they are ripe. When they are ripe, you can put them into the fridge. They can last in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. ***Do not put bananas in the fridge before they ripen, otherwise they will not continue to ripen.
- If the banana skin goes brown, it is okay! Browned skin does not mean the banana went bad. Most times, the banana still tastes the same!
- If you cut a banana and want to keep the slices from browning, use a small amount of lemon or pineapple juice to keep them fresh!
- You can also freeze bananas that won’t be eaten for a while. Just remove the banana peel and seal them in a ziplock in the freezer. They should last 2-3 months!
https://www.dole.com/en-gb/blog/nutrition/storing-bananas-correctly-dos-and-donts
APPLES
- If you don’t have a lot of apples, store them in the refrigerator. They can last from 1-2 months in the fridge. ***Do not keep other vegetables in the same drawer as apples because apples emit ethylene gas, which can speed the decay of neighboring produce.
- If you have larger quantities of apples, store them in a cooler, darker room. They should last 5-7 days without a refrigerator.
- Tip: Eat the large apples first because they are more likely to soften faster than the smaller apples.
https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/how-to-store-apples/8907.html
LEMONS
- Lemons are best stored in the refrigerator and can last up to a week or more.
- If you cut a lemon, put the remaining lemon in a sealed container or ziplock to stop them from drying out. They can also last for up to a month when in a ziplock.
BERRIES
- Store berries in a wide, flat container in the fridge. You do not want to crowd and squish your berries! Storing them in the fridge should allow them 5-7 days to stay fresh.
- If you have a good amount of berries that you won’t be able to enjoy before they spoil, put them in the freezer.
- To store them in the freezer, first wash them and remove any green stems (ex: strawberry leaves.) Then, spread out your berries onto a baking sheet (make sure they are not overlapping) and freeze for 4 or more hours. They are then ready to be stored in freezer bags for 6 months or up to a year depending on how air tight the container is. The less air the better.
VEGETABLES
ONIONS
&
GARLIC
Onions
- If you have whole, unpeeled onions, they can be stored in the pantry for 2-3 months.
- If you have a peeled or cut onion, they can be stored in the refrigerator for 10-15 days.
- For cooked onions, they can last 3-5 days in the refrigerator
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-store-onions#how-to-shop
Garlic
- If garlic is unpeeled, store it in a dark place with low moisture. It will last 3-5 months here.
- If garlic is peeled, store it in an airtight bag in the refrigerator. It will last 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
ZUCCHINI
&
BELL PEPPER
Zucchini
- Store a zucchini in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
- Make sure it has air circulation!
Bell Peppers
- Store bell peppers in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
- Cooked bell peppers will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
CUCUMBERS
Store cucumbers in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
- For the best storage, individually wrap the whole cucumbers in paper towels (it absorbs their moisture so they last longer).
- If cucumbers are cut, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
GREAT RESOURCES:
- EatByDate: “How Long Does Milk Last?”
- Consumer Safety
- FDA: “Milk Guidance Documents & Regulatory Information”
- USDA: “Food Product Dating”