Why are some foods not suitable for freezing? Most of the time, the freezing or defrosting process alters its texture, making it unpalatable. However, some foods are more prone to bacterial growth when frozen and defrosted, increasing your chance of food-borne illness.
When freezing hard cheeses like manchego, parmesan, or cheddar, these can last a long time. If frozen properly, they can last up to 2 years in the freeze. It is best to eat within 6-9 months for the ultimate freshness.
According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), you can freeze eggs for up to one year. When you're ready to use frozen eggs, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or under running cold water. Use egg yolks or whole eggs as soon as they're thawed.
Information. If kept frozen continuously, chicken will be safe indefinitely, so after freezing, it's not important if any package dates expire. For best quality, taste and texture, keep whole raw chicken in the freezer up to one year; parts, 9 months; and giblets or ground chicken, 3 to 4 months.
Citrus fruits become soft and mushy after being frozen. You can preserve grapefruits and orange segments by canning them in juice or syrup. Lemons can be preserved in salt and spices. Thin slices of citrus can be dehydrated at low heat in the oven, or with a food dehydrator.
You can freeze almost anything.
The best vegetables to consider are corn, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, squash and winter greens such as spinach, kale, chard and collards.
Water expands when it freezes, and the ice crystals formed cause cell walls of food to rupture. As a result, the texture of the product will be much softer when it thaws. These textural changes are most noticeable in fruits and vegetables that have a high water content.
Remember that freezing does not kill bacteria, only prevents the microbes from multiplying. So thawed food will have some bacteria that can multiply at room temperature, meaning that if the food is refrozen, there will be an increase in bacterial count by the time it is thawed again.
Some foods simply don't freeze well. Examples are mayonnaise, cream sauce and lettuce. Raw meat and poultry maintain their quality longer than their cooked counterparts because moisture is lost during cooking.
But if you let those grapes defrost, they become soggy unappealing lumps. For anything with a lot of water, it's best to freeze it only if you plan to use it in cooking—it just won't be the same raw. (Thawed raw tomatoes will be unappetizing in a salad, but can still work well in a sauce.)
Foods That Don't Freeze Well
These include: Fruits and vegetables with high water content - (celery, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, melon). They'll be limp and soggy when thawed. Cream-based products - (sour cream, light cream, yogurt, custards).
You absolutely can freeze potatoes, and you should if you have an excess of spuds. But there's one important thing to remember: You should really only freeze cooked or partially cooked potatoes, as raw potatoes contain a lot of water. This water freezes and, when thawed, makes the potatoes mushy and grainy.
And certain vegetables, like tomatoes, potatoes, and winter squash, for example, don't need to be blanched before going into the freezer.
According to the USDA, frozen foods are safe to eat indefinitely. But just because something is ok to consume doesn't mean it will still taste delicious after years in a deep freeze.
But we're here to finally put the question to rest, as the USDA states that as long as all foods are stored at 0 °F or lower in your freezer, they are safe to eat indefinitely.
All yogurt—whether full-fat or nonfat, strained (like Greek or skyr), plain or swirled with fruit—can be frozen for up to two months. Technically, it's safe to eat long after that, but two months is really the limit when it comes to taste and texture.
Freezing milk is easy, helps avoid waste, allows a backup supply, and saves money. Thawed milk will be most nutritious if people freeze it at its freshest. However, as long as freezing happens on or before the best before date, it is fine to freeze milk and thaw it for later use.