Hints From Heloise

Sat., Oct. 7, 2000

Dear Heloise: I need some help. What are the freezer guidelines for the length of time you can keep meat, fish, bread and pastries? Are any of these safe to keep in the freezer longer than one year? Maxine N., Metairie, La.

In a nutshell, none of the foods you mentioned should be frozen for longer than one year. The following are the freezing times for those specific foods:

Meat: beef, roasts and steaks - 6 to 12 months

Meat: beef, ground - 3 to 4 months

Fish: cooked - 3 months

Fish: fillets - 2 to 3 months; moderate to high oil content - 1 to 3 months; low oil content - 3 to 6 months

Bread and yeast rolls: 3 months

Pastries: unfilled - 3 months - Heloise

Note: Freezer containers should be moistureproof and airtight so that the foods do not dry out and their nutritional value is unaffected.

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