This week, Gary was planning to make a dish that required a bit of bacon. But the unopened package in the meat drawer had been there too long. How long? It had spots of mold — that’s how long.
You know how it is. You buy groceries anticipating that they’ll be used within the next several days. One thing leads to another, and pretty soon some of that food dries up and dies.
So, how long does food last, anyway? That depends on what it is, of course. But even some dried foods can go bad if they’re stored too long. In part, it even depends on the container.
If the food comes in a plastic container, for example, it won’t last as long as food that comes in a jar. But cans are even better than jars. It’s all a matter of how permeable the container is to air.
Whole grains are not as stable as processed grains because they typically contain more natural oils, which can go rancid over time. So, quick-cooking oatmeal will last longer than old fashioned oats, which can have a stale flavor after about a year. Nothing to harm you, but the taste is affected.
Here are some guidelines for food storage. Some of them surprised me because of how quickly they go bad. But in most cases, it made a lot of sense.
Ground meat, for instance, has a lot of air pockets and exposed surfaces. So, it won’t last as long in the fridge as whole meats like chicken breast or steak. In fact, you can store raw ground meat for only 1-2 days.
If you freeze it, it will last about four months. Raw steaks,.
