Although we overlook its importance, knowing this is essential to prevent food from spoiling earlier than expected, even in the fridge or freezer, and putting our health at risk.

We often store all kinds of food in the fridge, from fruits and vegetables to meat or fish, without knowing how to keep them to last longer or how long they stay in good condition when refrigerated or frozen.

Food has a time limit inside the fridge and freezer, but not all need the same temperature or last the same time

When food is not optimally refrigerated, it tends to lose nutrients, take on greenish tones, bad odors, or textures that make it unfit for consumption. Having them in the refrigerator or freezer does not guarantee that they do not have an expiration date, which is why they must be stored for a certain time.

If you want to know how long food lasts in the refrigerator and freezer, pay close attention because I'll share a classification of foods with suggested refrigeration times and key recommendations to extend their duration.

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Proper refrigeration of food is the key to its preservation. Many times we have to waste food because it decomposes even inside the refrigerator or freezer. This is not due, precisely, to a failure of the appliance, but to the inadequate refrigeration time that you have given the food.

The refrigerator and freezer extend the life of food significantly, but knowing their time limit will help us prevent them from spoiling

The objective of refrigerating food is to store it and preserve its quality, thus preventing it from spoiling or losing its nutritional properties.

But, not all foods are kept in optimal conditions for the same time, each one has an exact refrigeration period, and this is determined depending on the type of food it is:

 - Long-lasting
- Perishables (such as eggs, milk, and meat)
 - Cooked or raw
 - Packaged or out of the package

In short, a series of characteristics that all of us at home must take into account to properly refrigerate food.

In addition to this, it must be borne in mind that some foods need to be refrigerated, not frozen; others must be frozen, and each one of them lasts a specific time.

To prevent your food from being damaged, getting a bad smell, texture, or appearance, learn how to freeze them according to the following classification. Let's see!

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Raw meats are foods that we generally refrigerate or freeze. However, it is important to know how and where we are going to store them because depending on the use we give each food, we will know if it should go in the freezer or in the refrigerator.

A common mistake is to believe that the freezer is a guarantee that perishable foods such as meat (beef, chicken, veal, pork) can be stored forever.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, raw meat can last in perfect condition in the freezer for up to a year; but it all depends on the type of meat it is. Let's see how long meats last before they spoil.

-Fresh meats: Beef, veal, and pork steaks keep frozen for 6 to 12 months. In the refrigerator, they would only last 3-5 days.

-Chops: They can last from 3 to 5 days refrigerated. In the freezer, the chops keep between 4 and 6 months.

-Meats for roasting: Meats already cooked or roasted can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days, and in the freezer, they would last from 4 months to 1 year.

-Beef interiors: They are the liver, heart, guts, kidneys, tongue, etc. These keep in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.

-Burgers, ground meat, and stew: This is usually beef, turkey, pork, veal, or a mixture of all. Regardless, they keep in the freezer for up to 4 months, while in the refrigerator they only last 1 or 2 days.

-Whole chicken and turkey: Keeps in the refrigerator 1 or 2 days; in the freezer from 9 months to 1 year.

-Chicken and turkey in prey: In the refrigerator, they are preserved from 1 to 2 days; in the freezer for 9 months. If they are in giblets, they only last 3 or 4 months in the freezer.

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Sausages are products prepared with raw chicken, beef, turkey, or chicken meat that are commonly sold in supermarkets. They usually have an expiration date when they are packaged, but once opened it is best to refrigerate them properly to prevent them from spoiling too quickly.

Fresh and packaged sausages are refrigerated and frozen as follows:
-Cold cuts: Packaged and opened they last from 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator, if they are packaged and closed 2 weeks. In the freezer, they keep for 1 or 2 months.

-Ham: If it is canned ham, it is kept for 6 to 9 months in the refrigerator and should not be frozen, as long as it remains closed. If the can is opened, it lasts a maximum of 5 days in the refrigerator and 1 month in the freezer. In the case of sliced ​​cooked ham, it is kept in the refrigerator for 2 to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months.

-Sausages: They are kept in the refrigerator for 2 weeks if they are packed and closed, in case the package is opened, they would last 1 week. In the freezer they are preserved for up to 2 months, this is the best option for long periods.

-Bacon: Its conservation period is short, in the refrigerator it lasts 1 week and in the freezer 1 month. After this time it adopts a greenish hue.

-Chorizo: This type of sausage prepared with raw pork, beef, chicken, or turkey can last in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days, but if it is smoked it can last for 7 days. They keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

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This is the end of the first part of this blog :)

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