December is my favorite month, not only because it is my birthday month but because of Christmas. I have always loved Christmas as a child and over the years I tend to love it even more as I indulge more in the true meaning of Christmas. When I think of Christmas, I think of God’s love for all mankind. The birth of Jesus is one remarkable gift that we have been given. As we are a couple of hours away from Christmas and you will be having a good time with your family, don’t forget to give thanks for the most precious, indescribable gift we have been given: Christ.
At, this time of the year we are all busy cooking and baking or just waiting to eat.
As home cooks, we pay little to no attention to food safety. The guidelines below are for storing food in the refrigerator and freezer. The time limits for home-refrigerated foods will help keep them from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. The time limits for freezer storage are for quality only—frozen foods stored continuously at 0 °F or below can be kept indefinitely.
| Food | Type | Refrigerator (40 °F or below) | Freezer (0 °F or below) |
| Salad | Egg, chicken, ham, tuna, and macaroni salads | 3 to 4 days | Does not freeze well |
| Fresh poultry | Chicken or turkey, whole Chicken or turkey, pieces | 1 to 2 days 1 to 2 days | 1 year 9 months |
| Fin Fish | Fatty Fish ( mackerel, salmon, tuna, etc.) | 1 – 3 Days | 2 – 3 Months |
| Shellfish | Shrimp | 3 – 5 Days | 6 – 18 Months |
| Eggs | Eggnog, commercial | 3 to 5 days | 6 months |
| Eggs | Eggnog, homemade | 2 to 4 days | Do not freeze |
| Soups and stews | Vegetable or meat added | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Leftover | Cooked meat or poultry | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 3 months |
| Leftovers | Pizza | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
I love cooking and baking. At this time, most of us are finishing up what would be our ultimate feast for Christmas. Below is a guide to help when cooking for our loved ones. Happy cooking!!
On behalf of my team, we would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas with lots of love. Be safe and stay healthy.
Reference
Foodsafety.gov. Cold food storage chart. Accessed December 24, 2021. https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts
Wow, I didn’t know about the refrigeration and food safety guidelines!thanks for sharing. I’ll be sure to follow this
Always a pleasure !
I’m so glad I saw your post. I’m making a soup for dinner so I’ll follow the guidelines to keep my family safe. Merry Christmas! Love the bnh team!!:)
I’m so glad I saw your post. I’m making soup for dinner so I’ll follow up to keep my family safe. Merry Christmas! Love the bnh team!!:)
We love you to Cece!