After all that stocking up you may be figuring out how to freeze food, rather than keeping it all in the fridge. So you'll be pleased to learn that you can in fact store more in the freezer than first thought (we were anyway!). Owning one of the best fridge freezers is essential in any household – especially when you can't make frequent trips to the shops for fresh ingredients.
By taking foods out of the fridge and putting them into the freezer, you can extend their use-by dates for literally months. Take a whole chicken, for example. This can be kept in the fridge for a day or two, yet in a freezer it will maintain its freshness for up to 12 months. And eggs, when cracked in to a container, can be safely stored in a freezer for up to 12 months too – who knew?!
So it really is essential that you have a freezer for, well, those essential food items at this time. Do bare in mind though that the fridge-freezers, chest freezers, upright freezers and American-style freezers (all the freezers!) are selling out super fast, so it's worth checking out with one sooner rather than later.
Keep scrolling to see a guide from Tap Warehouse on how to freeze food for the optimum length of time (you'll be surprised at some of them!)
How to freeze food, and for how long
Recommended retailers (and still get it delivered!)
Once opened, how long can you store meat and fish?
| Produce | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Bacon | 7 days | 1 month |
| Chicken or turkey (pieces) | 1 day | 9 months |
| Chicken or turkey (whole) | 1 day | 12 months |
| Deli meats | 3 days | 1 months |
| Fish (raw) | 14 days | 2 months |
| Mince | 1 day | 3 months |
| Shrimp | 1 day | 3 months |
Once opened, how long can you store dairy and eggs?
| Produce | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 90 days | 9 months |
| Cheese (hard) | 23 days | 6 months |
| Cheese (soft) | 7 days | 6 months |
| Eggs (cracked into containers) | 2 days | 12 months |
| Milk | 7 days | 3 months |
| Yoghurt | 14 days | 1 month |
Once opened, how long can you store fruit and vegetables?
| Produce | Shelf | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apples | 2 days | 21 days | 8 months |
| Bannas | 7 days | - | 2 months |
| Berries | - | 14 days | 4 months |
| Carrots | - | 12 days | 12 months |
| Leeks | 14 days | - | 12 months |
| Mushrooms | - | 3 days | 12 months |
| Onions | 21 days | 60 days | 12 months |
| Peppers | - | 5 days | 8 months |
| Potatoes | 28 days | - | 12 months |
| Spinach | - | 2 days | 12 months |
| Tomatoes | - | 3 days | 2 months |
More on frozen foods...
- Can I freeze milk? (Yes, you can!)
- How to freeze potatoes (Yep, you can freeze these too!)
- Got left-over butternut squash? Discover how to freeze butternut squash so it's not in the fridge