How long Can I Keep Food?

I am always flummoxed by how long I can keep food before it goes bad.  Real Simple ran an article a few weeks go that had some guidelines on how long you can store food.  The Ultimate Food-Storage Guide is a comprehensive guide that the people of Real Simple put together.   By their own admission, they erred on the conservative side of the time it takes for food to go bad.  I usually do  sniff test if I am unsure.  But, they did consult the USDA, as well as a number of other experts. You can take a look at the full article at your leisure but here are some of the things I learned reading the article:

1.  Meat and poultry can be frozen in its original wrapping inside a resealable freezer bag, unless you are planning on freezing it for a few months.  Then it should be wrapped individually and then bagged.

2.   Beef and Lamb should only be refrigerated for two to three days.

3.  Cold Cuts:  Deli Cut can last  for 5 days in the fridge.  If you buy them pre-packaged- 5 days once opened or up to 2 weeks unopened.

4.  Most fresh seafood should only be 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator.

5.  Don't freeze fresh fatty fish (salmon and mackerel)--it will become mushy when thawed.

6.  For fruit and vegetables, they recommend keeping the produce in is bag or original packaging and washing before using.  Unless, you buy greens and they are dirty or sandy, like from a farmer's market.  Then they should be rinsed and dried and then wrapped in paper towel and placed in a plastic bag.

7.  To ripen food like apricots or avocados, put them in a paper bag on the counter.  The ethylene gas they emit is trapped and helps them ripen.  To ripen them faster, put an apple in the bag with them.

8. Dairy products and other refrigerated items: you can freeze semi-hard and hard cheeses, as well as grated cheese, but never freeze soft cheeses, sliced, either deli or packaged.

9.  Fresh mozzarella can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

10.  Unshelled egg whites can be frozen but unshelled whole eggs cannot.

Other related lists include, expiration dates for condiments, guide to leftovers and food storage, and the storing of pantry items.

I don't know if I will completely give up the sniff test but these lists are pretty comprehensive and give good guidelines for those foods that I buy infrequently enough to not know what to do with them.