Jamaican Cookery News

For how long That is the crucial question. Smelling the food isn’t a sure way of telling whether it’s still edible or not. Often, food that is in fact rotten looks perfectly healthy. Here are a few simple rules to follow:

Meats:
1) Beef - 8 to 12 months.
2) Hamburger (minced meats) - 4 to 6 months.
3) Beef or calves liver - 3 to 4 months.
4) Lamb - 8 to 12 months.
5) Poultry (whole) - 6 to 8 months.
6) Broilers & cut up poultry - 4 to 6 months.
7) Turkey - 6 to 8 months.
8) Giblets (except liver) - 2 to 3 months.
9) Poultry livers - less than 1 month.
10) Veal - 6 to 8 months.
11) Hot Dogs - 2 to 3 months.

Fresh Vegetables:
Vegetables should be scaled before freezing. Place in a wire basket and immerse in
boiling water for no more than 4 minutes. Then cool immediately by plunging vegetables
into ice water. Drain, wrap and freeze immediately.

1) Asparagus (in 2 inch pieces) - 6 to 8 months.
2) Beans, green or wax - 8 to 12 months.
3) Broccoli - 12 months.
4) Brussels Sprouts - 8 to 12 months.
5) Carrots (sliced) - 12 months.
6) Carrots (small whole) - 12 months.
7) Cauliflower - 12 months.
8) Corn on the Cob - 8 to 12 months.
9) Peas - 12 months.
10) Spinach - 12 months.

Fruits:
Raspberries, cranberries, and blueberries may be frozen without sugar or syrup. Wash well
and pack. Freeze immediately. - 12 months.

Strawberries: Wash well, slice if desired. Sprinkle with sugar (use 1 Ib. to approximately
4 to 5 lbs. berries) and mix gently. - 12 months.

Cantaloupe and watermelon: Fruit should be ripe and firm. Dissolve 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3
cup orange juice in 2 cups boiling water. Cool to 70 degrees. Pour over fruit which has been
into balls or cubes. - 6 to 8 months.

Sandwiches:
Use butter instead of mayonnaise as a spread. Day-old bread is the best. Fillings containing
jelly, salad dressing and mayonnaise make bread soggy. Ideal fillings: salmon, tuna, cream
cheese, Cheddar cheese, cooked egg yolks (whites tend to become rubbery), peanut butter.
- less than 1 month.

Egg yolks or Egg whites:
To freeze yolks, add 2 tbs. sugar or 1 tsp. salt to each cup of yolks. Nothing need be added to
the whites. Never freeze eggs in the shell. - 8 to 12 months.

Cheese:
1) Wrap well in tinfoil. It may crumble after long storage, but flavour will not change.
2) Cheddar and processed cheese - 6 to 8 months.
3) Cream cheese - 2 months.
4) Cottage cheese - 2 weeks.

Butter:
1) Wrap well in foil - 6 to 8 months.
2) Milk - 2 weeks.
3) Ice Cream - 2 to 4 weeks.

Cakes:
1) Frosted - 2 months.
2) Unfrosted - 3 to 4 months.
3) Fruit - 8 to 12 months.
4) Pies (baked or unbaked) 2 to 3 months.
5) Bread and rolls - 2 to 3 months.
6) Cookies (baked or unbaked) 9  months