Going through fridge, need advice

[valleymist]

I'll be moving in a little while from Ontario to Alberta and I'm pretty
excited about that. My dad wants to sell the fridge and stove by April so
we have to use up a lot of meat in the freezer. This is a scary time for an
emet, especially because I'm living with a dad who is determined not to
have any waste and he does get frustrated when I get worried about meat.
I know when it's frozen, it's good for a long time. I just want to know how
long is meat good for? (Some of it has been there awhile) It ranges from
sausages, chicken, hamburger and steak.

My second question is milk. While we were visiting Edmonton, my dad put
a bag of milk in the freezer so we wouldn't have to throw it out when we
get back. I'm sure this makes it safe to use now right? Also, does milk
actually go bad? I mean, aside from it going sour and tasting really
horrible to the point where you know not to drink it, you can't actually get
sick from it can you?

Thanks for any advice you can give me, I've been stressing about using up
everything in the fridge this month. [img]smileys/smilies_11.gif[/img]

[ontariogirl]

I know what you mean. I borrowed a roast from my mother, she went way down in the freezer and gave it to me. When I got home the date on it was 2004, I kind of freaked and phone the health clinic and asked if its ok? She said yes, meats in the freezer can be good up to 10 years. Well believe me I wouldn't eat meat that is 10 years old!! When in doubt throw it out is what I say!! I thought the roast smelt wierd but when it was done it was fine.
About the milk, my mother used to freeze milk when I was younger. We drank it and was fine. You know how I test my milk? When I have a tea and put milk in it and it curdles a bit I throw it out, or if my tea tastes a little off.
I remember being at my grandmas and everyone was havingcoffee, my aunt said Mom this milk is going bad, I got a fresh bag, but my grandma drank the rest of the milk!! Eww grandma how can you do that? She said it won't kill you, its just beginning to go bad. She was a nurse, and she never got sick!!
I think the only way that you can get sick from milk is when you drink it and it has clumps in it- gross.[img]smileys/smilies_10.gif[/img]
Enjoy Alberta, my parents went out there for holidays and they loved it!

[smokycat]

Yes--I htink meat stays good for a LOOONG time if it stays totally frozen. The worst that could happen is it would get freezer burn and be dried out and not taste very good. Since milk is pasteurized, I'd think it would have to be pretty spoiled to make you ill. I agree wth the testing a bit in a hot beverage like coffee or tea.

[hippychick]

I don't know the in's and outs of meat at all sorry. And I'm not sure for a fact about milk but it reminded me that the other week my mum made scrambled eggs (or whatever it is you need milk for lol) well later on I was cleaning the fridge out and smelled the milk. My nose wanted to die! Haha I was like "MUM how could you do that" she claimed not to have known it was bad, so I asked her wasn't she worried? And she said nope not in the slightest lol. Well she didn't get sick (and my mum has THE most sensitive stomach)

[valleymist]

Well thanks for all the advice! I still can't help but be a little worried over
eating any meat from the freezer, we haven't used a lot of it in awhile. I'm
sure my body will play tricks on me and I'll most likely have a lot of panic
attacks in the remaining days of the month, *sigh*. It's so tempting to just
gradually start throwing it out and say I've been eating it lol.

I had milk in my tea this morning, it didn't curdle but I didn't like the way it
tasted at all so I had to go out and buy tea with milk from Tim Hortons,
which sucked. I can't wait until this moving is over with, too much to stress
about.