Food Storage

Yes, you can freeze curry, and it is honestly one of the best uses a freezer gets in my house. A big pot of something spiced freezes into a run of easy dinners, and a lot of curries actually taste better a day or two on, once the spices have settled into each other. Most home curries keep about three months in the freezer for good quality. The main things to get right are cooling it fast, freezing it in sensible portions, and reheating it properly, once. There are a couple of ingredients that need a bit of thought, which I will come to. ...

Yes, you can freeze mashed potato, and it is one of the few potato dishes that comes back from the freezer genuinely well. That surprises people, because plain boiled or roast potatoes turn watery and grainy after freezing. Mash is different, and the reason is simple: it is the butter and cream already whipped through it that protect the texture. So the mash you would not think twice about eating is exactly the mash that freezes best. I make a double batch most times I cook it, precisely so there is a bag in the freezer for a night when I cannot face peeling anything. ...

Once you have opened a pot of yoghurt, use it within about five to seven days if it is kept properly chilled. Greek yoghurt and thick set yoghurts often stretch a little longer, closer to a week or two, because they are denser and more acidic. Unopened in a cold fridge, yoghurt frequently lasts well beyond the date on the lid, but only if that date is a best-before and not a use-by. The difference between those two words decides everything, so let me start there. ...

Yes, you can freeze fish, and most of it comes back beautifully. Raw fish freezes well for three to eight months depending on the type, cooked fish for about three months, and the whole thing hinges on two habits: wrap it airtight, and freeze it while it is still genuinely fresh, not on the day it was going off anyway. Freezing pauses the clock; it does not wind it back. ...

Cooking for five means my fridge is never quiet. Something is always going in, coming out, or lurking at the back in a bowl I meant to deal with two days ago. Over the years I have settled on a set of working rules for how long things keep, and they are not complicated, but they do need to be honest. Fridge storage times are general guidance, not laboratory precision, because your fridge, your kitchen and the food itself all vary. What follows is the widely accepted advice, plus the judgement calls I make daily, stated plainly as judgement calls. ...