How to store ice cream
Best place: the freezer. USDA lists ice cream with a freezer time of 6 months; keep it cold and use it promptly.
No guideline
No guideline
6 months
best quality within
How ice cream compares with other food purchased frozen
USDA FoodKeeper gives ice cream one time: 6 months in the freezer, and no figure for the other places. A blank usually means the food is not stored that way, not that the data is missing. The foods USDA lists next to ice cream in food purchased frozen show the range for the group:
| Food | Pantry | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish(first of 6 kinds) | no guideline | 14 to 45 days | 9 to 12 months |
| Frozen entrees | no guideline | Not recommended | 12 months |
| Frozen potato products | no guideline | Not recommended | 12 months |
| Frozen pretzels | no guideline | 3 to 4 days | 9 months |
| Fruits | no guideline | no guideline | 10 to 18 months |
| Ice pops | no guideline | no guideline | 9 months |
| Juice concentrates | no guideline | no guideline | 2 years |
| Kugel(first of 2 kinds) | no guideline | no guideline | 1 year |
| Lobster tails | no guideline | 3 to 4 days | 8 months |
| Pancakes, waffles | no guideline | Not recommended | 3 months |
About food purchased frozen. Food that was frozen at the store stays safe indefinitely at 0 F (-18 C), but quality drops the longer it sits, especially with freezer burn. Once thawed, these foods behave like fresh or refrigerated food and should not be refrozen without cooking first. All food purchased frozen.
How to tell ice cream has gone bad
General signs for food purchased frozen, the group USDA lists ice cream under.
- Greyish-brown, dry patches on the surface (freezer burn)
- Heavy frost or ice crystals built up inside the package
- Package that feels soft or has clearly thawed and refrozen
- Off smell as soon as the food starts to thaw
- Freezer odour that has soaked into the food itself
More on food purchased frozen. The times above are quality guidelines, not safety limits; food that shows these signs goes out regardless of the date.
Storage habits that make the difference
Keep the freezer at 0 F (-18 C) or colder, and push older items to the front so they get used first. Wrap or repackage anything with damaged packaging to limit air exposure. Thaw in the fridge, not on the counter, and cook or use thawed food within a day or two.
How to store other food purchased frozen
Source: USDA FSIS FoodKeeper dataset (public domain). How we decode the data.