Eggs, milk, butter, cheese and yogurt. Each guide says how long it keeps in the fridge and freezer, what it looks like as it spoils, and what to use instead.
How to store plant-based butter: oil-based sticks and tubs keep about 6 months in the fridge, cultured kinds follow their date, and both freeze. Plus what the October 2026 FDA recall of Miyoko’s plant butter means for you.
Opened tofu keeps 3 days to a week in fresh water in the fridge, and the extension services disagree about which end you get. Water changes, silken tofu, freezing, and the five signs.
Milk keeps 5 days to 2 weeks in the fridge below 40F, and the published figures genuinely disagree. Where it belongs in the fridge, what the date means, whether to freeze it, and the five signs.
Buttermilk keeps 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge and a few days past its date. It can separate without spoiling, and the experts disagree about freezing it. Here is what to do with each.
An opened tub keeps one to two weeks on a cold fridge shelf, and the whey on top is meant to be there. Fridge temperatures, the date, freezing, mold and the swollen lid.
Keep butter wrapped in the fridge, on a shelf rather than in the door, and leave out only a day or two of salted butter. Counter versus fridge, how long a block keeps, freezing, and telling rancid butter from mold.
Cream cheese keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge once opened. How to store it, whether to freeze it, and when mold means the whole tub goes.
Hard cheese keeps 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge once opened and soft cheese 1 to 2 weeks. How to wrap it, freeze it, and when mould means cut or bin.
Raw eggs keep 3 to 5 weeks in the fridge, in the carton on an inside shelf, and up to a year frozen out of the shell. How to store, freeze and check old eggs.
