Now that summer’s here, it’s time to start eating ice cream. While we eat the frozen treat year round, some people only eat when it’s hot out. If you’re one of those people, chances are you have some ice cream in your freezer that’s been there for months if not a year. But the question is, is it still good to eat? Can ice cream go bad?
Believe it or not, ice cream can go bad. It does have an expiration date. For an unopened tub, the shelf life is up to two months. After it’s opened, you have about one to two months to eat it without it tasting off. Keep in mind that “best by” dates can be a little conservative. Some people say you can eat unopened ice cream for up to two to three months past its printed date.
Contrary to popular belief, the freezer doesn’t keep your food fresh forever, it just slows the growth of bacteria, but it doesn’t stop it completely. Because there’s dairy and eggs in ice cream, even thought its pasteurized and frozen, it’s still dairy and it can go bad.
To figure out if ice cream has expired, check to see if there are ice shards on top of the lid and under the ice cream. To make ice cream last longer, make sure the container is closed and your freezer is at 0 degrees F. If you want to be extra cautious, you can place plastic wrap on top of the ice cream to create a seal that slows down the development of ice crystals.
