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I tend to make ice cream from frozen bananas and other fruits as flavors and would like to know how much time can I store it. In general, is the homemade version of a popular food item (bread, sauces and condiments etc) more liable to spoil if you bought their industrially made version from the store? If so, what can be made to counteract that?

Bar Akiva
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  • Possible duplicate of [How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer?](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/21068/how-long-can-i-store-a-food-in-the-pantry-refrigerator-or-freezer) – Debbie M. Jan 11 '16 at 16:42
  • The link provided by Debbie is very good. TLDR; but I'll if you use meticulous sanitation practices while cooking; and sound storage practices, you'll come close to commercial longevity, while tasting better at the same time (result for baked items won't be as good). I highly recommend a vacuum sealer and bags, especially for frozen items. – Paulb Jan 11 '16 at 20:20
  • You have different sorts of 'industrially made' stuff available from the store. For the most part, they try to minimize waste (as they don't want it to spoil before they sell it to you ... which means it has to be able to be transported and then sit on a shelf for a few days). And that means things like oxygen absorbers, preservatives, sterilization and other processes that most home cooks wouldn't bother with unless they're planning on putting the food up for long-term storage (ie, months). – Joe Jan 11 '16 at 22:21

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Its less that the simple act of cooking it at home causes shorter life of the product and more that at-home cooks are cooking for the sake of avoiding the chemicals and preservatives that are what give the commercially made things their long shelf life.

In some cases it is preservatives (sulfates in dried fruit (I think)), in some cases it is an extra processing step (ultra-high-temp-pasteurization for organic milk), while in other cases it is a matter of equipment that is simply not available for the home cook (for example canned pureed pumpkin - this is not safe to make at home (even with a proper pressure canner) but with the commercial equipment and processes it becomes shelf stable). Usually I think it is a combination of all three of these.

That being said, in regards to ice cream - I recently read somewhere that if you put the container with the ice cream in it into a Ziplock baggie then it helps it stay soft for longer.

I still have some ice cream (technically sorbet) in my freezer from over a year ago that I keep forgetting about. When I decide to chip some off the solid block it has become (I did not store it in a Ziplock baggie, just a container) it is still quite good.

Catija
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BunnyKnitter
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