Milk, butter, cheese and the other dairy foods each get their own page here, because the official numbers differ more than most people expect: some dairy foods have a stated time on the counter, some come with a time counted from the date of purchase, and some are listed as poor candidates for the freezer. Each page shows the times from USDA FoodKeeper next to the times from FDA, CDC and university extension charts, with the date we checked each source. Where two sources give different numbers, both are shown and the stricter one comes first. A cell with no official number says Not stated rather than a guess.

Foods in this category

• CheeseHard, unopened: 6 months in the fridge and 4-6 months in the freezer for best quality. FoodKeeper Extension
• MilkPlain or flavored: 7 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer for best quality. Extension FoodKeeper
• Sour creamSour cream: 1-2 weeks in the fridge and freezing is not recommended. Extension FoodKeeper
• Heavy creamHeavy cream: 10 days in the fridge and 2-4 months in the freezer for best quality. FoodKeeper Extension