"Ken" wrote in message
...
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked food in the
refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks ok and smells ok...?

Yesterday (Wednesday) I threw out a heel of meatloaf I had prepared last
Saturday and had been eating since (I live alone and a meatloaf takes a
while to eat). Still looked and smelled fine but... The feral cats
outside enjoyed it anyhow.

How do you judge when to throw out something that still seems ok?

I try to limit to 5 days, but the absolute maximum is 7 days. I often freeze
portions for lunches or quick dinners later.

"Arri London" wrote

Some years ago my mother came to visit me. She found something mouldy
at the back of my fridge, handed it to me and asked me if I was bringing
my work home with me I was doing microbiological research at the
time.

Ack. One time my inlaws came over to spend the day while we were
at work. I happened to be in class that day. Suddenly I had a
horrible thought ... what if my mil found something to eat in the
refrigerator!! There was some scary stuff in there for some reason.

That's a bad habit I have, leaving stuff in there too long.

nancy

"Nancy Young" wrote

That's a bad habit I have, leaving stuff in there too long.

I don't do this. I am the clutter queen, but having growing stuff
in my bath or kitchen just creeps me out.

"Nancy2" wrote

It depends on what your own system can handle. If you eat it and it
makes you sick afterwards, you kept it too long. I can't eat hamburger
after the 3rd day; hard boiled eggs the same; fried chicken the same.
Proteins are the most touchy things, for me. It doesn't always smell
or look bad when it is bad.


Four days, max, for stuff like meatloaf, and I tend to toss everything
on the third day.

Stuff like tuna salad? Two days.

For me it is not a matter of whether it is spoiled. I don't want to eat
food that is not fresh.

The Ranger wrote:

Ken wrote in message
...
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked
food in the refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks
ok and smells ok...?

Not necessarily. I find certain cooked foods (ground beef,
fish, edamame) don't handle time very well. They break down
quickly but don't necessarily put off a stench more than when I
first sealed them in the package. But if I reheat them and eat
them, I'm as likely to spend the next 24 hating life.

One of my BIL can't smell anything -- even when it's gone
ff -- so he's quite likely to eat it unless it's become
penicillin. His internal system is much more error tolerant
than mine (or many members of his immediate family.)

My MIL's scheduled is:
Chicken/Turkey - 2 days refrigerated (2 months frozen)
Beef
gb - 3 days (3 months)
steak/roast - 4 days (3 months)

Fish - 1 day (3 months)
Pork
sausage - 4 days (6 months)
chops - 3 days (5 months)
roasts - 5 days (6 months)
Sauces -- 3 days (4 months)

She hasn't experienced an upset stomach from food longer than
I've been alive so I guess her table's pretty accurate.

The Ranger

FYI, on the frozen stuff, if it's kept frozen at 0F or below it will
remain safe to eat indefinitely. After a year or two the asthetic
quality may decline, but it will still be safe to eat.

Nancy Young wrote:

"Arri London" wrote

Some years ago my mother came to visit me. She found something mouldy
at the back of my fridge, handed it to me and asked me if I was bringing
my work home with me I was doing microbiological research at the
time.

Ack. One time my inlaws came over to spend the day while we were
at work. I happened to be in class that day. Suddenly I had a
horrible thought ... what if my mil found something to eat in the
refrigerator!! There was some scary stuff in there for some reason.

That's a bad habit I have, leaving stuff in there too long.

That's one reason we aim for no leftovers. Leftovers tend to become
science experiments unless they're something that is really cut out for
being eaten a day or two later -- marinated salads, for instance -- or
something that people here will devour no matter how much there is --
lasagna, for instance.

Serene

In article ,
Ken wrote:

What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked food in the
refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks ok and smells ok...?

Yesterday (Wednesday) I threw out a heel of meatloaf I had prepared last
Saturday and had been eating since (I live alone and a meatloaf takes a
while to eat). Still looked and smelled fine but... The feral cats
outside enjoyed it anyhow.

How do you judge when to throw out something that still seems ok?

TIA

Ken

Well my fridge keeps a steady 33F. Stuff lasts forever. I can have a
quart of milk a month before it spoils. But 5-7 days is my limit too. On
the short side for things with meat, a bit longer maybe for other things.

Pete C. wrote in message
...
The Ranger wrote:
Ken wrote in message
...
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked
food in the refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks
ok and smells ok...?

Not necessarily. I find certain cooked foods (ground
beef, fish, edamame) don't handle time very well. They
break down quickly but don't necessarily put off a
stench more than when I first sealed them in the package.
But if I reheat them and eat them, I'm as likely to spend
the next 24 hating life.

One of my BIL can't smell anything -- even when it's gone
ff -- so he's quite likely to eat it unless it's become
penicillin. His internal system is much more error tolerant
than mine (or many members of his immediate family.)

My MIL's scheduled is:
Chicken/Turkey - 2 days refrigerated (2 months frozen)
Beef
gb - 3 days (3 months)
steak/roast - 4 days (3 months)

Fish - 1 day (3 months)
Pork
sausage - 4 days (6 months)
chops - 3 days (5 months)
roasts - 5 days (6 months)
Sauces -- 3 days (4 months)

She hasn't experienced an upset stomach from food
longer than I've been alive so I guess her table's
pretty accurate.

FYI, on the frozen stuff, if it's kept frozen at 0F or
below it will remain safe to eat indefinitely. After a
year or two the asthetic quality may decline, but it
will still be safe to eat.

True enough but I don't know of any non-professional rated
freezers that will hold food at a constant 0°F or less...

The Ranger

Blinky the Shark wrote:
George Shirley wrote:

Ken wrote:
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked food in the
refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks ok and smells ok...?

Yesterday (Wednesday) I threw out a heel of meatloaf I had prepared
last Saturday and had been eating since (I live alone and a
meatloaf takes a while to eat). Still looked and smelled fine
but... The feral cats outside enjoyed it anyhow.

How do you judge when to throw out something that still seems ok?

TIA

Ken


My hard and fast rule is that if it has green fuzz growing on it and
it wasn't originally green toss it.

Also, if anything on it moves.

Yep Anything trotting around my fridge wearing a green fur coat would get
the heave ho!!

On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 13:38:15 -0700, "The Ranger"
wrote:

Ken wrote in message
...
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked
food in the refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks
ok and smells ok...?

Not necessarily. I find certain cooked foods (ground beef,
fish, edamame) don't handle time very well. They break down
quickly but don't necessarily put off a stench more than when I
first sealed them in the package. But if I reheat them and eat
them, I'm as likely to spend the next 24 hating life.

One of my BIL can't smell anything -- even when it's gone
ff -- so he's quite likely to eat it unless it's become
penicillin. His internal system is much more error tolerant
than mine (or many members of his immediate family.)

My MIL's scheduled is:
Chicken/Turkey - 2 days refrigerated (2 months frozen)
Beef
gb - 3 days (3 months)
steak/roast - 4 days (3 months)

Fish - 1 day (3 months)
Pork
sausage - 4 days (6 months)
chops - 3 days (5 months)
roasts - 5 days (6 months)
Sauces -- 3 days (4 months)

She hasn't experienced an upset stomach from food longer than
I've been alive so I guess her table's pretty accurate.

The Ranger


Your MIL must throw out a lot of perfectly good food.
And, she'll keep pork sausage longer than chops?

Ross.

ha scritto nel messaggio
...
On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 13:38:15 -0700, "The Ranger"
Pork
sausage - 4 days (6 months)
chops - 3 days (5 months)

Your MIL must throw out a lot of perfectly good food.
And, she'll keep pork sausage longer than chops?

Ross.

Depends on the sausages. In Umbria they are so salty you can hang them in
the garage and dry them with 0% spoilage.

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 13:38:15 -0700, "The Ranger"
wrote:
Ken wrote in message
...
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked
food in the refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks
ok and smells ok...?

Not necessarily. I find certain cooked foods (ground beef,
fish, edamame) don't handle time very well. They break down
quickly but don't necessarily put off a stench more than when
I
first sealed them in the package. But if I reheat them and
eat
them, I'm as likely to spend the next 24 hating life.

One of my BIL can't smell anything -- even when it's gone
ff -- so he's quite likely to eat it unless it's become
penicillin. His internal system is much more error tolerant
than mine (or many members of his immediate family.)

My MIL's scheduled is:
Chicken/Turkey - 2 days refrigerated (2 months frozen)
Beef
gb - 3 days (3 months)
steak/roast - 4 days (3 months)

Fish - 1 day (3 months)
Pork
sausage - 4 days (6 months)
chops - 3 days (5 months)
roasts - 5 days (6 months)
Sauces -- 3 days (4 months)

She hasn't experienced an upset stomach from food longer than
I've been alive so I guess her table's pretty accurate.

Your MIL must throw out a lot of perfectly good food.
And, she'll keep pork sausage longer than chops?

She's _never_ been sick or made someone sick from something she
considers questionable. I'd say that's a pretty admirable track
record. Also, if it worries her, it's not perfectly good food;
she wouldn't be able to enjoy the food "wondering" throughout
the entire meal if she was going to get sick or cause someone
to get sick. shrug

The Ranger

Ken wrote:
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked food in the
refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks ok and smells ok...?

General rule of thumb- 7 days is two days two late.

Jill

Ken wrote:
What's your rule of thumb for throwing out cooked food in the
refrigerator. I am never sure - if it looks ok and smells ok...?

Yesterday (Wednesday) I threw out a heel of meatloaf I had prepared last
Saturday and had been eating since (I live alone and a meatloaf takes a
while to eat). Still looked and smelled fine but... The feral cats
outside enjoyed it anyhow.

How do you judge when to throw out something that still seems ok?

TIA

Ken

If it's moldy or smells funny I throw it out. Otherwise
I consider it good to eat - and do!

Kate


--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Serene Vannoy wrote:

Nancy Young wrote:


"Arri London" wrote

Some years ago my mother came to visit me. She found something mouldy
at the back of my fridge, handed it to me and asked me if I was bringing
my work home with me I was doing microbiological research at the
time.


Ack. One time my inlaws came over to spend the day while we were
at work. I happened to be in class that day. Suddenly I had a
horrible thought ... what if my mil found something to eat in the
refrigerator!! There was some scary stuff in there for some reason.

That's a bad habit I have, leaving stuff in there too long.


That's one reason we aim for no leftovers. Leftovers tend to become
science experiments unless they're something that is really cut out for
being eaten a day or two later -- marinated salads, for instance -- or
something that people here will devour no matter how much there is --
lasagna, for instance.

Serene

Almost everything I eat is leftovers. I cook a big batch
of something and eat it every day until it's gone - 1-3 weeks.
Most things last 1-2 weeks. My Brunswick stew tends to last 3
weeks as I always end up with a huge pot of it. Many things
taste better reheated. Especially soups and stews, which it
mostly what I make for convenience sake. But food that is
handled, cooked, and stored properly can last a good long time.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?