Are You Saving Your Leftovers Longer Than You Should?
When cooking meals or dining out at your favorite restaurant, you may have some food left over that you haven’t finished and plan to enjoy later. This is very common, especially if the meal is tasty. Beyond that, throwing away food is also generally frowned upon for being wasteful. But is there a certain point where saved leftovers become dangerous to consume? Let’s find out!
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU KEEP LEFTOVERS FOR?
In preparing your leftovers to be eaten later, the best way to store your food is in a food storage container. Usually, if you have gotten food to go from a restaurant, they may provide you with one or two to-go boxes. To-go boxes are great for storing your meal for one or two nights, but after that, the food should be transferred into a food storage container to ensure that it is properly kept.
You should save your leftovers in the fridge for three to four days maximum for safe consumption. If you eat the food at any point after that, the risk of potentially getting food poisoning increases. This is due to bacteria beginning to grow on the food. Sickness from eating food with bacteria that has started to form on it is also called foodborne illness. Any germs or bacteria that develop on your meal aren’t typically noticeable to the human eye. That means they don’t necessarily change how the food looks, tastes, or even smells, so your food can be tainted without you knowing. If you have any uncertainty about safely indulging in your meal, at that point it should just be thrown out.
After four days, if you are unable to eat it but still would like to at some point, it is recommended to just freeze it as soon as possible. Once the food is frozen, it should be preserved and okay to eat for a while. The time frame for eating frozen food is around three to four months.
IS FOOD THAT HAS BEEN SITTING OUT SAFE TO EAT?
After eating your desired amount, the ideal practice for the rest of the food that is not going to be eaten right away is to put it in the refrigerator. Food that has been sitting out at an event should only be kept at room temperature for about two hours. For foods that are about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, they should not be left out beyond an hour.
When dealing with food safety, you must keep food at the temperature that it was prepared to be consumed. This means cold food should remain cold and hot food should remain hot. Hot foods should be kept at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit with their temperature maintained by a heat source like chafing dishes. Cold foods like salads can stay cool by using ice and placing serving bowls in the container holding the ice. The idea behind this is to limit the risk and timing of the food becoming dangerous to eat. Once it is out of the safety range, bacteria can quickly develop on it, causing some unfortunate consequences if eaten.
HOW TO SAFELY REHEAT YOUR LEFTOVER FOOD
When reheating your meal to enjoy the rest of it, make sure that before you take a bite it has a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A great way to ensure this is by stirring the food so that it can be heated thoroughly throughout. Something to keep in mind is that health professionals do not recommend reheating food in a slow cooker because the steady climb in the temperature can cause germs to grow quickly on the food.
If you are reheating frozen food, ensure that is thawed out completely. This can be done by putting it in the fridge overnight, letting it sit in a container filled with cold water, or using the microwave.
Now you know how to enjoy your leftovers safely! Bon-appetit!