Half-life of Refrigerated Leftovers . . .

[cmg]

I really need to know this in 20 minutes, please, so could someone tell me when refrigerated leftovers are no longer safe:  2, 3, 4 days?  And, please, don't answer "when they smell or have fuzz growing on them."  I'm told that non-smelly, fuzzless leftovers can still be lethal.  Thanks.

[prometheus]

Depends on the product, the weather, the temperature, things like that.

I don't know.

[cmg]

Thanks, Prometheus.  Your doubt made me hesitate.  Bye, I'm going out for dinner. 

[pianistimo]

sour cream is one of the few things that really doesn't go bad a day after the expiration date.  sometimes eggs a few days after - if you are using them in cooking.  generally - i try to stick by meat expirations - but sometimes i cut off end portions that don't look good - and use center cuts .  cutting off anything from the top or bottom, too, that seems bad.

i don't like to waste things - so instead of throwing away bread - feed it to the birds.  use the egg shells in compost - by just burying them in your garden after a good blend in the cuisinart.  i usually do this when i clean out the fridge in the summer.  put the rotten tomatoes, the wilted lettuce, the black avacado - all into a bag.  take it to the garden and bury it.  it feeds the soil and you don't have to buy as much fertilizer. 

something else - is that when you want to give a good smell to the fridge - squeeze half a lemon into the dishwater that you use to wash out the fridge.  helps to alieviate those wierd smells from lingering.  along with a shake of soda. 

i've found, too, that WHERE you store items matters a lot.  obviously your milk and milk products have to stay pretty cold.  but, if you accidentally put a salad up top - it's likely to wilt quickly.  i like to put bread and pre mixed salads in the middle and even store some lettuce actually above the veggie bin in my refrigerator.  the reason is the veggie bin seems almost the wrong temp and the lettuce lasts longer the other place.  supposedly there are ways to store veggies longer.  for instance - i read somewhere that you should actually dry off the lettuce with some paper towel and store it in a ziplock bag with the paper towel in it to soak up extra dampness from when it is sprayed in the store.  i never have time to get that detailed.  usually dry it when i make a salad. 

but, if you have to make a head of lettuce last a bit longer - i'd make a huge salad - divide it up into tupperware containers and just pull them out when you want the dried salad instead of making individual salads through the week and seeing the lettuce get more and more wilted. 

[thalbergmad]

Short and to the point

[ahinton]

Short and to the point

Now, come on, Thal - that's abit ungallant of you, is it not? P. may not quite have certain other qualities that some people over here in UK apparently ascribe to Nigella Lawson, but she (P) is at least supposed to be a forum goddess, even if not necessarily quite a culinary one (although, even there, I wouldn't mind refereeing a contest between her and Blumenthal non pianist as to who could prepare the most successful brined birdie...)

Best,

Alistair

[pianistimo]

we're talking about refrigerator leftover's here.  this isn't a culinary competition.  yikes!  i said i was competitive with cycling and piano - not cooking.  although - i can make a brined bird taste good. 

just last night i made some mashed red potatoes and garlic - and my chuck roast chunk special - by putting some flour, fresh rosemary and thyme, a bit of salt/pepper, and whatever else (garlic) into the cuisinart.  blended.  put into a ziplock back - shook the meat around.  put into a hot pan with onions.  seared.  poured a beer over it.  put some of the flour in to make gravy.  and voila.  meat, gravy, pototoes.  take that nigella.  oh.  i forgot - i put carrots in too.  by the time hubby came home, they were nice and tender. 

[thalbergmad]

take that nigella. 

I have heard that she does.

[pianistimo]

steal recipies?  who knows.  maybe i got it from someone else too?

[ahinton]

take that nigella.

As a matter of fact, I've never taken that (or, for that matter, any other) Nigella anywhere.

oh.  i forgot - i put carrots in too.  by the time hubby came home, they were nice and tender. 

Really? And, just out of interest, how were the carrots?

Best,

Alistair

[pianolist]

So what did you have to eat, cmg? I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out.

[cmg]

(P) is at least supposed to be a forum goddess
Best,

Alistair

And she certainly is!  Pianistimo, it's almost four hours since my last post and I came back to your thoughtful, thorough discussion of what I can only describe as "refrigerator physics" combined with tree-hugging sensibilities intended to give an afterlife even to black avocadoes, wilted lettuce and putrid tomatoes. 

And that's when it struck me!  Your posting -- though totally free of all religious references -- was peppered with Parables!  I saw the story of Lazarus in your Resurrection of spoiled foods into earth-friendly fertilizer!  The hint of Redemption for decaying cuts of meat that have outstayed their welcome!!  The hope for ALL of us -- even the humble head of lettuce with a propensity to spiral down into shame and spoilage -- through the device of pre-mixed portions and Tupperware entombment!! And thereby, eventual Resurrection in the form of wholesome meals for the entire family!!! Everything touched upon with the greatest delicacy, except, alas, the Prodigal Potato.  But we live in hope for that discussion, perhaps tomorrow.

And to Thal, and yes, to all of us, even AH, who sometimes view pianistimo's comments as misguided missiles fired tangentially into a thread . . . .well, we must view them again for what they truly are -- i.e. profound allegories of redemption and renewal, and not obtuse verbal assaults that render asunder the fabric of reality, thus making us wish for just one more gin and tonic.

All Hail, Pianistimo!!   

[cmg]

So what did you have to eat, cmg? I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out.

You know, pianolist, I went out to a Thai restaurant around the corner and had this peanuty chickeny thing which, on reflection, was probably a greater risk than the leftovers in my fridge. 

Haven't hurled yet.  But I'm keeping the fallboard on my piano closed, just in case. . .

[pianolist]

All Hail, Pianistimo!!

You want to be careful, cmg, she's only an hour's train ride from Penn Station.

[ahinton]

You want to be careful, cmg, she's only an hour's train ride from Penn Station.

So you know where she lives? You're one up on me, then, for all I know is that she hails from near Philly - speaking of which, I wonder how long one could safely keep leftover Philadephia in the fridge? (actually, I wonder nothing of the sort - wouldn't touch the stuff, if I'm honest!)...

Best,

Alistair

[pianolist]

Well, our Goddess has said that she lives in the area of Philadelphia, and in the spirit of brotherly love I thought I should warn cmg to keep his fridge door locked.

[ahinton]

Well, our Goddess has said that she lives in the area of Philadelphia, and in the spirit of brotherly love I thought I should warn cmg to keep his fridge door locked.

Why so? You surely don't think that she's likely to go around to steal any of its contents? One of the ten commandments warns against such theft and, even though I cannot now recall which of the ten it is (heathen beyone-the-pale heretic that I am), I have a sneaking suspicion that pianistmo may well be familiar with it.

Best,

Alistair

[timothy42b]

I really need to know this in 20 minutes, please, so could someone tell me when refrigerated leftovers are no longer safe:  2, 3, 4 days?  And, please, don't answer "when they smell or have fuzz growing on them."  I'm told that non-smelly, fuzzless leftovers can still be lethal.  Thanks.

Three days.

They lose taste after two but are still safe.

After three I pitch them.  It is probable they are safe considerably longer but that's my limit. 

That's assuming they were refrigerated fairly promptly after cooking.  If they sat out overnight i don't trust them at all. 

[pianolist]

One of the ten commandments warns against ...

There's one on adultery too, but it doesn't stop all the monosodium glutamate.

[pianistimo]

? monosodium glutimate?  oh.  adulterated food.  yes. 

my, this thread has taken on a life of it's own.  with or without parables of ressurrected food.  cmg, i appreciate your compliments and alliteration.  i've not been able yet to get cantalope seeds to sprout, though.  i try every now and then to just see if what i put in the ground will sprout.  guess that some of it is radiated.  does that affect the seeds? 

just to let you all in on a secret...i'm really into organic seeds and non-blended food items.  i mean, i had an apple yesterday that tasted like a pear.  i kept taking bites because i thought my tongue was tricking me.  it looked like an apple and tasted like a pear.  i'm serious.  now, i'm expecting the next pear i buy to taste like an apple.

i think hardiness is nice - but to a point.  sort want to just have my own garden that i know i can take the seeds from and plant more.  and, not have to buy into a system of constant seed purchases because the originals are lost.  enough speculating - i suppose.  back to reality.  or what i percieve is reality.  do you think we are in reality?  what if we are actually in an imaginary time and space - and that is how God mult-tasks and we cannot understand how He can do so many things at once?  well, sorry - i don't mean to mutate this thread. 

[ahinton]

my, this thread has taken on a life of it's own.

They do seem sometimes to have a habit of doing just that, do they not?!...

and that is how God mult-tasks and we cannot understand how He can do so many things at once?

There you go again! Fist we have someone else's adultery - now we have pianistimo going for the G-spot again...

Best,

Alistair

[cmg]

Well, our Goddess has said that she lives in the area of Philadelphia, and in the spirit of brotherly love I thought I should warn cmg to keep his fridge door locked.

Kind of you, Pianolist, but Pianistimo, as AH suggests, would never steal.  BUT she might try to convert, redeem or resurrect my leftovers. 

As to the nearness of Philly, well, all New Yorkers know that every town over here is just a sad suburb of our city and probably only an hour away by one conveyance or another . . . (sigh) . . . we just have to live with that.

[ahinton]

Kind of you, Pianolist, but Pianistimo, as AH suggests, would never steal.

Of course! - It does make one wonder, however, about the appropriateness of Steal Away in the context of Tippett's A Child of our Time, does it not?!...

BUT she might try to convert, redeem or resurrect my leftovers.

She might also preach at them, read the Bible to them - or maybe even dance around them...

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

Can someone please explain what exactly are "leftovers"?  Thal, do you know?

[pianolist]

Can someone please explain what exactly are "leftovers"?

I think they may be the portions of test matches that might have been played, had the Poms not behaved like the gentlemen that they are, and allowed the hosts to win in double quick time.

[cmg]

Absolutely correct, Pianolist!  And I'm sorry everyone thought I was discussing food!

(Note to self:  be clearer in yoiur communications in the future . . .)

[ahinton]

I think they may be the portions of test matches that might have been played, had the Poms not behaved like the gentlemen that they are, and allowed the hosts to win in double quick time.

Just you wait! "Ada"'s going to come along any minute and pour contempt - and a gallon and a half of vegemite - all over that assertion!...

Best,

Alistair

[pianolist]

All the Vegemite I ever tried stayed in the jar, even when turned upside down. Mind you, it was from down under. I expect it pours anti-clockwise.

[timothy42b]

There is a passage in Mark which states that if you believe, you cannot be harmed by drinking poison or being bitten by snakes.

I would therefore assume that pianistimo can eat leftovers forever without harm, there wouldn't be a time limit. 

[wishful thinker]

Please delete your post immediately! You know how literally she takes these things, and if she takes to drinking weed killer or some such on a day when the Lord is perhaps otherwise distracted, you could be liable as an accessory in her demise

[cmg]

Please delete your post immediately! You know how literally she takes these things, and if she takes to drinking weed killer or some such on a day when the Lord is perhaps otherwise distracted, you could be liable as an accessory in her demise

Dear Lord, Wishful!  You're right!!  I truly regret the error of my ways in posting this thread on leftovers.  God forgive me and, PIANISTIMO, PLEASE POST IMMEDIATELY SO THAT WE MAY KNOW YOUR ARE WELL !!!!!!!!!

[pianolist]

Welcome to the club, cmg. You are now posting during working hours, like everyone else, and there is no hope for you.

By the way, did you ever eat any White Castle hamburgers? I did once, and I'm sure they were more harmful than your leftovers.

[cmg]

Worse yet now is the fact that I actually get irritated when my job interferes with my posting here.  White Castle?  It's one of the earliest prohibitions I heard from my mother:  "Wash your hands after playing with that dog; and don't EVER eat White Castle burgers while I'm alive."

p.s. enjoyed very much your mini-essay on the pianola, pianolist.  Where can I learn more?  I'm totally intrigued.  Gotta get back to work.  Damn.

[pianistimo]

white castle burgers?  never heard of them.  do they sell them in the frozen section?  those little mini-burgers? 

not to change the subject too much, but my daughter informed me tonight that the dollar store around the block was robbed.  then, she titterred with laughter.  can strange food have an ill effect on people.  she had eaten a hamburger and frenchfries. 

[cmg]

I'm just delighted you're alive and well, pianistimo!

And please tell your lovely daughter that "you are what you eat. . ." 

[pianolist]

A friend (well, I think he is) in Chicago, who generally breakfasts at MacDonalds, once told Denis and me that we just had to sample White Castle once in our lives. It's part of America's history, don't you know. He drove us there on the way to O'Hare and our return across the Atlantic.

White Castle hamburgers are tiny, steamed and square, if I remember correctly, with a lot of onions on top. You eat them rather like hors d'oeuvres, almost in one go. My goodness, did they make me feel queasy! Bouncing up and down over Greenland didn't help either. I was a good deal lighter when we landed at Heathrow.

Jim from Chicago just happens to be in London at the moment, and we are taking him out to eat tonight. I'm planning my revenge . . .