• Home

Bernd Meier

Home food safety nutrition Store holiday leftovers properly for better flavor and food safety

Store holiday leftovers properly for better flavor and food safety

Written by Unknown on 12:35 PM ,
Leftovers are a great way to stretch your food budget, but proper handling of them is important to make sure they maintain their taste and remain bacteria-free, says the Institute of Food Technologists.

In a news release, the institute suggests three keys for handling leftovers safely: proper refrigeration, containers and heating.

Leftovers need to be refrigerated within two hours of cooking (one hour on hot summer days or in warm climates). Modern refrigerators are built to cool hot dishes, and while it is both safe and energy efficient to cool food a bit before you refrigerate it, you don't have to completely cool it. Leftovers need to be just warm to touch, or around 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit before placing them in a refrigerator that is maintained at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

The best containers are thin-walled metal, glass or plastic and no more than 2 inches deep, but bags, foil and plastic wrap also work.

How long are leftovers safe in the refrigerator? It varies:
  • Cooked meat can be stored three to four days in the fridge, while uncooked ground meats, poultry and seafood will last only a day or two.
  • Raw roasts, steaks and chops (beef, veal, lamp or pork) can be refrigerated for three to five days.
  • Casseroles, veggies and similar side dishes, as well as pie, will usually last three to five days.
If you have more food than you can eat within these time frames, Shelke recommends freezing it. Uncooked meats can last eight to 12 months in the freezer, while frozen cooked meats will begin to lose their flavor after three months. Freezer temperature should be at zero F (-18 Celsius).

On the front end, how do you food has been heated to a safe temperature? The best way is to use a thermometer. Most foods, especially meats, should be heated to 165 degrees F in the center. The institute also recommends that you bring sauces, soups and gravies to a boil before serving.

It also recommends that you never reheat leftovers in crock pots, slow cookers or chafing dishes, and only reheat foods to a rare center if they were initially cooked properly.
Tweet
Newer Post Older Post

Popular Posts

  • Lexington is considering whether to add electronic cigarettes to its anti-smoking ordinance
    The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will discuss whether to expand its smoking ban to include electronic cigarettes, possibly as earl...
  • As part of UK campus food deal, Aramark puts up $5 million for Food Connection, vows to purchase Kentucky products
    By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The University of Kentucky has entered a $5 million public-private partnership designed to promote ...
  • Heavy use of e-cigarettes may deliver big doses of formaldehyde, which can be a cause of lung cancer, study suggests
    Vapor produced by electronic cigarettes can contain a surprisingly high concentration of formaldehyde—a known carcinogen that can cause lun...
  • Ten common myths about diabetes busted
    Kentucky ranks 17th in diabetes, and many Kentuckians are newly diagnosed every year with the disease, usually Type 2 diabetes. The diagnosi...
  • Ky. ranks 8th in the number of high-prescribing Medicare physicians for powerful narcotic painkillers and stimulants
    Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the ...
  • Newport school board's smoking ban, which includes e-cigarettes, would be 38th among 173 Kentucky school districts
    The Newport Independent Board of Education  passed the first reading of a proposed smoking ban Wednesday, Jan. 28 after adding electronic ci...
  • Millions of children on Medicaid are missing free check-ups; Kentucky is a little below the national average
    Millions of low-income children across the country aren't getting free preventive exams and screenings guaranteed by Medicaid, and some ...
  • Obamacare seems to be no plus for Kentucky Democrats, perhaps mainly because of the word's first three syllables
    Though the federal health-reform law has helped cover more than half a million Kentuckians and cut the state's uninsured population by h...
  • McConnell seeks 'timely and fair review' of plan for Medicare coverage of CT scans for those at high risk for lung cancer
    U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell asked Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to "give a timely and fair r...
  • Research suggests eating only during a nine- to 12-hour time period can help maintain healthy weight
    For a long time, scientists supposed that eating after midnight was unhealthy, but now a study has provided support for the notion. When sci...
Bernd Meier © . All Rights Reserved. Powered by Blogger