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...say you made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup last night then put the leftovers in a a bowl on the counter to cool off before you put it in the fridge then kind of forgot about it and didn't find it again until morning at which point you did put it in the fridge. When you got home from work tonight would you feel comfortable reheating it and slurping down a bowl or two?
I'm funny about that sort of thing, so I probably wouldn't eat it. But I can almost guarantee my wife would. :mrgreen:
...say you made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup last night then put the leftovers in a a bowl on the counter to cool off before you put it in the fridge then kind of forgot about it and didn't find it again until morning at which point you did put it in the fridge. When you got home from work tonight would you feel comfortable reheating it and slurping down a bowl or two?
Do you want salmonella poisoning?
Because that's how you get salmonella poisoning.
Salmonella? It's chicken soup. No salmon anywhere near it.
How about food poisoning?
Because that's how you get food poisoning also.
But hey,it's your stomach.
...say you made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup last night then put the leftovers in a a bowl on the counter to cool off before you put it in the fridge then kind of forgot about it and didn't find it again until morning at which point you did put it in the fridge. When you got home from work tonight would you feel comfortable reheating it and slurping down a bowl or two?
I understand.
BTW, aren't you in the restaurant business or am I thinking of someone else? If I remember correctly you opened your own restaurant a couple of years ago. How's it going?
Yes I am.I opened up my first restaurant 15 years ago. Now I am co-owner of a culinary management company.
...say you made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup last night then put the leftovers in a a bowl on the counter to cool off before you put it in the fridge then kind of forgot about it and didn't find it again until morning at which point you did put it in the fridge. When you got home from work tonight would you feel comfortable reheating it and slurping down a bowl or two?
...say you made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup last night then put the leftovers in a a bowl on the counter to cool off before you put it in the fridge then kind of forgot about it and didn't find it again until morning at which point you did put it in the fridge. When you got home from work tonight would you feel comfortable reheating it and slurping down a bowl or two?
...say you made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup last night then put the leftovers in a a bowl on the counter to cool off before you put it in the fridge then kind of forgot about it and didn't find it again until morning at which point you did put it in the fridge. When you got home from work tonight would you feel comfortable reheating it and slurping down a bowl or two?
You are out of your depth. Stick to physics, math, and philosophy.Absolutely do not eat it.
You are out of your depth. Stick to physics, math, and philosophy.
Almost all categories of food except seafood are perfectly OK to eat after 8 or more hours at room temperature.
I am curious about waiting for it to cool before refrigerating it, though- that's a practice I never heard of. What's the reasoning? I would not think it would affect the temp inside the refrigerater enough to make any difference to anything stored there.
Straw man....someone who was a professional cook and an owner of a food service company. They are in 100% agreement with my statement, so no, I'm clearly not out of my depth.
I do a bit myself. Simple bachelor stuff, though.And cooking. I do a lot of cooking.
You say "true" that "Almost all categories of food except seafood are perfectly OK to eat after 8 or more hours at room temperature", but then switch to untrue in the section below:True,
Are you seriously suggesting that chicken and vegetables, if well-rinsed and thoroughly cooked pose a significant botulism risk after 8 hours at room temperature?but botulism is an obvious counter example. It's also true that this is very rare --but when the disease is that severe, why risk it?
The USDA also recommends we discard literally 10s of billions of dollars of perfectly good medicine due to completely arbitrary expiration date requirements. Most medicine retains potency for at least five years- did you know that? Yet, I guess in the interest of what might be termed the Holy Abundance of Safety Doctrine, most (all?) prescription medicine has an expiration date of one year or less. (BTW prescription medicine expiration dates were not universally required until the 1970s) No doubt the USDA adopts the same sort of philosophy in regard to leftover food.The USDA officially recommends not eating left overs that have been left out over 2 hours, although I find that excessive (I follow a ~4 hour rule, personally).
Because the risk is vanishingly small and leftovers are tasty.Still, their point is that you can in principle start growing harmful bacteria after that time. And while unlikely, the main question I would have is: Why risk it?
I agree potatoes are much better hot, but I have never heard that they pose an exceptional risk if left out.(It also depends on what it is, if it's a potato, you're an idiot if you eat it. If it's hard cheese or cured meat, it's pretty much guaranteed to be fine.)
Not that I make a habit of always immediately refrigerating warm food, but how much energy waste are we talking about in dollars and cents?It does affect the temperature inside your fridge, but more importantly it's just a waste of electricity. I always let my food cool down for two hours first.
(post #17)
I do a bit myself. Simple bachelor stuff, though.
I have left a few cooked items- not many but a few, out overnite and do not recall any ever failing the smell test, which has been 100% reliable for me, as in zero lifetime lower GI problems bad enough to slow me down during the day, or to cost me any sleep at night.
You say "true" that "Almost all categories of food except seafood are perfectly OK to eat after 8 or more hours at room temperature", but then switch to untrue in the section below:
Are you seriously suggesting that chicken and vegetables, if well-rinsed and thoroughly cooked pose a significant botulism risk after 8 hours at room temperature?
Because the risk is vanishingly small and leftovers are tasty.
I agree potatoes are much better hot, but I have never heard that they pose an exceptional risk if left out.
As for soft cheese, I buy brie or/or camembert several times a year and, speaking from experience they last without spoiling for at least 48 hours. I think they taste better after a day or more at room temp, too.
I can't really say. The only soft cheese that I eat is certain bleu cheeses. On the whole, most soft cheeses that I know of are made from goat's milk, which I find unpalatable.
Not that I make a habit of always immediately refrigerating warm food, but how much energy waste are we talking about in dollars and cents?
Depends on your refrigerator and how much you're putting in there. I tend to make big pots intended to last many meals that week. So if you put ~4.5 quarts of boiling hot liquid (I tend to make a lot of stews, curries, etc) in your refrigerator every week or a few times a week, it'll definitely jack up your electric bill to some amount that's not necessary.
Straw man.
Food for sale is obviously a different category from home-cooked leftovers. So much so I expect it is illegal to offer cooked food for sale which has been at room temperature for anything close to 8 hours.
Why? Is bacteria less likely to colonize home-cooked food over professionally-cooked food? Or do you merely dispute that it matters, and professional cooks are just wasting their time?
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