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Hypothetically speaking..

Lutherf

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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?
 
...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:
 
I'm funny about that sort of thing, so I probably wouldn't eat it. But I can almost guarantee my wife would. :mrgreen:

I'm going to be pretty freaking hungry when I get home and don't feel like fixing anything else so the experiment is on either way. I will give it a few extra minutes at a boil just to be sure though. Besides, I stocked up on toilet paper last weekend so worst case scenario I'm covered there.:lol:
 
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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?

Do you want salmonella poisoning?
Because that's how you get salmonella poisoning.
 
Should be fine. If you're worried, nuke it on high for at least one minute before you eat it.

And no, any salmonella should have been killed when the soup was cooked.
 
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.
 
There won't be salmonella bacteria alive in it anymore, as long as the chicken was fully cooked the first time around. As for reheating the heck out of it, that won't help if it's turned. Try a small spoonful of the broth before heating it...if it's still good, it'll taste fine. If bad, it'll have a sour, almost metallic bite to it on your tongue, almost like a tingle.

I figure you have a 50/50 chance.
 
How about food poisoning?
Because that's how you get food poisoning also.
But hey,it's your stomach.

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?
 
...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?

Greetings, Lutherf. :2wave:

No, not as you have described it. But what I might do is strain the contents of the bowl and only use the broth. Since boiling it on high heat for three minutes - it's only chicken flavored water at that point - is what is recommended to purify even pond water to make it safe to drink, I would then add noodles and cook till the noodles were done and enjoy chicken noodle soup! The dogs would get the equivalent of a early birthday present in the chicken and vegetables and nothing - and I mean nothing - would be wasted! :lamo
 
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.
 
Yes I am.I opened up my first restaurant 15 years ago. Now I am co-owner of a culinary management company.

If he reheats it back to boiling point then wouldnt that kill any bacteria that grew on it?
 
...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?

Yup. Don't be a baby. I've eaten worse.
 
...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?

Absolutely do not eat it.
 
...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?

Almost all categories of food except seafood are perfectly OK to eat after 8 or more hours at room temperature. Hell, if it passed the smell test (your nose is your friend!) I would eat it after 24 hours.

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.
 
You are out of your depth. Stick to physics, math, and philosophy.

And cooking. I do a lot of cooking. Also, there was 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.
 
Almost all categories of food except seafood are perfectly OK to eat after 8 or more hours at room temperature.

True, 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 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). 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?

(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.)

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.

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.
 
...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.
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.
 
(post #17)
And cooking. I do a lot of cooking.
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.


(post #18)
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:
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?
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?


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).
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.


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?
Because the risk is vanishingly small and leftovers are tasty.


(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.)
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.


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.
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?
 
(post #17)

I do a bit myself. Simple bachelor stuff, though.

I cook lots of stuff, usually entirely from scratch.

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.

And many times it will.

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?

You're confusing "significant risk of something happening" with "a low risk of something extremely serious happening." I was very clearly not saying there was a high likelihood of getting botulism or food poisoning. I was saying that given the severity of some of the outcomes vs. the easiness of preventing the outcomes, why risk any of it? It's like playing Russian roullette with a revolver that has 100 chambers. Yes, as a statement of fact it's not incredibly likely for you to actually be effected --but given the severity of that 1/100 chance, what's the upshot?

Because the risk is vanishingly small and leftovers are tasty.

I'm not arguing you shouldn't eat leftovers, in fact I find it appalling when people don't. I'm questioning the wisdom and the necessity of leaving it out for longer than 4-6 hours. It's not like you can't eat leftovers unless they sit out for >4 hours.

I agree potatoes are much better hot, but I have never heard that they pose an exceptional risk if left out.

They do for botulism; many of the major outbreaks of botulism come from potatoes. Definitely do not leave potatoes out after a few hours.

(It has to do with the moderately high starchy environment that helps the botulinus bacteria create the botulism toxin.)

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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i'd recook it to boiling for 20 minutes or so
 
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