I don’t do “batch cooking” per se, but often cook something larger on saturday/sunday so I have leftover, either for Monday/thuesday lunch or for when coming back from sport, keeping food 2-3 in the fridge doesn’t worry me (Obviously, I am not gonna keep a tartare so long in the frige, and don’t even cook meat). Things start to be more worrysome when I still have leftover on Wednesday/Thursday. yesterday night I threw away some beans from Saturday I started to have a doubt.
So my question is basically
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How to optimize food preservation in the fridge (I have a small fridge with a very small freezer compartment, in winter when the temperature doesn’t get above 5 degree I can use my balcony for extra space, but it’s already over)
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Is there a guideline on how long which kind of food can last in a regular fridge ?
Define cool properly, please.
Like don’t leave it out at room temperature for hours - bacteria die above 60C and go dormant below 4C, so you need to minimise the amount of time the food spends in the “danger zone”
As the others have said, dont put hot food in the fridge. Refrigerators were built to keep things cool, rather than cooling things off. Putting hot stuff in the fridge causes it to slowly cool and stay at a temperature range where bacteria can thrive. 40F-140F, also known as the “danger zone”, is the temperature you really want to rush through when dealing with food. The longer food stays at those temps, the more bacteria can grow.
If you got something big and heavy, like a casserole dish, put the container in an ice bath to speed the cooling. If its a liquid, like a pot of soup, spreading it thinly cools it quicker and more evenly. Like pouring it out into a casserole dish or high baking pan and putting the dish in an ice bath. The even cooling is the important part.
Alternately, you don’t want to leave stuff out of refrigeration for too long. Cooked rice is a big one, as it can very quickly go bad and get you sick if left out for longer than a couple hours.
The thing to bear in mind is that the bacteria in the food isnt the issue. You can kill bacteria very easily just by cooking/heating food. The problem comes from the waste the bacteria makes, which is what gives you food poisoning. The waste cant be cooked off. When food is allowed to linger in the “danger zone”, the bacteria can easily multiply exponentially, producing more waste. So long as youre careful when cooking and chilling food, it can last a good week in the fridge.
the other reply covered the actual ranges and why it’s important, but in case it’s not obvious:
You should never put hot food in the fridge. Particularly food with a lot of thermal mass like a bowl of soup or thick lasagna. While that would cool the food quicker than just leaving it out, the heat you’re adding is going to heat up the other items in your fridge and risk their safety. And since it will all eventually cool back down it will not be obvious what food was at unsafe temps or how long.