Get The Most Out of Your Leftovers! | Food Storing Tips

As you probably already know, I LOVE LEFTOVERS. I usually try to make enough food at dinner, so that I have plenty to take for lunch at least once, if not twice. I don't always have enough, but when I do, I make sure that it's stored correctly. There's nothing worse than thinking you have a yummy leftover lunch, and then opening the fridge to find fuzzy green mold all over. When stored properly, your leftovers should last around 5 days. This will leave you with ready-to-go lunch options, as well as emergency dinners.

Some of you have said you love leftovers too, and some have said you don't. For those of you that don't like leftovers, you may not be storing your food correctly. If that's the case, you may be left with a weird texture, such as too hard or too soggy foods.

This article will hopefully give you some tips to storing your leftovers.

Here are some tips to storing your food correctly:

1.  Store your food in flat containers.
The large, deep plastic containers are nice for holding a lot at one time, but are not great for storing piping hot food. When you store the hot, cooked food in a thinner layer, it's allowed to cool quicker. This ensures your food will be kept at a safe temperature.

   

2.   Make sure your storage containers are clear & airtight.

This tip is pretty self explanatory. If you must store your food in the original pan or dish, make sure to cover tightly with foil or clear wrap. 

3.  Never leave your food out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, after it is cooked.

Modern refrigerators can handle heat, if you're worried about the dish not cooling quick enough. Don't worry about letting your food cool. You want to get the leftovers in containers and into the fridge, before 2 hours is up. It's okay to leave it out while you're eating.

4.   Label food.

I need to follow this tip more often. There will be food in my fridge that I completely forget is there. When I go to pull it out, I have no idea what it is or how long it's been there. If you label your leftovers, there will be no question.

5.   Don't over-crowd your fridge.

Even though having a lot of leftovers are nice, you don't want to over-crowd the area. You could be putting yourself in danger of food poisoning. Cold air needs to circulate in order to keep the food at a safe temperature. If necessary, freeze the meals you cannot fit into the fridge.

6.   Use your sniffer!

Even food that is properly stored may go bad before 5 days. Make sure you really look over your food, and smell it to make sure it doesn't smell funky.

For more information, visit foodsafety.gov.

Until next time...