How Long Do You Keep Food in Your Fridge?

Unless it smells, is fuzzy, discolored, slimy, etc...we keep it. My husband will keep things a little longer than I do, because I would rather not risk getting sick...but either way. We do not have a rule of days, just a "does it smell" rule, I guess. If it's a rule.

I do not usually eat anything more than 2 days old (things like left overs). For me I think that the day after I cook something is all I can do. My husband is the same way. He will take left overs for his lunch but beyond that, we don't keep it. I go shopping weekly.

Wow I would have been pissed, what a waste of food!
Around here it just depends, some things only hold up for a few days, some longer. I would say on average most leftovers are good for two to five days, but that's not a food safety fact or anything that's just my opinion, and how I've been eating most of my life.

EH! A little mold is merely a prophylactic anti biotic!

**teasing**

A three day rule for MOST food items seems a bit harsh to me if the frig is at a cold enough setting. I make sure leftovers are packed as air tight as I can get them...and for many things, 5 or six days is my personal max.

Fish items go in three...

Cheeses however can last a while, and I frequently trim off mold. Better with age I think (like ME!!! lol).

****Wine kills bacteria...yes???***

I don't have a hard and fast rule. I keep it until it either gets eaten or smells funky, grows fur, or tries to attack me when I open the door.
Most leftovers don't last more than a week around my house before they are eaten.
But I have no problem with keeping them longer than that if they still smell edible.
I've been storing food this way for years and it has never made me sick.

Wasteful, ignorant, and I would be pretty upset.

No, we don't have a 3-day rule. Depending on the item, we might have a 7-day rule. We also use our senses (sight, smell) to figure it out. Since most of the time we are heating it up, chances for any food-borne illness are slim to none. And we haven't had any food poisoning in our house up to this point.

------Pretty much what Christy Lee said...

I would have been so upset also.

I cook a lot so we have the leftovers for lunches and by Thursday, what ever is still in there since Sunday ends up being our leftover buffet.. After that meal, unless it is from the last few days we throw it out, because Friday is trash day.

I'm sure the food was probably ok but NO, I personally do not eat food after 3 days. My hubby on the other hand will eat it for much longer. I would be happy if your MIL would come clean out my fridge every three days lol.

That's a stupid rule and a huge waste of food. We don't mind eating leftovers and specifically eat them Thursday nights since that's Bible Study. I would be upset if my MIL took it upon herself to do this. I would have a chat with her so she doesn't do it again. I prep all our food and have a ton of containers in the fridge with stuff that's ready to eat. It's my job to stay on top of it and keep it cleaned out. Good luck.

Until I eat it or until it rots which ever comes first.
I would've been upset if anyone threw out my leftovers after only 3 days.

"Ice Box Man" by George Carlin - cracks me up completely EVERY SINGLE TIME I HEAR IT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg3viTvOzhI

Kind of varies but I like leftovers too and use a 5ish day rule in general. 3 seems quite short. Pretty sure my mother didn't employ that rule and we were fine as a family. But since other people use 3 day too, I'm sure your MIL did think she was being helpful. Hopefully she will cook something for you now. :)

I worked in a restaurant for many years, so I am pretty picky about not eating anything that has been there for more than 72 hours.

I also try not to have leftovers, unless I have a specific plan for the leftovers. I do cook (almost) every day. I hate to waste things, so I plan to use food within three days.

According to all of the Food Safety courses I have taken over the years you are putting yourself at risk by eating food that is older than three days. Whether the risk is high or not, I don't know. I just know that having it drilled into my head for so many years certainly makes the idea of eating food older than three days pretty unappetizing.

I also batch cook at times, but I freeze the unused portions for later use.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-he...

http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/eating-nutrition/safety...

Seems in Canada the rule is 2-3 days, while in the US it is 3-4 days.

I would have been so upset!! We go 5 days and anything after that, do a smell and taste check first and if it smells and tastes OK, we'll eat it up to a week after cooking. I couldn't live without having more than a few days to eat something as I often do the "cook once, eat twice" thing.

I don't have a set rule. But my frig freezes things very quickly and always has. So if I do forget it, it is frozen as if it were in the freezer.

A three day rule might have been in the past when frigs were not so good. If it does not smell or have fuzz it is there for a couple of weeks. After that it goes because neither hubby or I will eat it. We have not gotten ill from the food in the frig.

There would be a talk to my MIL if she "helped" me by removing my food without asking.

I hope you clear this up soon or she won't be invited back.

the other S.

How long do I keep food in the fridge? Waaay too long! haha I always put left-overs in with the best of intentions. Sometimes they are eaten, often times, they are not and get pushed to very back, where no brave soul ventures! :) I typically try to clean out all the containers the day before I do major grocery shopping. I do this mainly so there is room for the new stuff. I do get those surprise containers that are growing a new life form, but that's par for course! haha

I would probably be a little upset if I were looking forward to a specific dish in the fridge to find it missing; but at least she washed the container! ;-)

I use the 3 day rule, but I don't think you are putting your health at jeopardy either.

I am picky. I get grossed out easily. Probably a little over the top in that area.

My personal opinion, she overstepped her boundaries by throwing out that much food.

I will eat cooked for for 7 days after it is cooked. That was our cook's rule at the sorority and I have followed it without incident since then. Of course - if it smells or looks funny, I toss it. I do NOT throw out food from other people's refrigerators.

Well, I know I'd be a tad upset if my fridge was cleaned out like that!!

We have leftovers on Sunday - and Monday is Pasta night so it's rare there are leftovers then. So 2 to 5 days. If it's not used by Sunday? It's gone.

I've NEVER heard of the 3 day rule!!

I don't keep leftover for more then 3-4 days, anything with shell fish gets tossed after two. I would rather waste food them risk getting sick, although I do get the likely hood of getting sick off old rice is basically non-existent, lol. I also just think the food gets dried out and does not taste as good after just a few days.

We're more like a 5 day rule house and never have a had a problem, but not very often do lefovers last that long.

What a waste of food. You know there was a time when there were no expatriation dates and when people had very little to eat.

Most left overs don't last that long in our fridge but I only throw stuff out when it is bad (smell, texture, etc.). I know what its like to go without as an adult and a child so I try to never waste food and I teach my daughter to not waste either. I do teach her to know when you cant eat something by smelling it, looking if its discolored, etc.

I have a three day rule too. My husband has a 1-2 day rule depending on what food it is. We really don't care much for leftovers though.

I usually go by the 3 day rule, too. We do a lot of leftovers--I'll make enough for 2 nights (meatloaf, lasagna, chicken casserole, etc). My MIL is the opposite--she'll save everything FOREVER. One apple slice, 1/8 chicken breast, 1/2 a hot dog, etc...

I am with your MIL on this one.

Your system sounds just fine. (Except the egg dish, because reheated eggs never taste right.)

The part that would bother me worse than the food loss is that your MIL was violating your kitchen, invading your space and touching your stuff. I can not stand the idea of leaving a visitor alone in my home, so we never do it.

Race pilaf would've been fine for a week. I wouldn't keep anything in a pot though in the fridge. I would Store it properly and Tupperware or cover glass bowl.
I would not eat chicken breasts that were a week old.
And an omelette? That wouldn't even make it into the fridge. To me in on what is something you prepare and eat immediately. So in my household I would never make an omelette out of 18 eggs!
Deli meat? Four days tops.
Cooked leftovers? Two days.

I personally do not like old left overs, yet my husband does.

I recall taking a prenatal class and they said to throw out the opened baby food after 3 days. Basically because it would not taste as good and the baby will not eat it. I do not think the nurse actually said it was dangerous, rather less appealing.

I try to scale down my cooking so I don't have many leftovers but there are times I end up with a bunch.

Around here, if it is not eaten within 3 days, it pretty much won't be eaten. I clean out the fridge weekly.

I do use some of the throw out food to add to my dog's dinners if it is something they like and is ok to add to their dry food. I usually boil chicken or hamburger and mix with rice to add to my doggie dinners so I do make enough to last a few days.... but that is doggie only.

Now my hubby hates for me to throw anything out and he'll eat anything but not me.

I personally don't have a set in stone rule. Pizza can last about 5 days where as I don't keep left over rice. I think 99% of things it falls between 3 to 5 days if stored properly but I have done some batch cooking (Pasta bakes, soups and taco meat mostly) That I have kept for 10 days.

I think the mindset is that after 3 days, if you haven't eaten it, you won't. I'm with you though, I could eat leftovers for 4-5 days. Some foods, in my opinion, are better as leftovers.

With my history in child care and working with people who have developmental disabilities the rule in Oklahoma for these places is 4 days.

We also have to put tape on top and time and date it so if we have an inspector come in they can pick up any prepared/left over food and know exactly how long it's been in.

I will only reheat left overs once. But leaving leftovers in the fridge. We usually leave them there About 3 days. We usually do not try to have leftovers much.

My husband and I use the 'does it taste off?' measure of when to toss something. We also cook food in semi-large batches (a pot of stewed beans for example) and use it for four or five days. It's been almost a couple decades together and I don't think we've had any sickness incidents from bad food. Definitely I would have a talk with my MIL if she did that... or maybe just the expression on my face and tears would make my feelings clear...

Excellent question...I've been meaning to ask this myself.

Some people's tolerances for leftover foods is pretty interesting here.

Most people I know 'say' 3 days is there house rule, but in practice, it probably gets extended depending upon how well the item was packaged.

As I have now reached my mid-50's, I'm here to report, that cooking something the 'other day' takes on a whole new dimension. I pulled out some leftovers, was looking forward to those leftovers too, and when I saw mold on it, had to check the calendar around the time I remember having made that dish, and a good 2 weeks had passed. I am no longer a reliable teller of time I think.

But you're leftovers sound tasty and still fine and I would have been upset with someone who presumptively threw out food I was planning on eating.

Thanks KM for the LOL. ha ha

Yes, I have heard of the 3 day rule, but I stretch my leftovers til day 7.

Let it go. Your MIl is only there for a limited visit hopefully. However, I agree with Jill K., I do not allow visitors alone in my home. However, I do not see a MIL as a 'visitor'.

I have been known to keep food in the fridge 'til it becomes a science experiment. Of course, I wouldn't EAT said experiment.

3 days seems way too short. We've also gone much longer eating leftovers and NEVER gotten sick, like EVER. What a waste of food - I'd have been pretty unhappy too (in my own head, of course. If she thought she was doing a favor for you, I'd have graciously thanked her for my clean fridge.) I'd tell her that since she's a guest, she doesn't have to 'work' while visiting. Or if she insists, always have something else ready for her to "help" you with next time she visits.

Slightly different situation...my MIL visited us once when we were young newlyweds. I came home from work one day to find she's changed our bedsheets. Which was nice of her. But our BEDSHEETS, ya know, where her own son and I...um...do stuff... It totally weirded me out. From then on, I insisted she be a guest and NOT do any housework while visiting, unless it was cooking, which she LOVES to do and is FABULOUS at.

Aaaah, MILs. Gotta love 'em. Or not.

I really don't like to waste things, especially food. I frequently refer to
stilltasty.com when I question the safety of leftovers.