How long to keep cooked food?

[markemark]

I normally think cooked food is fine if kept in a fridge for a good week.

Last weekend we had a lovely roast chicken and boiled the bones for stock.

Yesterday I made a slow cooked lamb stew and had plenty left over. However I used all the stock which was a week old. How long therefore is the stew good for in the fridge?

 

[MontyVeda]

if in doubt, put it in the freezer

 

[Joffey]

When I did my basic food hygiene certificate they advised cooked food should be kept refrigerated for 3 days. I keep stuff like bread or cheese longer but if I had leftovers they would go in the bin on day 3. Or I would freeze them.

The food doesn't necessarily spoil but the bacteria on / inside the food will be getting towards a level that might make you ill.

 

[oldwheels]

Bread will go stale after 3 or 4 days and when I was young it could have green mould on it sometimes.
Toast it.
In wartime it never did us any harm if we trimmed the fungus off.
Cheese I keep for a couple of weeks unless it is particularly good when it vanishes.
Things like soup only got dumped if they turned sour but I would not keep meat for more than 3 days and fish probably only one day.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

It depends on what it is and how you're going to reheat it. Cooked meat dishes like bolognese, stew or curry, I'd say 2 to 3 days. But if I think it's going to be in the fridge for more than 2 days I'll freeze it instead.

Rice, only 1 day preferably, maybe up to 2 at a push.

Stock is fine for a week, so long as you bring it up to boiling point for 5 minutes. I did the same as you with a chicken carcass recently and only used the stock a week later.

Cheese, no limit really as such, do the sniff test and slice off any dried edges.

 

[fossyant]

We bought waxed cheese from M&S which was on it's sell by date. Eh, it's cheese !

Snif test always works - but 3 days max for cooked food - freezer is your safe bet.

 

[Blue Hills]

Cheese, no limit really as such, do the sniff test and slice off any dried edges.

what do you sniff for? Some cheeses pong anyway.
Any mould on cheese I just cut off - I'll eat the rest.

 

[annedonnelly]

I don't worry too much, though I prefer to freeze extra stuff as I don't want to eat the same thing day after day.

But I would be careful if preparing food for anyone who is elderly, ill or prone to upset stomachs.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

what do you sniff for? Some cheeses pong anyway.
Any mould on cheese I just cut off - I'll eat the rest.

The pong can get much worse I find, when things like brie start to get towards the offensive end of the scale they can go in the bin.

 

[neil_merseyside]

The pong can get much worse I find, when things like brie start to get towards the offensive end of the scale they can go in the bin.

Brie is a bit odd, I find grainy far yukkier than runny.

 

[simongt]

The old adage; if it looks okay, smells okay and tastes okay, it's edible - !

 

[slowmotion]

We keep hard cheese in the fridge until it gets too much of a chore to scrape off the colonising blue patches.
As regards seafood, bin it. Now!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Bread will go stale after 3 or 4 days and when I was young it could have green mould on it sometimes.
Toast it.

Stale bread is fine to eat, it’s just that the starch molecules have resumed their crystalline structure. It’s not off, as you've found when toasting it. Heating it again returns the softness and can be done several times. All home made bread begins to stale as soon as it’s baked.

 

[Ridgeway]

My general rule is if the taste isn’t good then i dont eat it, not worried about the number of days and where it’s been etc but i trust my taste buds.

 

[GetFatty]

Be very careful with rice. It seems innocuous but can be deadly if cooled or stored badly