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
-
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)
-
Is there a guideline on how long which kind of food can last in a regular fridge ?
Most websites say 3-4 days for pretty much everything. I push it to five pretty regularly.
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/How-long-will-cooked-food-stay-safe-in-the-refrigerator
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/food-safety/faq-20058500
Is buying an auxiliary freezer an option? Freezing is the simplest way to preserve. Home canning is also an option for some foods, but it’s really important to do it correctly so that you don’t get a much more dangerous kind of food poisoning (botulism) and requires some expensive gear (pressure cooker + accessories + a lot of cooking fuel/electricity/what ever powers your stove).
To keep fridged foods fresh as long as possible, chill immediately after cooking:
Get ice paddles or use an ice bath (float a smaller metal mixing bowl with food in it in a larger metal mixing bowl or plugged sink full of ice water).
Don’t put your hot cooking pots directly in an ice bath or they will break or warp.
Don’t put a big pot of hot soup in the fridge or it will warm the rest of the fridge for hours, making other things in there not stay fresh as long.