Leftover Management
Jesse–
It seems like every time I open my fridge, I find a mysterious plastic container lurking in the back. Often, I’m not sure how old these leftovers are. How long do leftovers last? How can I tell if they’ve turned? How long are they safe to eat?
–Wary in Pittsburgh
There’s really no hard and fast rule for how long leftovers last. Often, I’ll apply some sort of arbitrary rule (this is a week and a half old, it can’t be good anymore); other times, the symptoms are quite clear (mold and/or a funky smell). In general, if it smells bad, looks bad, tastes bad, or you can’t remember when you first ate it, it’s probably not a good idea to eat it again.
There’s really no reason for you not being able to identify how old a leftover is, though. Keep a roll of masking tape and a permanent marker in the kitchen. Every time you package some food for storage, tear off a piece of tape and label the container with the name of the contents and the date you made them. That way, next time you’re cleaning out the fridge you’ll be able to say for certain, “Beef stroganoff? We ate that two months ago!”