Handling Leftovers

Most leftover fruits and vegetables will keep 4 to 5 days. Meat leftovers may be stored 2 to 3 days. If you need to store leftover foods longer than this, put foods in proper containers and freeze them.

Letting foods "cool" invites food poisoning.

Leftovers are great for quick, easy, delicious meals and snacks, but if they're not handled properly, they may cause food poisoning. The best thing to do with leftovers is to refrigerate them immediately after the first time they're served. Food poisoning can result when foods are left at room temperatures for two to three hours. Refrigerator temperatures, of below 40° Fahrenheit, stop bacteria from multiplying and also keep some bacteria from producing poisons.

Benefits of using containers

Refrigerate foods in containers designed for food storage or in other containers wrapped with moisture vapor-proof materials. This will keep air from getting to the food and drying it out. It also keeps odors from transferring. To make sure food cools promptly, use large, shallow containers instead of deep containers.

Leftovers have limited shelf-life

Most leftover fruits and vegetables will keep 4 to 5 days. Meat leftovers may be stored 2 to 3 days. If you need to store leftover foods longer than this, put foods in proper containers and freeze them. Before serving leftover meats, heat them to 165° Fahrenheit, all the way through. Before serving gravies, soups and gumbos, bring them to a full, rolling boil.

If you take care of leftovers, they'll be as tasty as they were when you first served them.

For more information on handling leftovers, contact your local county Extension office.