How close do you follow the spoil times for a given dish

[taxlady]

There was a supermarket chain in Denmark, Irma, that would give you the item for free, if you found something in the store that was past the "sell by date". It is supposed to be sold before the "best by date" or the "use by date". That way the customer gets an item that still has some "shelf life". Best by dates are meant to indicate that the item will be at its best before that date. A "use by date" was probably invented by lawyers, to protect the company.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Since georgevan uses the terms "given dish" and "recipe", I bet he's not asking about "sell by" dates on individual ingredients or shelf stable commercial products. [emoji6]

My rule of thumb is similar to Andy's, except it's more like 3-4 days in the fridge. If something is in there longer, I usually pitch it. Unless Himself finds it first. He's pretty much like Charlie - he can eat any old thing and not get sick.

Fish is the only exception. If it isn't gone the day after cooking, it gets tossed.

 

[dragnlaw]

Oh, my gut will tell me if it was spoiled. For sure...

Vinylhanger's epitaph - LOL

My gut lied!

 

[georgevan]

Since georgevan uses the terms "given dish" and "recipe", I bet he's not asking about "sell by" dates on individual ingredients or shelf stable commercial products. [emoji6]

My rule of thumb is similar to Andy's, except it's more like 3-4 days in the fridge. If something is in there longer, I usually pitch it. Unless Himself finds it first. He's pretty much like Charlie - he can eat any old thing and not get sick.

Fish is the only exception. If it isn't gone the day after cooking, it gets tossed.

What i mean is this. Let's say i make a dish of hamburger with pasta and onions and celery. I eat some for supper and put the rest in the fridge. How long will it last before it spoils?

 

[dragnlaw]

Since georgevan uses the terms "given dish" and "recipe", I bet he's not asking about "sell by" dates on individual ingredients or shelf stable commercial products. [emoji6]

My rule of thumb is similar to Andy's, except it's more like 3-4 days in the fridge. If something is in there longer, I usually pitch it. Unless Himself finds it first. He's pretty much like Charlie - he can eat any old thing and not get sick.

Fish is the only exception. If it isn't gone the day after cooking, it gets tossed.

What i mean is this. Let's say i make a dish of hamburger with pasta and onions and celery. I eat some for supper and put the rest in the fridge. How long will it last before it spoils?

georgevan, I think you've been pretty much answered. Seems like the consensus is anywhere from 2 to 5 days (max). If you know you are not going to eat it within 3 days - freeze it.
Nobody can tell you precisely how long it will last. There are too many variables. How cold your fridge is, where in the fridge is it stored, how well covered it is, how long it sat on the counter before you put it in, was the meat fully cooked, etc, etc.

So take the middle road of 3 days.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

What i mean is this. Let's say i make a dish of hamburger with pasta and onions and celery. I eat some for supper and put the rest in the fridge. How long will it last before it spoils?

Generally speaking, the fresher the food the longer it's safe to eat. Like dragn said, you have to consider the variables. Was the hamburger fresh bought that day? Or was it in the meat drawer of the refrigerator for, say, three days? Did you cook the pasta the day you made the dish? Or did you use already cooked pasta you found in the back of the fridge from some dinner last week? And the other points that dragn brought up.

If you aren't sure if it's spoiled or not, you can always fall back on the old saying of "when in doubt, throw it out". Better to be safe than sick - the cost of what food you wasted is always cheaper than a visit to the doctor...or worse.

 

[jennyema]

Ditto

But as GG is about to point out - spoilage doesn't always smell.

I was going to also point out that the smell test is unreliable, since food goes bad before it smells.