How long can you refrigerate food for?

Andrew_Ryan_89

Hi all,

Typically my wife will could food on a Sunday for the week. She'll typically do a beef, chicken or lamb curry and we will eat it over the week. In general I want to know but especially now as she is pregnant, is it a safe thing to do?

When you have cooked meats, is there a general rule how good they are to remain in the fridge?

dlusman

I wouldnt keep a cooked curry for more than 2 days in the fridge.
Can you not portion them up and freeze them ?

redfox

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Linda32

I would go with two days as well.

As already said, what about freezing the meals. Seems an easier option.

PasturesNew

Generally I'd say 3 days max. What you can do is cook them and freeze the ones for the future days.

So cook for Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri.
Immediately freeze Wed, Thu, Fri
Eat Mon & Tue as usual.
Take the rest out one/day, the evening before, to defrost in the fridge.

Dustyblinds

The last few weeks I've been prepping my meals for the week, I will do a pan of soup and a stew in the slow cooker. I do them on a Sunday and they usually last me until Thursday. I haven't been freezing them, just refrigerate as soon as they're cool enough.
Ds has been doing this with his own meal prep for the past year or so, he freezes Friday and Saturdays prep but the rest just go in the fridge on Sunday evening as soon as they're cool.

Bellisima

I'd always been told cooked meats should only be kept in fridge for 2-3 days maximum. Even ham and bacon normally needs eating within 3 days once the pack is open. As so many people have suggested, pop the leftovers in a freezer bag or tuppaware dish and freeze for future use, in fact curries taste even better after they been frozen! Same with stews.

elizabethhull

I'm generally happy to leave things in the fridge quite a while (currently finishing up a carton of eggs that says 9th Sept on them & they're fine!!). And my parents happily left the Xmas turkey in the pantry on a cold slab for a week. None of us came to any harm.

But in pregnancy one would quite reasonably wish to be a little more cautious.

As already said, what's the problem with doing as she normally does, but freezing the portions ?
I would especially recommend this, given she's obviously pretty organised, so there are extra meals in the freezer for when she's just had the baby and REALLY doesn't want to cook.

I had an operation 2 years ago, and froze portions of shepherd's pie and lasagne just in case. When I returned from hospital I was in so much pain for a week that I was REALLY glad I had meals that only needed microwaving.

enomis

I've been doing this too for years with no problem. And some ready meals have very long use by dates on them. I know they may contain other preservatives and are packed in altered atmospheres, but without the refrigeration, they would go off!

I personally will happily continue this when pregnant (if that ever happens...) but think its a personal choice.

I think you should be careful in cooling and reheating properly, whether from the fridge or the freezer.

Tiddlywinks

I never eat refrigerated homemade / leftovers older after two days - it's just something that was drummed into me when growing up and I can't break the habit.

Anyway, given a choice, I wouldn't want to eat the same meal for three plus days - I like a bit of variety in my meal planning - so would freeze the leftovers instead.

anotheruser

I had a job in a Hilton Kitchen once.
That was always two days.

At home we'd stretch it perhaps to three days - after that, it's just horrible food.