Homemade leftovers are hard to preserve. However, with the help of the right fridge, you can store your food items for a long time. Most people have the habit of saving up the previous night’s food to pack it for lunch at the office the next day or keeping it for dinner.
For most, the next day comes and goes and no one spares a thought to these leftover items. Stale and ignored, the food is thrown out after a few days or worse, is consumed past their sell-by date. Many of us may even end up with a tummy issue.
While most of you may think that premium gadgets like a Hitachi fridge can save food for as long as you want, there is a certain point after which food starts losing its essential nutrients.
Fresh food gets contaminated when stored over an unreasonable period, reheated, or exposed to extreme temperatures. It often results in serious stomach infections, including food poisoning.
The question is how long do these homemade leftovers stay edible? Are they safe to be consumed up to a few days after preparing? Let us find out.
According to expert nutritionists, the food items you are storing, the manner and length of time you are storing them, impact the freshness of the food items.
If the cooked food is covered right away and kept for cooling in any double- or single door fridge, then it can be stored for 24 to 48 hours (about 2 days).o
You must ensure that the food item is not contaminated before being kept in the fridge. But if you want to store the food for more than a day or two, then you must freeze it. If you refrigerate leftovers within two to three hours of serving, it is okay to keep them for three to four days straight.
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Eating leftovers that are stored for more than the recommended number of days increases the risk of food-borne illnesses. We have shared the shelf-life of a few everyday foods that we usually store in the refrigerator for quite a few days.
Rice:
Cooked rice when stored in your Hitachi fridge for days may become dry. Rice can be stored for up to three days. This is because it contains negligible or incredibly low levels of protein.
The bacteria that thrive on protein-rich foods are more likely to result in food-borne illnesses than the bacteria thriving on sugar and starch. While rice can survive for long in a double- or
single-door fridge, with time, the quality starts degrading due to natural decomposition and dehydration.
Reheating the rice with a sprinkling of water helps to rehydrate the grains. But you must do this only when the rice is less than two or three days old.
Dal:
Dals or cooked lentils if not stored start giving out a distinct pungent smell, indicating trouble if consumed. To avoid this, try to not keep the dal outside for long. If you keep the container outside the fridge for long, it invites unwanted bacteria that spoil the dish.
As soon as you finish serving the dal, keep it in your Hitachi fridge with a lid on. Leftover dals when refrigerated can survive for five to six days without any problem if stored in the right manner.
If you want to consume a bit every day, take out portions and keep them separate for reheating. If you reheat the same container over and again, there are chances that the bacteria will multiply sooner.
Curries:
You must not keep any kind of mutton, fish, or chicken curries for more than two to three days unless they are frozen. Even when frozen, they cannot remain fine for over a week. Another key factor is how you are storing them. Ensure that the container is air-tight and never expose them to extreme temperatures.
Chapattis:
Chapattis or Rotis must not be stored for more than 24 hours. This is because, beyond 24 hours, these turn our rubbery and hard to chew despite re-heating. Yet, puris and paranthas can survive longer.
The reason behind this is that these are cooked in ghee or oil and so they take longer to become rancid. So, if you know that you will eat your roti the next day, you can try applying some oil or ghee while preparing it or re-heating. This will make it softer and more edible.
Cooked vegetables or sabji:
Like other food items, cooked vegetables must not be kept for more than three to four days in the refrigerator. After four days, the quality of the vegetable starts deteriorating.
And with every passing day, the optimum taste, nutrition, taste, texture, and flavor of the dish keeps fading. If you are someone who stores and eats cooked vegetables that are two or three days old, it is time to stop. Another pro tip: Sabjis that are prepared with paneer must be consumed even earlier.
So, refrigerate on time and get rid of these leftovers as soon as you can to avoid falling ill. You can buy a Hitachi fridge from Bajaj Finserv EMI Store. Here you will get discounts and many more offers. For Bajaj Finserv EMI Network Cardholders facilities like same-day delivery, No Cost EMI on zero down payment and doorstep delivery are available.
