Storage of prepared food

[BerryGirl]

Usually, the recipes I prepare are too much food for one meal for myself, even if my husband eats it too. I've been putting leftovers in the fridge but then when it's time to eat them they're *so* cold! What are some good ways to safely bring the food back to room temperature? Should I not store food in the fridge?

Also, can leftovers be frozen? For example, I made Alissa's chili Thursday night, and myself, my husband, and a friend ate a lot, and then my husband and I have eaten it since, but there's still more left over! Can I put it into containers and freeze it? What foods should *not* be frozen?

[Spectatrix]

You could try upping the temperature on your fridge so that things don't get so cold. If you have a dehydrator, some foods can be popped in there for a little while to heat them back up. Many leftovers can be frozen. You don't want to freeze greens or sprouts (not unless they're mixed in with a lot of other stuff) because they break down and become less palatable. If you're unsure of how well something will freeze, you could always try freezing a small portion of it (while refrigerating the rest) and see if it still tastes good after defrosting it.

[cattzeye]

Hi BerryGirl,

What I do, if I don't want to eat a particular food cold, is about 15 to 30 minutes before I want to eat it, I take it out of the fridge and set it on the countertop. This is usually sufficient time to bring the food closer to room temp, but not long enough to allow spoilage to occur.

Christine

[RawTruth]

The recipes are great in that way - in fact, they're designed to make large enough amounts that you don't have to be making something new each day.

I don't freeze leftovers. I store them in the fridge. Then, I take them out in enought time to allow them to get to room temperature, then pop them in the dehydrator to "warm" up.

I know some people do freeze -- I don't like the idea of eating food that's even further from it's ripe, natural state. But, I do know that, with busy schedules and in order to stay raw, freezing is sometimes the best option.

With something liquid like the chili, you can "heat" it up to 105 in the top of a double boiler if you keep stirring and have a food thermometer.