Is it safe to let food sit out? Hate cold foods.

[SekhemNefer]

Since it is winter time, I hate cold food from the fridge. I could put it in the food dehydrator but that does not knock of the cold in enough time for me to eat.

I was thinking of setting prepare meals out before I go to bed so when I wake up in the morning they will be room temp. And leave food out in the morning to be warm when I get home.

I was going to put the food in Tupperware to sit out. Is doing this for 8 to 12 hours safe? Is there a technique, or ingredients to keep the food from spoiling?

[Revvell]

Well, it would depend on the food but I do that. Not had a problem yet. I'm with you, I don't like my food cold.

Now that I think about it, I think I'd be concerned if it was something I'd prepared a few days ago and it's about to go bad if I don't eat it. Otherwise, if it's fresh, I don't concern myself.

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)

[Veganforlife]

Oh yeah, same here. I've never liked cold NOR hot foods. I guess I'm living the Goldilocks syndrome, huh? I like my food JUST RIGHT! LOL!

I agree w/Revvell. Be careful. Since the food is fresh, it will spoil much quicker.

[Dimond]

I'm always cold, so I try to leave food out whenever possible, especially liquids since those are the ones that affect you most. You shouldn't need to let it sit out for that long. Couple hrs max.

[SekhemNefer]

Is there any anti-spoilage tips? What did people do when there wasn't a thing called a fridge? Just use salt to keep food from spoiling? Any other methods?

[Revvell]

Is there any anti-spoilage tips? What did people do when there wasn't a thing called a fridge? Just use salt to keep food from spoiling? Any other methods?

That's for meat. If it's old enough to spoil, it's not fresh, nutrients are gone. We use freezing to keep food from spoiling. Methinks that's not what you're looking to do here. Sometime lemon juice but I've had lemon juice spoil.

[Ilse W.]

We didn't have a refrigerator when I was a kid. Everything was kept either in the cellar (it's naturally a sterady 55 F underground), or in the cupboard. Don't worry about it. If food could not be left out, we wouldn't be here. Our grandparents, great-grandparents......etc. wouldn't have lived. There WAS life before technology, imagine that!

[irishserra]

I, too, dislike cold foods sometimes. I have large bowls sitting on my kitchen counter with apples, pears, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cukes, onions, avocados, etc. I try to buy things a little under-ripe and it allows my veggies and fruits to sit on the counter longer. However, I do have to keep certain good separated, as bananas, tomatoes, onions, avocados, etc. tend to have an effect on the ripening process of one another.

A huge advantage of leaving my fruits and veggies out besides avoiding the cold, is that when we get the munchies, we tend to go for what's quickest and most convenient and in this case, it's the stuff we should be eating!

[juliebove]

Two hours at room temp. is what is considered safe.

Before refrigerators, people used ice boxes. And they got food poisoning a lot.

[Ilse W.]

What bull!

[Revvell]

Two hours at room temp. is what is considered safe.

Before refrigerators, people used ice boxes. And they got food poisoning a lot.

That's if it's been cooked OR from something with mayo in it. It'll break down faster. I leave mine out all day at room temp. I'm still here and I don't get food poisoning from doing so. Where do you get your information?

[contessa20]

I leave most of my raw dishes out on the counter in covered bowls because I just can't stand them so cold and the dehydrator takes too long to warm them up. Of course, it's winter right now and my house stays between 60 and 65 degrees so I'm even less concerned.

[Raw Angel Mom]

I take my food to work and don't put it in the fridge, but the room temperature is about 71 degreeF /21-23 degree C. If this is much warmer then that, perhaps, half hour prior to eat it, would be ok, but if this is about the same as 21-24 degree, you can let your food out much longer.

I don't think that you need to let it out that long like you said 10 -12 hours. It doesn't take that much time for a food to reach room temperature from out of the fridge. Perhaps half hour to one hour is enough

[juliebove]

That's if it's been cooked OR from something with mayo in it. It'll break down faster. I leave mine out all day at room temp. I'm still here and I don't get food poisoning from doing so. Where do you get your information?

http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/foodsafetytips111307.html

http://www.personal.psu.edu/lfl5/blogs/penn_state_food_safety/fruits-vegetables/2008/03/

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/datastorefiles/234-418.pdf

As you can see, they do mention cut fruits and vegetables. Store in the refrigerator.

I don't think mayo causes food to break down faster. Not that I eat it. I'm allergic to eggs.

[Revvell]

I didn't say mayo causes food to break down faster. Mayo (eggs) is a major cause of salmonella poisoning. Happens often when people go to picnics and leave their food out in the sun.

Far as I'm concerned I don't rely on the gov't for my information; I don't eat animal products (major cause of food poisoning AND produce which has been watered with water contaminated with animal faces) and I'm fine.

As someone said, leave it out for an hour if it's been processed. It'll come to room temp.

I left kale chips out all night and eating them now. They're happy; I'm happy. :D

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)

[juliebove]

I didn't say mayo causes food to break down faster. Mayo (eggs) is a major cause of salmonella poisoning. Happens often when people go to picnics and leave their food out in the sun.

Far as I'm concerned I don't rely on the gov't for my information; I don't eat animal products (major cause of food poisoning AND produce which has been watered with water contaminated with animal faces) and I'm fine.

As someone said, leave it out for an hour if it's been processed. It'll come to room temp.

I left kale chips out all night and eating them now. They're happy; I'm happy. :D

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)

Kale chips are dehydrated and dehydrating fully preserves the food. Would you leave a bowl of cut up watermelon out? What about baby carrots? They go all slimy if left out of refrigeration.

[Revvell]

Kale chips are dehydrated and dehydrating fully preserves the food. Would you leave a bowl of cut up watermelon out? What about baby carrots? They go all slimy if left out of refrigeration.

I have. I've left watermelon by the bed all night and eaten it in the a.m. Same with baby carrots which, btw, didn't turn slimy, they dried up.

Not the best way to preserve nutrients but yes, I've done it.

[Revvell]

Kale chips are dehydrated and dehydrating fully preserves the food. Would you leave a bowl of cut up watermelon out? What about baby carrots? They go all slimy if left out of refrigeration.

I have. I've left watermelon by the bed all night and eaten it in the a.m. Same with baby carrots which, btw, didn't turn slimy, they dried up.

Not the best way to preserve nutrients but yes, I've done it.

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)