This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line from the pole to my house fell down.
We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
"Sharon Chilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line from the pole to my house fell down.
We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
What is your suggestion?
Sharon
If it was still cold there was no need to pitch anything. The notion that mayo spoils quickly is false - in fact, the acidity in commercial mayo is a preservative. You wasted your mayo and leftovers - no need to waste anything else.
On Tue 30 Aug 2005 11:12:40a, Sharon Chilson wrote in rec.food.cooking:
Quoted message said:
This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line from the pole to my house fell down.
We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
What is your suggestion?
Sharon
If things were still cold to the touch, I'd keep everything. I would also have kept the mayo.
-- Wayne Boatwright *¿* ____________________________________________
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day. Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974
This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line from the pole to my house fell down.
We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
What is your suggestion?
Don't throw out anything even the mayonaise. As long as things were cold to the touch you are okay for that short a period. You may have been above optimal refrigeration temps but not seriously so for that short a time.
Don't forget that in summer it is not that unusual to have food in a buffet out for an hour or more at 20-30C degree temperatures and that includes mayonaise.
Many people definately overestimate the need for refrigeration. Mind you if the mayonaise had been there at room temp for 3-4 hours, I would have said toss it.
"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
"Sharon Chilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line from the pole to my house fell down.
We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
What is your suggestion?
Sharon
If it was still cold there was no need to pitch anything. The notion that mayo spoils quickly is false - in fact, the acidity in commercial mayo is a preservative. You wasted your mayo and leftovers - no need to waste anything else.
When in doubt, take a tiny taste before throwing anything out. But since things were still cold to the touch and the freezer kept things frozen, I'd say you have a pretty good and efficient refrigerator. You probably don't need to throw out anything else, unless it was already old and no good.
This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line from the pole to my house fell down.
We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
When in doubt, take a tiny taste before throwing anything out. But
I'm not sure tasting something is the best way to test whether it is spoiled, although it may be the best way to tell if it is spoiled enough to make someone sick.
Quoted message said:
since things were still cold to the touch and the freezer kept things frozen, I'd say you have a pretty good and efficient refrigerator. You probably don't need to throw out anything else, unless it was already old and no good.
Melissa
-bwg "We mourn the loss of every life..., and we will honor their sacrifice by completing the mission and laying the foundation for peace." -GW Bush
