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76 votes
Accepted

Can meat spoil outside the fridge if it's baked into bread as a filling?

There are two differences between your buns and a tin can. First, your buns were heated to a core temperature of under 100°C. Yes, your oven was probably set way higher, but the water content in your ...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 57.5k
61 votes

Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution

Make ice cubes out of coffee. Depending on how you brew your coffee, you might even have some surplus coffee from time to time. Just pour it into an ice cube tray. Then put the coffee ice cubes into ...
user24582's user avatar
  • 591
36 votes

Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution

I'm a scientist not a cook, but this is how I would do it. Conductive cup for the coffee. A thin-walled aluminium is best, but steel works reasonably ok. Glass or porcelain just insulates too well. (...
PcMan's user avatar
  • 571
34 votes

Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution

Have you considered whiskey stones? They are ice cold stones used in whiskey for the same purpose (to cool and drink whiskey without diluting the whiskey). You keep them in the freezer and use them ...
Doug T.'s user avatar
  • 1,190
32 votes

Can you store frozen dinners in the refrigerator for up to a week before eating them?

I wouldn't recommend it for a couple of reasons: Food in general degrades much faster in the fridge than in the freezer, so you risk spoilage during that time. Most prepared foods are not ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 77.7k
29 votes
Accepted

Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution

If done right, you can use a combination of ice and hot beverage that will ensure that the ice cubes have melted almost completely once you have reached an equilibrium, i.e. a cold drink. For my go-to ...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 57.5k
28 votes

Why consume DRIED apricots within 21 days?

I would be cautious but not overly so The risks are low First of all, dried fruit are not a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria due to the low water content. They might spoil but, according to ...
LNiederha's user avatar
  • 399
27 votes
Accepted

Cold / cooked pasta safe to eat?

According to Still Tasty, a site that utilizes FDA, CDC and USDA data, cooked pasta should be fine for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Use a shallow container or a Ziplock bag to store the pasta, and ...
Jolenealaska's user avatar
  • 58.3k
27 votes

Why consume DRIED apricots within 21 days?

As far as food safety goes, you should listen to the package. These are not just dried fruit. They are "partially rehydrated dried apricots". Once you begin to rehydrate (or if you don't ...
AMtwo's user avatar
  • 8,972
24 votes

Canning tomato sauce for the refrigerator

As you state, you have not followed any canning procedures, so you don't get any more storage time than the standard recommendation. Glass vs plastic doesn't matter. So, I would just recommend ...
moscafj's user avatar
  • 70.4k
24 votes

Can meat spoil outside the fridge if it's baked into bread as a filling?

I don't know about chicken specifically, but pork filled baozi (steamed buns) need to be stored in the refrigerator. Bread crust isn't exactly non-porous after all (squeeze a bun, the air doesn't ...
LightBender's user avatar
  • 1,907
20 votes

Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution

You can get ice cubes covered in heat resistant, food grade plastic. I think they are called “plastic ice cubes”.
Michael's user avatar
  • 402
19 votes

Does keeping a fridge/freezer full significantly help energy efficiency?

SUMMARY: Unless I'm missing something here or you're doing very odd things with your refrigerator, you'd at most save a couple dollars per year by keeping your fridge/freezer full. Moreover, stocking ...
Athanasius's user avatar
17 votes
Accepted

What's the benefit of chilling my cookie dough before baking?

Anecdotally, the difference is in the spread. When tested, this is confirmed, along with it affecting the browning and the texture. When you start with cold dough, the outer edges of the cookie ...
Catija's user avatar
  • 16.3k
16 votes

What is the best way to store cucumbers? Do I refrigerate or not refrigerate?

For maximum life, refrigerate them wrapped in a dry paper towel inside a plastic produce bag, in the produce drawer. If you have more than 3 cucumbers, ideally store every 3 cucumbers in separate ...
FuzzyChef's user avatar
  • 55.8k
15 votes
Accepted

Ought I refrigerate an Inner Pot with stew inside?

No, refrigeration will not damage your inner pot. Some materials (such as ceramic) can be damaged by rapid temperature changes but the one you picture appears to be stainless steel or similar alloy ...
Summer's user avatar
  • 3,022
15 votes

Converting bread recipes for an overnight rise?

There are no strict formulas or conversions, the mathematics of bread baking are too complex for such predictions. Rising at room temperature overnight is not recommended, it is generally way too warm ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 133k
12 votes

What is a refrigerator tray in older recipes?

I ran a quick search on ebay Images. Looks like a refrigerator tray is a shallow glass or enameled dish. I saw a few plastic ones, also from the 60s-70s.
Sharon Huston's user avatar
11 votes

Should I refrigerate hot sauce?

Most hot sauces are pretty inhospitable to foodborne illnesses, and can safely stay in the cupboard rather than the refrigerator. Nevertheless, the flavors in the sauces will break down over time, ...
GdD's user avatar
  • 73.1k
11 votes
Accepted

Should I refrigerate hot sauce?

I mostly agree with GdD's answer, but I'll add a couple more comments. This may be an obvious answer, but I'd generally follow the recommendation on the specific bottle. Some sauces will clearly ...
Athanasius's user avatar
11 votes
Accepted

Freeze or refrigerate bread?

Methods, from best to worst (assuming the bread is in a sealed plastic bag): Freezing Room temperature Refrigerating According to the FAQs for Dave's Killer Bread, which does not use preservatives: ...
Geremia's user avatar
  • 1,062
11 votes
Accepted

Canning tomato sauce for the refrigerator

Anyone here who gives you an estimate beyond what a typical (non-canned) refrigerated sauce would last is just going to be speculating. The thing about canning recipes from reputable sources is that ...
Athanasius's user avatar
11 votes

What is meant by freezer?

The terms freezer and deep freeze are synonymous. There is no such term as "deep fridge" in British or US English, though apparently there is in Indian English… where if you search what you ...
Tetsujin's user avatar
  • 27.6k
10 votes

How long can I leave the fridge open?

In terms of food safety you can leave the door open for the same amount of time that your food can safely sit on the counter when taken out of the fridge. This is a couple of hours for most ...
Ross Ridge's user avatar
  • 2,106
10 votes

What temperature does "keep refrigerated" mean?

I think there's a bit of linguistic confusion here. Although combination fridge-freezers (i.e. two compartments, one above freezing and one below) are common and we often call the entire appliance a ...
Cascabel's user avatar
  • 58k
9 votes
Accepted

How to spread peanut butter that is required to stay refrigerated?

The easiest solution that comes to mind would be to figure out how much you need for a sandwich, remove that from the jar, set it on the counter to come to room temp (or put it in the microwave for 10-...
Catija's user avatar
  • 16.3k
9 votes

Sanitizing fridge and freezer after days of no power

you don't have to throw out the fridge, you just need to clean it. Forget steam and boiling water, just get a bottle of spray surface cleaner and a bunch of rags, or a tub of soapy water (use ...
GdD's user avatar
  • 73.1k
9 votes
Accepted

Why don't I have to refrigerate store-bought baby food but have to refrigerate home-made purees?

Shelf-stable wet foods in cans, jars, plastic pouches, and the like are generally sterilized by heating them under pressure, to the point where literally every microorganism that might be inside dies. ...
Sneftel's user avatar
  • 24.6k
9 votes

Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution

Use a metal (drink) shaker I like ice coffee myself, and use the following near-rapid approach, which requires ice but without (too much; dependent on step 2) dilution: Brew the coffee Let it cool/...
dfrib's user avatar
  • 191
8 votes

Why do fridge temperature standards between US and other countries differ?

As a starting point, I found this article, which says: The suggested temperature specification for refrigeration of foods has been revisited from time to time as knowledge and technology have ...
Cascabel's user avatar
  • 58k

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