76
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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 ...
- 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 ...
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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. (...
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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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 399
27
votes
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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 ...
- 58.3k
27
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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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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”.
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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 ...
- 32k
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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.
- 129
11
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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, ...
- 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 ...
- 32k
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:
...
- 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 ...
- 32k
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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-...
- 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 ...
- 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. ...
- 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/...
- 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 ...
- 58k
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