Thanksgiving leftovers can provide a special kind of joy — all the delightful flavors from your feast, accessible at your leisure. And many claim that they taste even better than they did on the actual holiday. That sentiment is backed by food science: Chemical reactions that don’t stop after food is cooked can help deepen and further develop flavors, helping leftovers sometimes be even more appealing than they were originally, according to the Institute of Food Technology.
But leftover food can also pose hazards. During a busy holiday meal, food may be left out for longer than is actually safe — and in a rush to clean up, it may not always be stored properly. Plus, in the holiday hubbub, people may not think about how long food is really good for. It’s not uncommon for people to make significant errors when storing food, according to a survey published in the journal Foods, such as leaving food out on the counter too long before putting it in the refrigerator, or eating it after it should really have been discarded.
November and December are the peak months for food poisoning caused by the bacteria Clostridium perfringens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Called “the cafeteria germ,” it grows in cooked foods such as turkey and beef kept at room temperature. The CDC says it’s the second most common cause of food poisoning in the U.S.
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But it’s possible to keep almost all of your leftovers tasty and safe to eat for at least a few days. And a majority of it can be frozen if you won’t eat everything within that time. The trick is to do it well. Poor storage can lead to less-than-tasty leftovers, but different kinds of food require different treatment. Here’s what you need to know.
Consider Your Leftover Profile
Are you someone who eats a big turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving and then quickly gets over the leftover thing? Or do you love to stretch out the feast as long as possible?
“Think back to how much food you ended up throwing away last year,” says Amy Keating, RD, a Consumer Reports nutritionist. “Food waste is a big problem in this country every day, but especially on Thanksgiving.”
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), nearly 200 million pounds of turkey meat is tossed during the holiday week. And not everyone at the holiday table is going to have a serving of every side dish you prepare, Keating says.
“You may need enough of the popular sides, such as stuffing or mashed potatoes, to serve everyone, but otherwise, count on about half of the people at your table eating each side,” she says. The NRDC’s Guest-timator calculator can help you figure out how much food you need, taking into account how long you’re willing to eat leftovers.
As you make this year’s dinner, Keating also suggests taking notes on what you served, how many people were there, and how much food was left. “Keep the notes where you store your Thanksgiving recipes,” Keating says. “They’ll come in handy next year.”
Think Ahead
If you figure out in advance what you’d like to do with your leftovers, you can minimize the waste. You might make a rice side dish for the holiday that would pair well with a piece of chicken or fish later in the week. And you can use up leftover turkey by making soup.
Check Your Cabinets
Did you host a big Thanksgiving last year, too? Check your cabinets to make sure you don’t have leftover cans of pumpkin or cranberry, which would likely still be good. Many canned foods can be stored for two to five years, according to the USDA, and high-acid foods (like juices, tomatoes, or pickles) last between 12 and 18 months in a can. (Dented or bulging cans should be tossed, however, because they could be unsafe.)
Follow the 2-Hour Rule
In a USDA survey, nearly 80 percent of the respondents said they let leftovers cool down before refrigerating them. It might sound practical to wait until food isn’t steaming-hot to put it in your hardworking fridge, but it’s a bad idea. That leaves it in what’s known as the temperature danger zone, between 40° F and 140° F, where bacteria can thrive. Leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking—at most—regardless of their temperature. (And your fridge should be set to 40° F or lower; CR recommends 37° F.)
Turkey carcasses in particular shouldn’t be left out. A whole turkey takes a long time to cool down, and its moist, warm interior is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Don’t just put the whole turkey in the refrigerator though. You can store wings or legs on the bone, but slice the meat off the breast.
“Time in the danger zone is cumulative,” says Elizabeth Andress, PhD, a professor emerita and food-safety specialist at the University of Georgia and former director of the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Even if food is out for just 5 or 10 minutes at a time, once those minutes add up to a total of 2 hours in the zone, throwing it out isn’t waste—it’s protecting yourself from potential food poisoning.
Don’t Overestimate How Long Leftovers Are Good For
Three to four days in the fridge—that’s the max for cooked foods, says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports. He says “that means no week-old turkey sandwiches!” After that, their taste and safety may suffer. This is true of desserts, too, though in that 2016 study published in the journal Foods, nearly half of the respondents guessed closer to a week.
Know What Freezes Well
If you find that you have more than you can possibly eat in four days, you can freeze many holiday staples. They’ll be good for two to six months. Some good options are stuffing or dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and, surprisingly, cooked turkey, according to Andress.
Freezing may make the onions, bell peppers, and celery in vegetable dishes a little softer than they would otherwise be, she says. “Creamed vegetables may lose flavor, so it’s best if they are frozen for short periods of time.” And, she says, dishes with cream or creamy soup-based sauces may separate and be a little watery upon thawing, but they will still be usable. Note that for safety, most frozen leftovers should be reheated completely to at least 165° F before eating, according to the CDC.
Divide and Conquer
Whether you’re putting leftovers in the fridge or freezer, break them down into portions of one or two servings each—about what you’d use for a single meal—and store them in shallow, covered containers. Or consider using silicone food storage bags, which can take up less room. Storing smaller portions in several containers helps ensure that the leftovers will cool more quickly, makes it easier when you’re reheating them, and means you don’t have to thaw more than you need.
Consumer Reports looked at silicone bags that you can wash and reuse. These W&P Porter Bags are dishwasher safe and take up very little storage space. But Consumer Reports suggests you take a look around your home and reuse those Mason jars and other food-safe containers before you buy more stuff.
And if you’re not going to eat it within three to four days, freeze it.
Wrap It Up Right
“Use air-tight, moisture-proof wrapping material, such as heavy-duty foil, freezer paper, or freezer-weight bags,” Andress says. Do your best to keep excess air out of the package. “Air around food in the freezer is an enemy of quality,” she says. “It promotes drying out as well as quicker flavor loss. With some light-colored fruits and vegetables, that retained air also causes some browning while the food is getting frozen, as well as during thawing.”
If you want to freeze some of your favorite foods, the best thing you can do is get all of the air out, you can use a vacuum sealer. You’ll be able to fit more food into the freezer but you can also extend the life of frozen food up to a year or two instead of just a few months.
This Hamilton Beach NutriFresh vacuum sealer is easy to use. It was also one of the fastest vacuum sealers Consumer Reports tested -- which you’ll appreciate if you’re sealing multiple bags of food.
Don’t Refrigerate Every Pie
If you’re planning to eat fruit pies, like apple or cherry, within the next couple of days, you can store them loosely covered on the counter.
But pies with a filling that contains dairy or eggs (like pumpkin) should be refrigerated. And for any pie, if you’re not planning to serve it in the next few days, it’s fine to freeze it. Just be aware that custard and meringue don’t freeze well, so you may be better off eating the dessert instead.
Freeze Within the 4-Day Window
If you’ve put several portions worth of, say, stuffing in the refrigerator and later realize there’s no way your family is going to get through them all before the four-day fridge limit, you can still freeze them. If a food is safe to eat, it’s safe to freeze, Andress says. But food you’ve frozen after it has been sitting in the fridge for a while may not have the same quality it would if you froze it earlier.
Don’t Assume You Need to Defrost
It’s not necessary for safety, and Andress says it can sometimes be better in terms of quality if you don’t. “Plain or just-seasoned vegetables are best reheated without thawing,” she says. “Many other dishes that will be heated or cooked are best not thawed first, either.” These include casseroles, stuffing/dressing, baked beans, and lasagna.
When you want to thaw leftovers, don’t place them on the counter; defrost in the fridge. For faster defrosting, you can put the food in a sealable, watertight bag and immerse it in a container of cold water. Change the water every half-hour. And finally, you can use a microwave following the defrosting directions in your owner’s manual.
Microwave With Care
Heating in a microwave isn’t always even, which means that not every part of what you’re reheating may get hot enough to kill bacteria. Foodsafety.gov recommends adding some liquid and putting the food in a microwave-safe dish with a cover to create steam. It also suggests rotating the food (if your microwave doesn’t already do that) and then letting it sit for several minutes before serving to allow the heat to distribute throughout. Using a food thermometer in several places will also help you make sure everything is thoroughly and evenly reheated. And don’t reheat turkey in the microwave; it may dry out. Use the stovetop instead, and warm it with a little broth or gravy.
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