One of the best parts about cooking is the leftovers. After all, when you make a delicious meal, you don’t only want to be able to eat it once, do you? The only downfall is being excited to eat your leftovers and realizing they’ve spoiled in the fridge and you can’t enjoy them after all. So to help you avoid this disappointment, here are some tips for how to store leftovers.
Put ‘Em Away Quick
For some reason, there’s a myth out there that you should let food cool down to room temperature before you put it in the fridge. In reality, you want to refrigerate (or freeze) your leftovers ASAP so they don’t have time to start growing bacteria.
Don’t Overstuff
Fitting all of your leftovers into one big container may seem appealing as a way to do fewer dishes, but it’s actually better to split them up into multiple, shallow containers with room for air to circulate.
Eat Quick
Refrigerated leftovers should be eaten within three to four days of being cooked. In the freezer, though, they can last much longer, as bacteria can’t really grow at frozen temperatures. So if you’re not expecting to get to your leftovers within a couple of days, go ahead and put them in the freezer.
