The Refrigerator Rules

1. Temperature Keep your refrigerator's temperature set to at least 40 degrees. Bacteria loves to grow between 40 and 140 degrees.

2. Cleaning Make sure to wipe up spills as soon as they happen. Clean your fridge with a thorough wipe down every week. Use a solution of half-and-half water and distilled vinegar.

3. Storing Store leftovers in containers with lids. This will prevent spills and cross contamination with other foods that might soon be spoiling or are already spoiled. All leftovers should be stored within 2 hours of cooking or 1 hour on hot summer days.

4. Chilling To chill hot leftovers, place them in shallow covered containers and immerse them in a bath of ice water to cool rapidly.

5. Discarding Toss any leftovers that have sat in the fridge for more than 4 days. Do not rely on smell, taste or sight. But if something is growing on your leftovers, it's definitely a sign to toss.

6. Reheating When you want to eat leftovers that need reheating, be sure to heat them to a temperature higher than 140 degrees.


*www.kitchendaily.com