How long can I keep the unused portions of canned soup in my refrigerator before they’re not fit to eat?
Does it not say on the tin? I haven’t got one to hand, but I think they normally say “Onced opened, remove unused contents from can, refrigerate and use within three days” or something similar.
(You’re supposed to remove canned goods from the tin after opening because the acids in food can react with the metal of the tin in the presence of the air. Although modern tins are coated to reduce this problem, the coating is rarely perfect.)
In any case, I’d say up to three days is safe for most foods in the fridge. Make sure that you heat it through thoroughly before you eat it though, just to be safe.
You could just move it up to your freezer (preferably in a plastic container) and keep it indefinitely.
Don’t worry about it. When it’s no longer fit to eat, it’ll crawl out of the fridge all by itself.
Well, I had some soup for supper that had been opened, half-eaten, and stored in the fridge in a glass container for six days. I was hopig for a seven-day period of safety so that I could make a can of soup last two weeks; i may have to adjust my plans.
How long leftovers last depends on several factors, of which by far the most important is fridge temp. I routinely keep dishes for seven days, but my fridge is just above freezing. And I have a really good nose for when things goes “off,” so the risk I’m taking is less than it might be for folks who can’t tell.
Other factors include: (i) What it is. Canned soups, for example, are very durable, whereas seafood is not. (ii) Whether you’re going to reheat to a full boil. (iii) Whether you let it is sit out for an hour before chilling. (iv) If home made, whether you practice safe kitchen habits. (v) Your own sensitivity to food poisoning. (Varies widely.) (vi) Your risk tolerance generally.
Don’t understand, btw, how food having “a seven-day period of safety” - which, as I’ve said, subject to caveats, is roughly correct - would enable you to “make a can of soup last two weeks.” No, it would enable you to make it last a week.
Actually, If I eat half a can of pea soup each tuesday at lunch, the can lasts two weeks.
My fridge is pretty cold, but I’ve found my eggs freeze and fracture if I keep it too cold. I may have to find another way to use the soup.
Oh, it doesn’t need to be cold enough to freeze your eggs. (Nor yet freeze your milk, which is how I usually find out, when breaking in a new fridge, that I’ve gone too far.) Easiest way to be sure, of course, is to get a thermometer; 38 degrees is plenty cold enough.
And we’re using “lasts two weeks” in radically different ways. Frankly, I think mine is correct, but it’s not important. As long as we’re clear on the seven days part. Which, btw, is not a strict rule. I’ve held things longer. But I generally avoid it. On the other hand, as stated earlier, I routinely rely on the seven-day rule of thumb (with exceptions, most notably for seafood).