Monday we had spaghetti for dinner. Tuesday my husband and son had leftover spaghetti for lunch. Today (Wednesday) I brought the rest of the leftover spaghetti for my lunch. After lunch I called home, as is my custom, to chit-chat with my husband for a minute. I told him I had eaten the rest of the spaghetti for my lunch. He said, “No, we ate the rest of it.” This was confusing, as I had emptied out the pot of spaghetti into a container to bring with me to work. He said they had spaghetti out of a container in the fridge. Uh-oh!! I can’t remember when we last had spaghetti before this time. He said it tasted alright, but jeez, it could be like a month old! Gross! I hope we don’t have to go to the emergency room later! Ick. I really ought to clean out the refrigerator.
What’s the oldest leftover you ever ate? Did you get sick?
I eat food that is weeks old all of the time. They are usually high in acid (that’s in not on!) as in spaghetti or chili, and have absolutely no problems. Mind you that I keep my refrigerator at near freezing temperatures all of the time. I even have a bag of flour tortillas that are a few months old (they were mentioned in Wildest Bill’s thread about old food) that are still looking good. I may have to eat one of these in the next day or two just so that I can check in and gross all of you out.
You really have to wonder how many tons per second of perfectly edible food is discarded by American’s every day.
Try to remember that refrigeration is a recent invention and that people have been eating foods stored at ambient temperatures for thousands of years. Hell, I roasted off my turkey on Saturday and finished the last white meat sandwich last night (Tuesday) without any ill effects. It has been stored in the (pilotless) oven ever since I made it. All of you need to get over these weird phobias about food storage. We could feed the rest of the world on what we toss out.
I once ate some pepperoni with mold on it without knowing it. Blech!
Mom: What were you eating, honey?
Me: A pepperoni sandwich.
Mom: Oh man, that was the old pepperoni that I was planning on throwing away like a week ago! It had mold on it!
Thanks Mom! :rolleyes:
One time I opened Gramma’s fridge and opened a Cool Whip container only to find something inside with a thick layer of fur on it. I screamed for Gramma. She rushed in, took one look and flung the whole shebang out the window with a terrifed look on her face.
I have cereal in my room that celebrated their 2 year anniversary. It’s from Mexico; Frosted Flakes and Cocoa Krispies, only with Spanish words on the boxes, so I kept them. I don’t know why I never just opened the boxes and ate the damn cereal, but I’m afraid now. But then again, cereal is safe since it’s sealed…right?
Dolores, that’s pretty nasty about your husband and son eating that spaghetti. I hope they’re all right.
Yes, people have been eating food stored at moderate temperatures for thousands of years. They’ve also been dying from it for thousands of years.
I’m not phobic about stuff like that; I have no problem with eating “old” deli meats, milk, etc. My rule of thumb: smell it. If the odor doesn’t knock you out, it’s OK to eat.
Once I took a swig from a can of soda that turned out to be what my dad had been using as an ashtray for god knows how long. Week-old cigarette butts and flat pop…I still refuse to eat smoked foods
