Thanksgiving with my family is always a fun time, and it always involves an abundance of food. My favorite side is probably the sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and my husband loves the corn casserole his grandmother has made for years. And in my family, there’s always a 20-pound turkey seasoned Cuban style, thanks to my mom’s side of the family! But no matter how hungry everyone is, each Thanksgiving also produces an abundance of leftovers. That of course isn’t a problem — who could complain about too much Thanksgiving food? — but it does raise questions about how best to store, preserve, and reuse leftovers (or, as like to euphemistically call them, “overflow meals”). And now, as a new homeowner, I’m especially interested in making the most of my fridge, freezer, and pantry space, and not just on Black Friday.
Why learn about food storage?
At first, there doesn’t seem much to consider when it comes to leftovers — throw them in a Tupperware, let them sit in the fridge, and reheat as needed. What more is there to think about? But after thinking about it a bit more, I realized that this topic lends itself to many lessons about food safety, quality, and organization. After all, how much do I really know about using my refrigerator and freezer properly? Without this kind of knowledge, I run the risk of having food pile up indefinitely, going bad, and taking up precious space unnecessarily. Not to mention the fact that without proper care and attention, a household can produce way more food waste than it has to.
Improperly stored and reheated food also poses a health risk. Finally (and perhaps most practically), without knowing how and when to store, organize, and dispose of food, navigating the fridge can quickly become a nightmare! At the end of the day, being thoughtful about food storage can help give everyone peace of mind.
With all this in mind, I wrote out my top questions about the care and keeping of leftovers. Here are the answers I found!
At what temperatures should I keep my fridge and freezer?
The Food and Drug Administration marks 40°F as the maximum safe temperature for the fridge. However, it’s better to keep it a few degrees cooler than that to ensure that the food stays cold enough for freshness and safety. The freezer should be no more than 0°F, in order to keep bacteria from growing. This infographic from Real Simple (pictured here) is a handy guide.
Many refrigerators have thermometers built in, but for those without, you can buy an inexpensive appliance thermometer that can attach to the door.
How long will things last in the fridge or freezer?
Most food safety experts and home care sites recommend putting food in the fridge or freezer no more than two hours after it’s been cooked and served. I see this as best guarantee for food safety, but I wouldn’t throw away food if it’s been sitting out for two-and-a-half hours during a holiday party. My main takeaway is to put cooked food away as soon as people are done eating, and certainly to avoid keeping it out all night.
When it comes to deciding what to fridge and what to freeze, the decision depends on when I’m planning to use the leftovers again. If I’m planning to reuse cooked ground beef tomorrow to make taco meat, the fridge is the place to go. But if I’ve made a ton of soup and want to store leftovers for a rainy day, the freezer is a more suitable spot.
Making the most of the freezer
Since I grocery shop once a week, it’s hard to get all of the meat to last all week in the fridge. To keep everything fresh and safe, I often store raw meat in the freezer. For smaller pieces of meat, such as chicken breasts or pork chops, I like to wrap each piece individually in a freezer-safe bag, then keep them together in a larger freezer bag labeled with the date. That way, I’ll have meat on-hand for months, and whenever I need just a few chicken breasts to make a meal, I can defrost them in the fridge (or, in a pinch, in the microwave).
I’ve found this article and accompanying charts from Real Simple extremely helpful when it comes to figuring out how long food will last in the fridge or freezer. I’ve included here an image of the first chart on meat. It’s a handy and easy-to-read reference guide, and it might even be worth laminating copies of the charts and posting them on the fridge door with magnets. Keep in mind, the fridge timeline usually has more to do with freshness and taste than safety. Most things will last indefinitely in the fridge, but they won’t always taste as good!
For a more in-depth breakdown of storing different kinds of leftovers, this article from Taste of Home is a big help. In general, the items that go bad most quickly in the fridge (1-2 days) are meat, seafood, and gravy, and the items that last the longest (a few weeks) are eggs, cheese, and yogurt.
What is the best way to package up leftovers?
Overall, the best way to store most foods in the fridge and freezer is in airtight containers — plastic, glass, and freezer-safe bags are always good to have on-hand. For a reference guide on specific food items, check out this article from Taste of Home. A few standout tips: tightly packaged bread will stay fresh for six months in the freezer, and airtight plastic bags can preserve certain cheeses for weeks. And keep an eye on seafood — those leftovers will only last 3-4 days in the fridge.
How should I arrange food in the fridge?
This was a key homemaking hack for me to learn! It turns out that not all regions of the refrigerator are created equal. As a result, location can be the difference between milk that spoils after just a few sips and milk that lasts for at least a week. Here are a few key points about your refrigerator’s geography:
- Warmest area: Top shelf and door
- Coldest area: Bottom shelf and rear
- Most consistent temperature area: Middle shelf
Knowing the regions of the refrigerator helps guide what to put where. Because the top shelf is warmest, reserve that spot for items that you’ll use sooner or that generally lasts longer — and that usually includes leftovers! In contrast, more sensitive items like milk should live on the middle shelf so that they’re protected from lower temps and from frosting over. This infographic from Good Housekeeping (pictured here) is a simple yet handy visual aid.
A few other key tips on fridge organizing I’ve picked up along the way:
- Follow the Goldilocks Principle — not too empty, not overstuffed — to keep air circulating and keep the temp low and consistent. (This also helps prevent items from getting lost and forgotten!)
- Keep fruits and veggies separate (some of them release chemicals that cause others to ripen too fast)
- Keep raw meat down low, or wrap it tightly and store it in the freezer.
- Label storage containers or bags with dates to help remember how long an item has been there and whether it’s still ok to use.
How many times can I microwave leftovers?
Right after moving into our new home, my brother- and sister-in-law were so kind as to bring us dinner from a local Italian place. That meant that we thankfully didn’t have to worry about cooking dinner for several days, and it also meant that we were reheating leftover ziti and chicken parm every night all week! Is there a limit to heating and re-heating leftovers?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a pretty straightforward answer: Generally speaking, microwaving won’t diminish food safety, though over time it can affect food quality and taste. Bottom line: it’s safe to zap that leftover Thanksgiving dinner all week, so long as you don’t mind that it might not taste as fresh and moist a week later.
For more microwaving tips and tricks, I like this slideshow from Food Network. Even a few small steps, such as heating in increments or adding a splash of water, go a long way. I also like to cover my leftovers plate with a plastic plate or Tupperware top to trap the heat and help it get warm more quickly and evenly.
How can I reuse leftovers?
You can find entire articles about how to create new meals out of leftover Thanksgiving food (or any other meal for that matter), but I’ll mention a few ideas here that I like to use when it comes to keeping “overflow food” exciting:
- Toss some refrigerated meat and sides over lettuce to make a leftover lunch salad.
- Invent a new kind of sandwich using last night’s meal (the Thanksgiving sandwich with turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing never gets old!)
- Pick a meal that requires the same basic staples as your leftovers. (For example, I often like using leftover ground beef and rice to make tacos the following night. And chances are, you can find a soup or casserole recipe that requires your leftovers or something similar as ingredients!)
More Resources
“Are You Storing Food Safely?” U.S. Food and Drug Administration
“10 Things Nobody Tells You About Organizing Your Refrigerator,” Fan Winston (Organized Home)
