Here's Why

Leftovers labelled

I’ve occasionally had problems with leftover food in the fridge: I can’t always remember how long ago I put them there, and I’m not always sure how long they can keep safely anyway.

“When in doubt, throw it out”, has been my slogan. Not good for saving money, but safest for preserving my health.

I’ve discovered a better way, that doesn’t rely on my memory. I’ve bought a roll of white sticky labels to keep by the fridge. Now when I put leftovers into a container, I can pop a sticker on it, and write in the date.

Most leftovers are only good for three or four days at most.

According to When Good Foods go bad, my gouda cheese can last three weeks after breaking the seal and putting it in a plastic box.

I now have the equivalent of “use by” stickers for my leftovers, with no need to force my poor memory into service.

About the author: Ian Woolf lives in Sydney, has a degree in Applied Physics, worked as a solar astronomer, software engineer, systems programmer, webmaster, Cisco CCNA tutor, Computational Theory lecturer, and subject coordinator; while changing his career to professional writing and broadcasting. Listen to Ian on the Discovery science show on radio 2SER 107.3Fm Mondays at 9am in Sydney or streaming audio on www.2ser.com, or listen to the Discovery sound archives.