# Storing leftovers and cooling them fast

> Two hours. That is the time a cooked dish can spend on the table or the counter before going to the fridge. Beyond that, you do not keep it.

## The essentials

What is left from a meal is still good for three days, as long as it gets to the fridge fast enough, in a closed container, and does not stay there too long. The rule is simple: two hours at most at room temperature, then the fridge. A big quantity, a pot of soup or bolognese, gets split into several containers to cool faster. And what you will not eat within three days goes to the freezer the same evening.

## The one thing to know

Two hours. That is the time a cooked dish can spend on the table or the counter before going to the fridge. Beyond that, you do not keep it.

## The landmarks

- Cooked leftovers: in the fridge within two hours, in a closed container, and eaten within three days, four at most.
- A big quantity still hot: in several small containers, or the pot set in the sink with cold water, then the fridge. The lid goes on once it is lukewarm.
- Cooked rice goes to the fridge within the hour and is eaten the next day: it is more fragile than the rest.
- Raw meat and fish: one to two days in the fridge, in their packaging, at the bottom, where it is coldest.
- The freezer: in containers or flat bags, with the name and date in marker. Three months for cooked dishes, that is the app's landmark.
- The fridge is set to 4 °C (40 °F) at most, and it is not packed full: the air must circulate.

## How long it takes

Two minutes after the meal, while someone clears the table.

## If it goes wrong

The dish stayed on the table all night: it gets thrown away, even if it smells fine, and even if you reheat it. You do not know any more how long the container has been in the fridge: that is what the date in marker is for, and when in doubt, throw it away. The container was closed boiling hot: it is not dangerous, it just warmed up the fridge and made condensation.

## Make it tonight

The grandma-style bolognese sauce, doubled: half for tonight, the other half in two containers in the freezer, before you even sit down to eat.

_See first : [Kitchen hygiene](https://disheazy.com/bases/kitchen-hygiene)_

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Source : disheazy, https://disheazy.com/bases/storing-leftovers-and-cooling-them-fast