— Karen Davis

This is, uh, I think a pretty common, at least from time to time, you know, issue that a lot of people experience. And, uh, I'll share my, my own experience. And that is that, uh, it goes in waves. Uh, sometimes I'm more disciplined and sometimes I'm less disciplined. But, um, you know, I'll start by sharing a, a, uh, i, I think it's a, a good housekeeping tip, and that is to label and date your especially leftovers, uh, in containers. And, you know, to have a pen and, uh, some masking tape in the kitchen, you can, in just a few seconds, place a a label, uh, on that item. And if it's going into the freezer, uh, definitely write down what is contained in that container, uh, because a lot of times, you know, uh, you have these different things that, uh, you think, oh, gosh, I'm gonna remember that, you know, I spent so much time making it, how can I forget? But once it goes in the freezer, um, it starts to look like other things that you've spent so much time on and have kind of a brownish hue too. Um, and then they're covered in frost and this sort of thing. So put a complete label on them. And that's step one in managing the inventory. And this is definitely a, a tip from professional kitchens. Uh, this is, um, a 100% must do, um, sort of a, um, you know, organizational, uh, you know, uh, um, tip I guess that, um, um, I would say most professional cooks and chefs utilize. So, you know, the other thing is to try to avoid over purchasing product. And I mean, over purchasing to me simply means that your fridge is so full that it's hard to manage. And so you know how much that is exactly is gonna differ from person to person and situation to situation. You also have to weigh that against your usage rate of the food. For example, are you cooking for one, uh, or are you cooking for, you know, three or four teenagers? You know, in which case, uh, a full fridge could be empty in about 36 hours. So, you know, you get to kind of consider your larger environment as well. Um, you know, also, you know, I like to eat my leftovers within a pretty short period of time. So in other words, I don't mind eating the same thing or a similar thing, uh, consecutively. Um, in order to enjoy that food in its relatively fresh state, uh, keeping in mind that the, the longer you keep something right in the fridge or even in the freezer for that matter, um, the longer you're trying to maintain the freshness of old food. And that's, that's another perspective you can take on on leftovers. Okay? So while most items will last, you know, a week or so, um, there's certainly a deterioration in quality over that period of time. The food is gonna be arguably better the following day versus five days later. Okay? So consider getting back to that food item relatively quick, um, so that you can enjoy it or again, label it thoroughly and put it in the freezer, and then try to get back to it in a reasonable amount of time. And for me, a reasonable amount of time would be within about 30 days, um, things in the freezer can get lost. And here too, you know, I will say that it, it can go in waves where, um, I'm better at utilizing things from the freezer, um, usually, but there are times when, um, I get excited about cooking and, and, um, I'm always excited about cooking, but just, um, focusing on the things in the refrigerator to the detriment of the things in the freezer. So, you know, keep some discipline to, to go back to the freezer and, and bring those things out, defrost them in the refrigerator, um, overnight, uh, as necessary, uh, to maintain maximum freshness rather than add room temperature, um, where you can get, you know, sort of uneven, um, temperatures within the container, warm on the outside, cold on the inside. And, um, you know, when we subject food to warmer temperatures at, at, um, especially this time of year, then our bacteria counts can increase pretty rapidly. And so that would be, you know, the, the concern that I have, um, for defrosting things at room temperature. I'm not saying don't do it, but I am saying keep a thumb on it so that you can do it for a reasonably short period of time. But in the refrigerator is always the safest. But again, you gotta get to it, um, once it's defrosted after that half a day or day or so, because once you bring it back into the fridge and it's defrosted, then keep in mind that the clock resumes and the clock, meaning that before you put it in the freezer, right? Maybe it was in the fridge for three days and then you froze it once it's defrosted, that clock starts again. And so it's not a fresh item that you're working with, but a three day old i i item, and if the shelf life is a week or so, you only have another three days or so to enjoy it. So keep that in mind as you're dealing with defrosted items right from the freezer. And, um, let's see here. The other thing is just to, uh, bring some general organization into your refrigerator where you might have leftover items in containers in a certain area, a certain shelf or two, and then you've got your fresh produce and condiments and, and things in different places. So you know where to look for this, where to look for these items and where to go for these other items. You know, in the refrigerator, if things start to get all mixed up into one, one space, then it starts to become difficult because that, um, shard or those lettuce leaves, you know, can cover up a small, even, not even a small container, but a, you know, a good size container that's pushed back, you know, in the refrigerator. So it just start out with some of these, uh, real basic organizational strategies and then have the discipline to stay on top of that, you know, to reorganize the refrigerator a couple of times a week so that things don't get out of hand. I hope those basics, uh, are gonna be helpful for you, Karen, and, uh, enjoy the road ahead.