If you regularly cook up a big batch of food to help you get through a busy week, do you give a second thought to how you're storing it?
Food scientists say how we refrigerate and freeze our cooked food (and for how long) matters for the quality, texture and of course food safety.
Here's what they recommend when it comes to how long you can keep cooked food and make the most of your hard work.
Food safety starts before fridge or freezer storage
Meal prepping or cooking double batches of recipes for leftovers is a great way to save money, use up ingredients before they expire and to make a busy week that little bit easier.
Food and nutrition scientist Emma Beckett, based in Newcastle/Awabakal, says people need to remember the golden rules of food safety before they start cooking.
"When we chill things or freeze things, we're slowing down bacterial growth, but the bacteria that goes in, still goes in," she says.
"So, washing our hands and using clean containers and all those kinds of things…[are important]."
Senaka Ranadheera is a food scientist and associate professor at the University of Melbourne in Naarm.
He says that potentially hazardous cooked foods include cooked meat or poultry, cooked foods containing eggs, rice, pasta, sandwiches, pizzas, and sushi.
"Microbes can quickly grow up to unacceptable numbers in these foods," he says.
"[Between] 5°C — 60°C is the temperature danger zone which allow microbial growths."
Microbial growths, when ingested, can cause food poisoning.
Dr Beckett says some vulnerable people may have a lower threshold for risk.
"If they're immunocompromised or pregnant, if they really do not want to take the chance of getting any kind of food poisoning, then they might want food to go into the freezer a lot sooner than other people."
How long can you keep cooked food in the fridge?
Our experts say that before food enters the fridge, it needs to have cooled.
When you have cooked food and want to cool it:
- Put hot food into shallow dishes or separate into smaller portions to help cool the food as quickly as possible.
- Don't put very hot food into the refrigerator. Wait until steam has stopped rising from the food before putting it in the fridge.
A food thermometer can also take the guesswork out in this process.
Dr Ranadheera recommends cooling cooked (potentially hazardous food) from "60°C to 21°C in two hours or less".
He also recommends using food-grade, airtight containers.
If you follow this process, he says food can be stored if the fridge and eaten safely within 1-2 days for hazardous foods or 3-4 days for other cooked meals.
Reheating the food thoroughly, whether refrigerated or frozen, can also reduce the risk of food poisoning, says Dr Beckett.
"Remembering to reheat well on the way out is really important for the food safety aspects."
How long can you keep cooked food in the freezer?
Dr Ranadheera says if you have leftovers or are meal prepping, it is better to freeze the food on the same day.
"Even during refrigeration, food quality deterioration occurs (at a lower rate than the room temperature)," he says.
"Refrigeration cannot kill microorganisms, but they grow at a very low rate."
Lydia Buchtmann, CEO of the Food Safety Information Council, recommends freezing cooked food that has been refrigerated within 24 hours.
"It's good not to have food waste, I mean we're all under the pump at the moment, with the cost of living," she says.
"You could probably leave it one for lunch tomorrow, but large quantities in a big pot are really a big risk of getting all sorts of food poisoning.
"So small containers, freeze them if you're not going to eat them by the next day."
Dr Ranadheera says if properly stored, frozen cooked foods (regardless of if the dish is meat or vegetable), can keep for three to six months.
"There is not any strict guideline due to the variations [of meal types and freezer conditions]," he says.
"Meals with higher fat content quality will deteriorate soon even during frozen storage."
"If your freezer is at -18°C, quality deterioration of frozen meals will slowly start after about two weeks. So it is better to consume those within 3-6 months."
Our experts recommend using a label or a felt tip pen to write the date you've frozen the food.
Dr Beckett says pre-cooking and freezing foods that are almost at their expiry date can also save you money and avoid food waste.
"For example, cooking a pumpkin, chopping it up in pieces, giving it a quick steam, popping that in the freezer," she says.
"Then you'd be able to pull those out, toss them in olive oil and roast them in the air fryer again."
Spring cleaning your fridge and freezer
Ms Buchtmann says now is also a good time to spring clean your fridge and freezer so you can keep track of what foods to use and use things before they expire.
"One of the good tips we find is to put what you're going to use first on the top (or at the front)," she says.
"So, if you've got a whole new load of frozen food, put it lower down so you use the older stuff first depending on whether it's a door or a chest freezer."
"And label it with 'use next' on the little container and just to make sure you it doesn't end up at the back of the fridge."
