It's time to play "Would you eat this?" again

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I bought a huge chunk of beef--almost three pounds--at Whole Foods on Wednesday ( :crying:) for beef stew tonight. However, Thursday night, I was up in the middle of the night (long story) and went into the fridge to get some grapes. Somehow I managed to not close the fridge all the way, and it stayed open until DH found it around 7:30 the next morning. The door was probably open by an inch or two for 4-ish hours. DH then closed it, but when I had cereal around 10 a.m. the milk still wasn't as cold as it should be. 

 

So! Given all of that, would you still use this big chunk of meat (wrapped in paper, not plastic wrap) for dinner tonight? It smells fine and looks fine, of course, so that's no help. 

 

Thanks. Again. Sigh.

[ThisIsTheDay]

I'd go ahead and use it. My thought process:

 

Four hours with the fridge door opened slightly.  That means it started at the right temp, and still was unlikely to ever have reached room temp.

 

IF I'd forgotten it on the counter for four hours, I'd cook it as quickly as possible.

[goldberry]

I'd say yes.

[VaKim]

Yep. Just cook it well.

[BrittanyM]

Yes I would.

[mamiof5]

Yup!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Four hours with the fridge door opened slightly.  That means it started at the right temp, and still was unlikely to ever have reached room temp.

 

I was thinking this too, but then the milk was still only cool, not cold, after the fridge was closed again for a few hours... And then it stayed in the fridge for another day. DH still thinks it's usable too.

 

I hate these decisions. I hate hate hate wasting food, because I know most of the time it's still going to be usable. But I also don't want to put my family at risk and then waste all those other ingredients into the bargain. 

 

I don't know. I've had food poisoning, and even mild, it was pretty yucky. I'm not a germaphobe in any other context!

[MercyA]

Yes, I'd use it.  :grouphug:

[ThisIsTheDay]

You will not get food poisoning from the milk.  It might be soured--then throw it away.  But you don't have to toss it without reason.  It's not like meat or other leftovers.

 

If this were my house, I would not overreact with the door being opened an inch or two for four hours.  It's not that I'm unconcerned about food poisoning, it's just that I think there is no risk.

 

If your milk is still just cool, not cold, after being in the closed fridge for four more hours, you might want to consider purchasing a new fridge.  Either your perception is off, or your fridge is not working.  Think about what you're saying here:  This means under normal circumstances that you put room temp items in your fridge and they are still not be cooled to the proper temp after four hours.  That doesn't seem to make any sense. 

 

I would do my best to forget about it, relax, and enjoy my weekend!

[idnib]

I would eat it, esp. as beef stew because you're going to heat it all the way through. 

[Miss Peregrine]

I would use it.

[Mergath]

Honestly, I would probably eat the beef if it had sat out on the counter for four hours. A lot of people take beef out of the fridge and let it sit out for quite a while to come completely to room temperature before they cook it. (Obviously, the FDA won't agree with doing this.)  It'll be fine. :)

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

You will not get food poisoning from the milk.  It might be soured--then throw it away.  But you don't have to toss it without reason.  It's not like meat or other leftovers.

 

If this were my house, I would not overreact with the door being opened an inch or two for four hours.  It's not that I'm unconcerned about food poisoning, it's just that I think there is no risk.

 

If your milk is still just cool, not cold, after being in the closed fridge for four more hours, you might want to consider purchasing a new fridge.  Either your perception is off, or your fridge is not working.  Think about what you're saying here:  This means under normal circumstances that you put room temp items in your fridge and they are still not be cooled to the proper temp after four hours.  That doesn't seem to make any sense. 

 

I would do my best to forget about it, relax, and enjoy my weekend!

 

No, I'm not worried about the milk at all. We've already used half of it! I'm actually not worried about anything else in the fridge, just the meat, because it wasn't vac packed or anything, just fresh beef from the butcher wrapped in only paper, which I know has a fairly short shelf life to begin with. 

 

And the milk was still cool instead of cold after only 2 1/2 hours, not four, but it was enough to raise my concerns over the fridge not having gotten back to 40 degrees (or below) yet, adding to the time that the meat was in the so-called danger zone. I don't think that equates to adding room-temp items to an already cold fridge, because the properly cold fridge plus the cold items in the fridge will help the room temp item cool down more quickly. An entire fridge at, say, 55 degrees, plus all the slightly warmed up food, will naturally take several hours to get back to the correct temperature. It IS an ancient fridge (older than me, seriously), but it keeps food at the right temp under normal conditions. That's how I knew the milk was off--I only like cereal with really cold milk, which is what the fridge normally gives us. Corn flakes in cool milk are really disappointing! (Actually, if I'm not careful with the lettuce and put it too far back on the top, it freezes, which is quite annoying.) 

 

OK, I'm going to go for it. I did buy new meat at the regular store this morning, just in case, but I'll throw that in the freezer for next week instead.

 

Thanks all!

[chocolatechip]

I would totally eat it. I would even eat it if it had been left out on the counter for four hours. I hope it is yummy, OP!

[ktgrok]

It should be fine. Remember, they "dry age" meat and such, to make it even better, and I think that's at a warmer temp than the usual fridge (could be wrong but trying to help you feel better). I'm super cautious, but I'd eat that. If anything, you could cut off the edges, as that is the only place any bacteria would be that could have multiplied.