2008 Woodie Awards
Gender Bender: When Does Food Spoil?
Issue date: 11/7/05 Section: Opinion
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Female Perspective
When does food spoil? That is a good question. Unlike guys, girls are more likely check on how long something has been sitting in the fridge before just putting it in their mouths.
Firstly I have never been one for leftovers, but there are a few things that I will eat leftover. Even though I will eat some leftovers, if it has been in the fridge for more than five to seven days, it gets tossed in the trash, often sooner if no one touches it within three days.
One thing I have noticed people sometimes do is leave food out all night and then put it in the fridge the next morning, definitely a no-no because there is a large possibility that it has already gone bad. If you want to keep leftovers of something, put it in the fridge right away, that way you have it without the possibility of getting sick.
Milk is another big thing. I have always heard this quote, "When in doubt, throw it out." That is what I do, and not just with milk. If there is a chance that something is not any good, I will throw it away, not taste test it to be sure first and then throw it out. As long as food does not fall into one of these categories it is pretty much fair game. Also always remember, if something falls on the floor, throw it out, do not claim the ten-second rule. The floor is and will always be dirty!
Male Perspective
There are two obvious classes of food going bad that come to mind: it has mold on it and the stale saltine phenomenon.
The first is quite obvious. Food has obviously spoiled when it has taken on a new and exciciting color: for example, baked beans moonlighting as butterscotch pudding. The other obvious spoilage is when food has decided the fridge is too cold, i.e. it went ahead and grew itself a fuzzy new coat.
Now comes the more difficult to quantify problem, the stale saltine phenomenon. Even the choicest saltines, made with the finest of starches and grains of salt, become the worse for wear. An open sleeve of saltines left out all weekend after a wild Friday "wine and crackers" would certainly suffer this tragic fate. Other, non-saltine dry goods also suffer this sad, sad fate.
There comes now, the hardest to quantify, soft things turning hard: for example, a gravy in the fridge that ice hockey could be played on. Although the gravy below may be salvageable by some, it is better to flush the whole experiment away and never speak of it again.
The final thing to figure out are meats. Notwithstanding meats that fall into one of the first two categories above (ground beef that has a nice brown color is good, ground beef with a delightful green color is not), you have meats that are suddenly highly elastic when once they were solid (rubbery chicken, beef that substitutes as a bungee cord).
The last obvious giveaway for bad food is a film of slime that has taken up residence conveniently right on your wonderful feast. Other than these fine examples, the last resort to knowing if your food has gone bad is to do what Toucan Sam does, "Follow your nose."
When does food spoil? That is a good question. Unlike guys, girls are more likely check on how long something has been sitting in the fridge before just putting it in their mouths.
Firstly I have never been one for leftovers, but there are a few things that I will eat leftover. Even though I will eat some leftovers, if it has been in the fridge for more than five to seven days, it gets tossed in the trash, often sooner if no one touches it within three days.
One thing I have noticed people sometimes do is leave food out all night and then put it in the fridge the next morning, definitely a no-no because there is a large possibility that it has already gone bad. If you want to keep leftovers of something, put it in the fridge right away, that way you have it without the possibility of getting sick.
Milk is another big thing. I have always heard this quote, "When in doubt, throw it out." That is what I do, and not just with milk. If there is a chance that something is not any good, I will throw it away, not taste test it to be sure first and then throw it out. As long as food does not fall into one of these categories it is pretty much fair game. Also always remember, if something falls on the floor, throw it out, do not claim the ten-second rule. The floor is and will always be dirty!
Male Perspective
There are two obvious classes of food going bad that come to mind: it has mold on it and the stale saltine phenomenon.
The first is quite obvious. Food has obviously spoiled when it has taken on a new and exciciting color: for example, baked beans moonlighting as butterscotch pudding. The other obvious spoilage is when food has decided the fridge is too cold, i.e. it went ahead and grew itself a fuzzy new coat.
Now comes the more difficult to quantify problem, the stale saltine phenomenon. Even the choicest saltines, made with the finest of starches and grains of salt, become the worse for wear. An open sleeve of saltines left out all weekend after a wild Friday "wine and crackers" would certainly suffer this tragic fate. Other, non-saltine dry goods also suffer this sad, sad fate.
There comes now, the hardest to quantify, soft things turning hard: for example, a gravy in the fridge that ice hockey could be played on. Although the gravy below may be salvageable by some, it is better to flush the whole experiment away and never speak of it again.
The final thing to figure out are meats. Notwithstanding meats that fall into one of the first two categories above (ground beef that has a nice brown color is good, ground beef with a delightful green color is not), you have meats that are suddenly highly elastic when once they were solid (rubbery chicken, beef that substitutes as a bungee cord).
The last obvious giveaway for bad food is a film of slime that has taken up residence conveniently right on your wonderful feast. Other than these fine examples, the last resort to knowing if your food has gone bad is to do what Toucan Sam does, "Follow your nose."