We've all let perishable foods sit down out a scrap too long, then wondered what dishes or ingredients are still safe to eat. Luckily, there's information available on food safe bachelor so you can be sure you're not wasting expert leftovers or accidentally ingesting spoiled, bacteria-laden ones. Here are 25 everyday foods and how long you lot have to consume them while unrefrigerated before they present a danger.
Related: Foods That Are Always Ameliorate every bit Leftovers
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Butter
Time: Ane to ii days Nigh refrigerated sticks of butter volition final up to i month after the sell-past date on the package. Dissimilar most dairy products, however, butter is a food that tin survive at room temperature without spoiling for one to two days, thanks more often than not to its depression lactose levels and high saturated fat content.
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Cheese
Fourth dimension: Varies, effectually 2 to 12 hours Leaving cheese out overnight can impact quality, but isn't typically unsafe or a safe hazard, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board says. In fact, all but fresh or shredded cheeses such every bit feta or mozzarella should be given an hour on average to come to room temperature with no risk of developing dangerous bacteria levels, when hard cheeses become easier to cut and soft ones easier to spread. Be more careful almost the latter afterward several hours, equally soft cheeses are a more perishable nutrient that encourage bacterial growth.
Related: Ways to Make an Ordinary Grilled Cheese Sandwich Extraordinary
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Cooked Food/Leftovers
Time: Around two hours If you lot go distracted and leave cooked food out after dinner or for a political party buffet at abode, have a policy to have care to refrigerate the leftover foods after roughly two hours, when the danger of contracting sickness from perishable food begins to increase fast. If the ambience temperature is over xc degrees, especially in the dominicus, the food shouldn't be left unrefrigerated for longer than an hour.
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Tiffin Meats
Time: Around ii hours According to FoodSafety.gov's recommendations, which err on the side of caution, cold cuts and other sliced deli meats used for wraps or sandwiches won't concluding whatever longer out of the refrigerator than raw or regular cooked meat. To avert the danger of bacterial growth, it's best to discard these foods either after two hours in temperatures from twoscore to 140 degrees.
Related: What Kids Around the Globe Eat for Lunch
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Fruit Pies
Time: Two days Apple tree and other fruit pies demand not be refrigerated correct after baking — instead, leave them on the counter or in the pantry for near two days before storing in the fridge. From there, the pie should be eaten or discarded inside iv to five days to avoid bacterial growth, during which time individual slices tin can sit at room temperature (though perhaps avert leaving them directly in the sun) ii to three hours without hazard.
Related: Classic Pie Recipes
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Lettuce and Greens
Time: Around two hours Precut or prewashed greens won't survive safely at room temperature for much longer than two hours (and will wilt if placed directly in the sun); raw spinach, kale, or romaine lettuce are only slightly heartier, with outer leaves of intact heads of lettuce or cabbage spoiling showtime. All of these greens can concluding from seven to 10 days when refrigerated.
Related: Veggies to Purchase Instead of Kale
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Yogurt
Time: Around two hours Yogurt and other dairy products can be left to sit for ii hours earlier bacteria begin to grow, making them potentially dangerous to swallow before long. This process is accelerated at temperatures over 90 degrees (read: keep your Yoplait out of the lord's day), or in yogurts with added fruit and sugars, as well-nigh milk-based products (with the exception of butter) are quick to spoil and taste better cold, anyway.
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Mayonnaise
Fourth dimension: Around viii hours Unopened mayonnaise tin can be kept in the pantry indefinitely, only once opened, the egg yolk-derived condiment quickly becomes vulnerable to spoilage and bacterial growth if left out. FoodSafety.gov recommends discarding mayonnaise later on sitting at above 50-degree temperatures for more than 8 hours, so keep it common cold and out of the sun or don't open information technology.
Related: Fast-Spoiling Foods to Avoid
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Mushrooms
Time: 1 mean solar day Mushrooms flourish away from the sunday earlier picking, and they will enjoy a dark corner of your fridge after, too. If left accidentally on the counter overnight they volition even so exist safe to eat — only cheque for brown or slimy spots that should be cutting off after too long. Once cooked, however, mushrooms became similar most other prepared foods in that they shouldn't exist kept at room temperature more than ii hours.
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Jelly
Time: I to two days The acids and natural or added sugars in jellies and jams act as natural preservatives to keep leaner at bay. so an opened jar left at room temperature for one to two days will be fine, provided at that place are no signs of spoilage such as mold or strange odor. If refrigerated, jellies will remain at peak quality for roughly an entire twelvemonth. Don't get out it out in the sun, but don't worry too much, either.
Related: Jam Recipes to Preserve Fresh Fruit Flavors
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Peppers
Time: One to two days Whether bell or jalapeño, raw peppers can be left to sit at room temperature for multiple days without concern. For the longest shelf life, yet, it'southward best to have a policy to shop them in airtight containers or bags in the fridge for one to two weeks. Raw cut or cooked peppers can likewise stay in the fridge for three to five days. It'south best to cut them upwards when you want to swallow them, but they shouldn't sit down out longer than 2 hours.
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Tomatoes
Fourth dimension: One to five days Tomatoes are a countertop-prophylactic vegetable with a high production rate of ethylene, which means they can be used to speed upward the ripening process of nearby fruits or vegetables. (Put them adjacent to those light-green bananas if you want to swallow them sooner rather than later.) Fresh tomatoes will ripen fully in one to 5 days, after which they can be stored in the fridge for another 5 to seven days earlier these perishable fruits brainstorm to mold.
Related: Eat Seasonal and Save — When to Purchase Fresh Produce Year-Round
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Bananas
Time: Two to 5 days Refrigerate bananas only once they've reached the desired ripeness, which keeps them suitable for eating another five days even as the skin darkens. Before then, they're best stored at room temperature for several days while they ripen to yellow-brown or brown for baking, as with most other countertop-prophylactic fruits. Unless you like banana bread, accept a policy to eat these sun-loving only perishable fruits when there'southward just a touch on of green instead of freckled.
Related:Inexpensive and Piece of cake Recipes for Banana Lovers
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Bread
Fourth dimension: I week Though pre-sliced or whole loaves can exist frozen for long-term storage (salve money by freezing auction-priced loaves), refrigeration is nearly never recommended for breadstuff, as information technology can apace turn a loaf dry and stale. Whether sliced or non, soft-crusted breads keep for five to seven days on the counter, while difficult-crusted breads such as baguettes last only a day or ii.
Related: 50 Beloved Hometown Bakeries Across America
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Basil
Time: Seven to 10 days Basil is the rare, dominicus-loving fresh herb that shouldn't be refrigerated, lest its highly perishable and wet-sensitive leaves brainstorm to spoil and turn blackness. Basil stored at room temperature can last from vii to x days. To maximize that shelf life, trim the basil's ends and place the stems in an inch or and then of h2o covered by a loose-plumbing equipment plastic handbag.
Related: How to Grow Plants and Vegetables From Kitchen Scraps
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Potatoes
Fourth dimension: I to ii weeks Refrigeration converts some of the starches in raw potatoes to sugars, so the versatile spuds are best stored in a dark, cool pantry for a shelf life of one to two weeks. Cooked potatoes tin last three to v days in the fridge, though not at elevation quality; for prep piece of work, raw cut potatoes can be submerged in cold h2o and refrigerated for upwardly to 24 hours before cooking.
Related: Tasty Ways to Celebrate the Potato
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Avocados
Time: Ii to vii days, until ripe Avocados should be stored at room temperature until fully ripened, at which indicate the skin volition feel slightly soft when squeezed. Then they can exist used promptly or kept for longer inside the fridge (they'll stay good another three to five days). Avocados puréed with a dash of lemon juice tin can as well last months longer in the freezer.
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Tortillas
Time: Two to iv weeks Opened or unopened flour and corn tortillas can final upwardly to a calendar month in the pantry — or more conservatively, up to one calendar week later on their "all-time by" date. They'll last another two to six weeks once refrigerated. This will tend to dry them out, equally with bread.
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Ketchup, Mustard, Barbecue Sauce, and Other Acrid-Based Condiments
Time: Ane month or more Many of the most common condiments last perfectly fine exterior the fridge, including ketchup and barbecue sauces – both will keep up to ane month at room temperature. The timeframes are even more generous in more acidic condiments such every bit mustard (two months), soy sauce (one yr), and hot sauce (three years).
Related: Finger-Licking Barbecue Sauce Recipes
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Onion
Fourth dimension: Two to three months Keep whole raw onions in a loosely covered container in the pantry at temperatures of 45 to 55 degrees to make them final up to three months (the aforementioned length they would last in the refrigerator, where they should be stored but once chopped or in peculiarly hot locations). Take care not to go on them nigh potatoes, as the 2 veggies in close proximity can accelerate each other's spoilage.
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Garlic
Time: Three to five months At ideal temperatures of 55 to threescore degrees, bulbs of garlic volition keep on the counter for almost six months before spotting and turning soft with spoilage, while unpeeled private cloves will concluding seven to 10 days. Garlic will usually first to sprout earlier going bad, so cooks may want to remove the greenish sprouts to become rid of their biting (but otherwise harmless) taste.
Related: Condiments From Around the Globe to Add Zing to Any Meal
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Almond Milk
Time: Varies Some non-dairy milks such every bit almond or soy are ultra-pasteurized and sealed in Tetra Pak cartons, allowing unopened containers to be stored at room temperature for up to a month. Once opened, even so, ultra-pasteurized and other almond milks (sold refrigerated) should be used inside 7 to 10 days, and not left out unrefrigerated for longer than 2 hours.
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Salad Dressings
Fourth dimension: Varies Premade salad dressings vary widely in terms of flavor and ingredients, simply the principal consideration in evaluating shelf life once opened should be whether the dressing is cream-based or vinegar-based. Vinegar-based sauces contain natural preservatives that tin go along them prophylactic at room temperatures after several hours, whereas cream-based sauces such equally ranch or blue cheese dressing should be tossed later on two hours sitting out.
Related: Is Homemade Salad Dressing Cheaper Than Shop-Bought?
