Party leftovers, what to keep and what to throw away

Sunday morning, half past nine. On the worktop sit half a pan of stew, a tub of rice and a platter of snacks that came off the table late last night. The rest of the salad is waiting in the fridge. Before you start dishing up, one question decides everything: how long was it out?

What to keep and what to bin

The Voedingscentrum, the Dutch Nutrition Centre, draws a clear line. Food that spoils quickly, such as milk, meat and fish, should never be out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. If it was out longer, throw it away. That includes the pan that stood on the hob all night and the snacks that stayed on the table until the last song.

• Keep: whatever went into the fridge, covered, within 2 hours of serving.
• Keep: hot dishes you cooled and put away within 2 hours.
• Bin: anything perishable that was out for more than 2 hours.
• Bin: whatever is left of a leftover you have already reheated once.

Cool it down quickly

A big pan of soup or stew should not go into the fridge hot; the Voedingscentrum advises against it. Nor can it sit around for long, as leftovers need to be cooled within 2 hours. The fix is on its leftovers safety card: stand the pan in cold water and stir the food regularly.

Then spoon it into containers with lids and write the date on them, as the same card advises. A separate box for each dish keeps the rice, the meat and the vegetables apart.

How long in the fridge

Keep leftovers covered in a fridge at 4°C and eat them within 2 days. That goes for the rice from the buffet too, as the centre's storage guide lists cooked rice at 2 days in the fridge.

Unsure about a single item, such as an opened jar of tapenade or a wedge of cheese from the grazing board? The Bewaarwijzer, the Voedingscentrum's storage guide, covers more than 2,000 products and tells you how long they keep and where to store them. It is in Dutch and searchable by product.

Freezing and thawing

If you won't get through it in 2 days, freeze it straight away. Set the freezer to minus 18°C or colder, and a leftover meal keeps there for 3 months. Freeze it in the portions you will need later, so you thaw exactly what you eat. Write on the container what is in it and when you froze it.

Thaw it in the fridge, for example from the night before, or in the microwave on the defrost setting. Not on the worktop, because at room temperature any harmful bacteria can multiply fast. And a leftover you have already frozen and reheated should not be frozen again.

If you cooked for the party with mince, chicken or vegetables from the freezer, the leftovers of that dish can go into the freezer. Heating kills any harmful bacteria that were there. If you thawed a container in the fridge but only use part of it, keep the part you have not heated covered in the fridge and eat it by the next day at the latest.

Reheat until it steams

Heat leftovers right through until steaming hot and stir well while they heat, the Voedingscentrum writes in its advice on safe heating. In a microwave some parts can stay cold, and bacteria can survive there. So stir halfway and check that the middle is hot too.

Only reheat what you will eat at that meal. If something is left over from a reheated dish, it goes. The Voedingscentrum puts it this way: never heat anything a third time. Cooking counts as the first, reheating as the second.

Having fewer leftovers starts with the planning: how many guests are coming and how hungry they will be. Maximus Catering, chef David Nagib's catering in Ede and the surrounding area, makes a warm buffet among other things, tailored to what you want. And for keeping the buffet itself safe during the party, read how long food can sit out.