Refrigerator died - what must be tossed?

[ElsieD]

Our fridge died this week and a new one is coming tomorrow. I have already thrown out everything that was in the freezer and the " must keep refrigerated stuff -e.g. Cheese, yogurt, eggs etc." moved to a bar fridge. There is still stuff in the fridge, mainly sauces, pickles, juices, horseradish and the like. That stuff stayed there as the bar fridge had no more room. I am about to make a list of what is in there so I know what I have to replace. Will some of this stuff still be good or should it all be pitched? Are there any general guidelines? I don't want to risk getting sick but it seems to me that some of it should be all right. The temperature in the fridge is 58F. Thanks in advance.

[AlaMoi]

anything "pickled" should be okay - pickles, relish, olives

 

mustards, ok

horseradish is a mebbe - depends on prep.  if it said "keep refridgerated" even before opening, toss it.

ketchsup / etc - this is 'stored' at room temp even after opening - part of the problem is how long it was open before the fridge took a hike.

 

"died this week and coming tomorrow" - how many days between isn't specified but when in doubt throw it out.

2-3 days stored at temps approaching 60'F is definitely into badlands territory.

[gfweb]

Almost everything says "keep refrigerated", even soy sauce for heaven's sake.

 

Ground meat and any poultry I'd toss for sure. 

 

Eggs...probably safe.

 

Butter OK.

 

Cream probably is OK esp if not opened

[ElsieD]

How about stuff like ghee, asian sauces, hot sauces? Fridge officially died Wednesday.

Edited February 6, 2015 by ElsieD (log)

[Lisa Shock]

Ghee is fine. Hot sauces (like tabasco) fine (very vinegary). Asian sauces: keep soy, wines, vinegars; toss black bean, hoisin, oyster, sweet chile, curry paste.

[ElsieD]

Ghee is fine. Hot sauces (like tabasco) fine (very vinegary). Asian sauces: keep soy, wines, vinegars; toss black bean, hoisin, oyster, sweet chile, curry paste.

Think I'm gonna cry.

[Ashen]

I know this won't help you now but just a suggestion for anyone else you might find themselves in this situation.   A cooler with a bag of ice is a lifesaver.  or a bit outside the box if you have a deep freezer with the room, place the items in the cooler with a few bottles of water and then the whole thing in the freezer.   The water will freeze first  so if you notice it is starting to freeze pull out the cooler and then put back when it starts to warm up again. 

[Deryn]

Elsie - I am sorry to hear you have had to toss so much, especially when I know it is cold outside there. I gather you don't have any outside space you could have used as a surrogate fridge - or a neighbour with a bit of room you could have bugged to house some for a few days. I second the notion that your Asian and hot sauces, worchestershire sauce (if you refrigerate that - I don't) and the like should be fine. And I agree with gfweb - the eggs, butter and cream (if unopened) would have survived ok outside of the fridge for a couple of days. I often keep eggs out for several days.

 

I ran out of fridge space the other day - had 6 rotisserie chickens that would not fit - so I put them into a couple of cooler bags out on the deck with the ice cream that has been there a week or so. Unfortunately, though the deck is completely surrounded by a 3.5 foot fence, some small footed 'thief' apparently could not resist a trip to take one chicken (sans cardboard band, base and top plastic which were neatly 'tossed' in the snow - there was not any other sign that a chicken had been in it). I guess the thief isn't an ice cream fiend though. That bag wasn't touched. But, in winter, I usually leave stuff I cannot fit in my fridge in the back of my truck - it won't freeze but it is darned cold in the garage so it lasts a few days till I can find a better place to put it or I use it up.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Deryn (log)

[Anna N]

Think I'm gonna cry.

Really, truly Elsie before you cry weigh the real cost of tossing them. It is unlikely they are full, they are not bottles of vintage wine, they are condiments. Believe me I've been through it. Make a list and replace them as you need them. You'll have wonderfully fresh condiments, you'll likely realize there was some you didn't use often enough to bother replacing and you'll be starting with a nice clean slate. In a couple of weeks you'll realize in the whole scheme of things this is a tiny glitch.

(Mine happened not because my fridge broke down but because the person who was housesitting did not close the fridge door!)

[dcarch]

A freezer alarm is around $25.00

 

dcarch

[ElsieD]

A freezer alarm is around $25.00

 

dcarch

Thanks but the freezer is no longer the problem. Our main freezer, which is a stand up, has a built in alarm. Our fridge freezer holds mostly leftovers and what I call "little stuff" like crumpets, leftovers, English muffins, ginger, berries, and the like. The stuff I threw out that was in the freezer was completely defrosted. I didn't have to think twice about throwing it out.

What I am interested in is knowing what I can keep and what I must throw out from the fridge part, and I will follow all suggestions here. Now, when I said I felt like having a little cry was not because of the cost involved but just the sheer waste. That is what makes me sad. So, tomorrow morning I will empty the fridge, make a list of what I am throwing out and temporarily put everything else on the balcony making sure to watch it like a hawk so it doesn't freeze as it will be minus 18 Celcius tomorrow morning.

Thanks all, you have been very helpful.

[GlorifiedRice]

http://www.dryicedirectory.com/

 

^^Dry Ice Directory Find Dry Ice Retailers Near YOU

[Dave W]

Elise I'm not sure how necessary it is to toss all your Asian sauces I don't refrigerate oyster sauce or sweet chili sauce for example and have never seen any mold or tasted any spoilage from them.

I would probably toss the curry pastes but that's because they have some fresh vegetables incorporated usually even though they are canned and shelf stable before you open them.

[ElsieD]

Our new fridge has arrived and I have just finished turfing almost everything that I had in the fridge. I kept the pickles and mustards, maple syrup and honey. Who knew one could pack that much in a fridge and that's not counting what is waiting to be transferred into the big fridge from the bar fridge. Dave W I did not get your message in time or I would have kept my sweet Chili sauce which was a big Costco bottle minus about a tablespoon. I just figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

Sadly my sourdough starter smelled nasty so that went too. There is one item that I am sitting on the fence about and that is Ketjap Manis. I went to the Conimex site and the ingredient list states " sugar, soya sauce, water, soya bean, salt, wheat, molasses, invert sugar syrup, preservative, potassium sorbat, flavour. The Dutch label, translated says "keep cool and dark" but does not say to keep it refrigerated. So if anyone has specific knowledge as to whether this is still good please chime in. I'll repeat that the temperature in the fridge was about 58 degrees. I'm guessing that it is okay to use.

Thanks again for all your help. I made a list of everything that I need to replace but it is amazing how much will not be.

Elsie

[GlorifiedRice]

Ill betcha anything that Ketcap Manis is out on all the tables in Malaysia, not fridgerated

[Anna N]

Mine says to keep in a cool, dark place. There is no mention of refrigeration. Koel en donker bewaren.

Edited for sense.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[lindag]

I have two upright freezers as well as a side-by-side in the kitchen.  There was a time when my bigger freezer wasn't quite full (how did that happen?)  and I would take the Ice from my ice-maker and fill a couple of large ziplock bags then tuck them into the freezer for times when I ran out of ice or for when I needed it for a cooler.  Nice to have on hand in case of an equipment failure.