I made some rice with beans on tuesday. I made actually a pretty big batch...

I made some rice with beans on tuesday. I made actually a pretty big batch, there's still half a pot of this stuff in the fridge. I ate a bit on wednesday and then I wasn't at home until today.

Is it still safe to eat when I left it in the fridge with a lid on?

Cold slows the spread of germs and heat kills germs. Just reheat it.

If you wait too long the enzymes in the ingredients might start getting funky, then it's just a matter of whether you still think it tastes good.

3-4 days for most leftovers.

>heat kills germs

Yeah but that's only part of the problem with food poisoning.

Provided that you follow the correct procedures when cooling down, and provided that the fridge is cold enough, any freshly cooked food is safe to eat after 3 days in the fridge. In restaurant contexts, food must reach room temperature (21°C/70°F) within 2 hours after hitting 60°C/140°F, and from there fridge temperature (5°C/40°F) within an additional 2 - 4 hours. This is best achieved by storing in shallow rectangular containers that maximize the ratio of surface area to volume, and avoiding large, tall or spherical containers.

I'm going to point out that the advice posted so far is correct for most leftovers, but NOT for rice.

Rice is usually safe to store in a fridge for 24-36 hours maximum. Beyond that you risk Bacillus cereus. You also need to rapidly cool the rice (from cooking, down to 5C within an hour, ideally). If you left it at room temperature for any length of time DO NOT reheat it or eat it.

Rice is safe to consume for 5 days when cooled properly.
Most strains of bacillus cereus are inactive under 10°C/50°. Some strains remain active at 5°C/40°F, but the generation times at these temperatures are too long to pose any threat within 3-5 days.

It is not necessary to cool rice to 5°C within 1 hour, this is also nearly impossible in a normal household unless you only have tiny portions.

I've eaten refrigerated rice 3-4 days old heaps and heaps of times and it's fine.

>It is not necessary to cool rice to 5°C within 1 hour, this is also nearly impossible in a normal household unless you only have tiny portions.

Right, but that's where it becomes a problem because you leave warm pockets in the rice where bacillus cereus will happily thrive. If you try to cool a large batch of rice (as OP has done) you may even leave it warm enough in the center of the bowl for 12 hours or so.

Personally I wouldn't risk it but it's not my bowels.

Right, but next time it might not be fine. Rice isn't exactly raw-chicken levels of risk but there is a risk.

wut

This sort of attitude is why people continue to drive drunk and buy lottery tickets.

What you're saying doesn't make any sense and it doesn't appear that you truly know what you're talking about. Rice is not any more hazardous than other foods. In restaurant contexts, it has to be cooled to room temperature within 2 hours, and from there to fridge temperature in another 4 hours, like all foods. That's 6 hours total. "Cooled" means that the warmest part of the food has to have that temperature. That's why you should use shallow rectangular containers, not "bowls", and large portions should be separated into multiple containers. This is the same for any and all foods. It takes at least 8 hours at room temperature for bacillus cereus to become a threat.

In addition, bacillus cereus is not just a threat in rice, but also in pasta, potatoes and other starches. You need to stop giving advice to people.

We're not talking about a restaurant. We're talking about the OP. At home. Do you think he has many rectangular pans and blast chillers around?

>In addition, bacillus cereus is not just a threat in rice, but also in pasta, potatoes and other starches.

Right, but OP is talking about rice, not pasta, potatoes or other starches.

You need to stop trying to make yourself look superior on the internet.

>We're not talking about a restaurant. We're talking about the OP. At home. Do you think he has many rectangular pans and blast chillers around?
Which is particularly hilarious since you're the one suggesting that rice has to be cooled to fridge temperature within 60 minutes, which is actually impossible without specialized equipment, whereas my suggestions are not.

You guys can be pretty autistic at times. Can I eat it without fears of shitting myself like a crazy horse or should I just throw it away?

>Which is particularly hilarious since you're the one suggesting that rice has to be cooled to fridge temperature within 60 minutes

Well gee, do you think that was maybe my point?

You CAN cool rice that quickly if you wash it in cold water directly after cooking, and then into the fridge. But that obviously only works if you have plain cooked rice; OP made rice & beans so it's not an option.

Which means he probably couldn't cool it fast enough. So I'd be careful and not leave it longer than a day or so. Because he probably didn't cool it quickly enough.

you are the kind of person that throws food away BEFORE the expiration date, just to be on the safe side.
You sicken me.

mods should really delete these shitty threads

Eat it, post shit if it happens

You wanna see my masculine shit? That's lewd user ;)

i lived in dorms the past 5 years and only had 1/3 of the fridge for myself
I was leaving all kinds of leftovers on the counter for up to 3 days, throughout the year, and never got sick or even got an upset stomach

>all this fucking math

WAS IT IN THE FRIDGE COVERED Y/N?

HAS IT BEEN LESS THAN A FUCKING WEEK Y/N?

CONGRATS IT'S SAFE TO EAT

EAT YOUR GODDAMN LEFTOVERS user.

finally

humans were never meant to eat cold food, you put yourself at risk every time something leaves room temperature

>what's ice cream

>>taking the bait