KEEPING & STORING HOLIDAY GOODIES

Click below to listen to Chefs Jackie and Jeff talk about these recipes and tips:



Here's our tips for how to safely handle all those left overs and gifts you received over the holidays. The only blue or green you should be eating are those intentional decorations on the cookies!

SOME SIMPLE STORAGE GUIDELINES

Courtesy of Chef Jackie Olden © 2011

Canned meats and pates --- 2-3 years
Hard cheeses --- 3 weeks to 6 months (trim mold off, the cheese beneath is still edible)
Soft cheeses --- 1 to 20 weeks in the fridge (depending on the type)
Chocolates --- 1 to 4 weeks in the pantry or fridge
Citrus fruits --- 2 to 6 weeks in the fridge
Whole Country Ham --- 1 year in the fridge
Sliced Country Ham --- 2 to 3 months in the fridge
Vacuum packed Smoked Salmon --- 6 months in the fridge

Air is the quickest way to spoil food. Squeeze out as much air as possible from your storing packages.

SOME OTHER FOOD STORING AND KEEPING SAFETY TIPS

Food borne illness can be limited by how you handle, prepare and store your food. Here are the chef's top 5 tips for preventing the spread of germs and bacteria in your food.

1. Cool hot, prepared foods quickly. For soups and stews, seal the drain in your kitchen sink and fill it with cold water -- even ice if you can. Set hot pans into the water. Change the water a couple times when it becomes warm from heat transferred to it from the pan. Fill a zip lock plastic food storage bag with ice and drop it directly into the liquid to cool from the inside.

2. Keep your refrigerator temperature at or below 40° F for proper storage.

3. During power losses, keep the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed till power returns. If power is out longer than 4 hours, get an ice chest and transfer fridge contents to it to keep food safe. Freezers left unopened will be good for about 48 hours if you keep the doors closed.

4. Discard any canned goods that are beyond their expiration dates or show signs of denting, leaking, holes, swelling or other defects of cans.

5. If in doubt, throw it out. It's just not worth getting sick if something looks or smells bad.

You can see other food safety tips on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website