Do you keep these things in the fridge?

[Anonymous]

My in-laws also store condiments in the cupboard, not the fridge. Imagine - ketchup, mustard, mayo or any other jar of anything they open. It is horrible but what they do. DH is also horrified by this. They are European, but I think it is more generational. My parents put everything in the fridge but keep it all waaaaay too long (years past the sell by date) which is a whole other yucky story.

[Anonymous]

I learned to like butter kept on the shelf when I lived in Europe. It is much, much easier to spread. Eggs are fine on the shelf as others have posted. Neither go bad.
Europeans also keeps crocks of jam on the shelf.

Warm juice is simply not very tasty but perhaps your MIL doesn't like cold beverages.

[Anonymous]

I keep my butter out all the time. Otherwise, we can't spread it and it tears up the bread. My mom always did this. The stick lasts a few days to a week, but we have left butter out and went away on vacation and it looked and smelled fine, but I tossed it.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do any of these things, in part because I wasn't raised that way, and in part because my dog would jump up and eat them.

But I'd happily eat or allow my child to eat any of them if they were kept out. It's how it's done in Europe and they seem to survive quite well over there.

Although I agree that warm juice isn't so tasty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My in-laws also store condiments in the cupboard, not the fridge. Imagine - ketchup, mustard, mayo or any other jar of anything they open. It is horrible but what they do. DH is also horrified by this. They are European, but I think it is more generational. My parents put everything in the fridge but keep it all waaaaay too long (years past the sell by date) which is a whole other yucky story.

Ketchup and mustard I can understand-- I know a lot of people keep ketchup out of the fridge (but mayo?! maybe they are used to not having hot weather?)

[Anonymous]

My SIL is from Peru, but lives here, and she keeps American eggs out. I personally wouldn't do that, but she's never gotten sick from it.

[Anonymous]

Juice doesn't keep well at room temperature -- it ferments pretty quickly, and not in a fun way. But you can taste that, and just not drink it.

I grew up with butter and jam at room temperature, and I'm sort of half and half now. Officially, they go in the fridge. If they get left out, I don't worry.

Eggs in the fridge.

8:19 -- Mayo out of the fridge? GAK!

[Anonymous]

I would never leave any of those out of the fridge. it's easy to put things back in the fridge; why take the health risk, or risk wasting good food?

[Anonymous]

My MIL leaves all kinds of food out all the time and never refrigerates butter (the stick being used). I only noticed this at the beach house (she also hates air conditioning so it gets hot) because we are there with her sharing the kitchen. I find her kitchen habits replusive anyway and think, in her case, its largely laziness. She is horrible at keeping anything clean or neat (a whole other thread there!). Now that I read this thread however, I wonder if some of it is intentional as she grew up on a farm where they had their own fresh eggs and the butter was probably from another local farm. Of course, that doesnt excuse the crumbs, leftover food and general mess she just leaves for hours and hours in the kitchen.

Regardless of why people do it, in the US, if you are buying from a grocery store, eggs definitely need to be refrigerated. There have been "60 Minute" type reveals of how long it takes an egg to get to a house through the typical US food channels. It is a lot longer than you think. Those eggs you got from the Safeway or Whole Foods will get bad quickly!

As for the unrefridgerated mayo - this is one of the most common causes of food poisioning, mayo that has gone bad. Those of you who's in-laws do this really need to explain it to them. Eldery people are much more susceptible to food poisioning too.

[Anonymous]

I have never put butter in the fridge ever - it gets too hard to spread! I have also kept eggs in a cool storage room instead of in the fridge. I wouldn't eat them if they were in the hot sun but as long as they are kept cool, I don't think they actually need to be refrigerator cold. Jam I keep in the fridge although most has so much preservative in it, I can see it being fine for awhile out of the fridge. Juice - I've left out for a day and overnight on occasion, but I generally keep it in the fridge. I have never gotten sick from anything I've eaten at home. I think your kids are perfectly fine - much of what we think of as food safety is more cultural than anything actually risk related.

[Anonymous]

In some cultures where food is less refrigerated, people only buy enough food for a couple days and then shop again as they eat mostly fresh food. Eggs for example - if you are going to eat them in a few days - no harm on staying on the counter but if you buy 12 or 18 and you are going to eat them over a few weeks, they will last much longer in the fridge. So really more practical than health. No one is going to serve a rotten egg or fermented juice.

[Anonymous]

We keep a stick of butter out in the butter dish, but the rest stays in the refrigerator. Cold butter is too hard to use. We've done this since we switched from margarine years ago. Butter is fat and does not spoil like milk.

[Anonymous]

Re: eggs and samonella -
Samonella only lives on the OUTSIDE off eggs (since it is a product of environment, not the actual chicken that laid the egg). Where you keep your eggs should have nothing to do with samonella risk. Likewise, if you are worried about samonella from uncooked/undercooked eggs, the best way to avoid this is to wash your eggs before cracking or to crack your eggs on a flat surface (i.e. countertop instead of the side of a bowl) - there is less chance of transferring the samonella from the shell to the egg this way, since cracking eggs on a sharp egg often pushes shell into the egg.

[Anonymous]

Either MIL is Eurepean or doesn't own a fridge.

Anonymous wrote:Eggs

Butter

jam-after opened

juice-after opened

Because my MIL leaves all these things out of the fridge and it skeeves me a little. Ok, a lot, and makes me worry about my kids eating when they are there (although I usually do).

[Anonymous]

I keep all of those things in the fridge.

My food microbiology graduate class was a real eye opener.