Do you keep these things in the fridge?

[Anonymous]

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]

Yes all of them are in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

they all belong in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

Butter stays out in a special bell dish that we fill with fresh water every day. This keeps the butter cool and we usually go through what is in the bell in a day or so. Everything else goes in the fridge, although a small bottle of juice might not make it there and sit out for a day and still get drank. I'm sure I did much worse as a kid and survived.

[Anonymous]

Do you mean she never puts them in the fridge, or just keeps them outside and then hides them in the fridge for the night? It really depends on how fast she goes through these items. For example, eggs would be OK not to keep in fridge, as long as she uses them very quickly (a couple of days) and they are stored in cool dark place.

Jam after opening is also OK, if she eats consistently and would finish a jar in about a week.

Juice: if sterilized type, it's probably OK, if pasteurized, then same, won't stand outside fridge for more than a day (so if she opens it in the morning - it would need to be finished by night).

Butter? doesn't it melt if stored outside the fridge? No idea, because i keep always butter in fridge.

I keep these items in fridge for two reasons: we never finish any of these items fast and they usually linger in the fridge. I don't want to attract ants in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Butter stays out in a special bell dish that we fill with fresh water every day. This keeps the butter cool and we usually go through what is in the bell in a day or so. Everything else goes in the fridge, although a small bottle of juice might not make it there and sit out for a day and still get drank. I'm sure I did much worse as a kid and survived.

Thanks. MIL will leave out a large bottle of juice for several days. A small bottle for a day, sure I could see. But a large bottle? I'm always kind of worried about mold...I don't even know, it just grosses me out.

[Anonymous]

I try to keep butter "out" of the fridge during the day. But other than that, everything else is in.

[Anonymous]

The butter does not melt...it is left out on a plate in a cabinet. I think she does it because it is easy to spread then. The butter doesn't really worry me...more the eggs and juice. Well and maybe the jam because I worry about bits of stuff getting in there when you use your knife to spread and then that contaminating the jam and going bad out in the cabinet. I guess she uses the eggs within a week...so they should be ok for a week? I worry about salmonella...but maybe cooking them would kill that? I don't know. She has a clean house, but (to me) is a bit eccentric about food storage. Maybe it is just old fashioned?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The butter does not melt...it is left out on a plate in a cabinet. I think she does it because it is easy to spread then. The butter doesn't really worry me...more the eggs and juice. Well and maybe the jam because I worry about bits of stuff getting in there when you use your knife to spread and then that contaminating the jam and going bad out in the cabinet. I guess she uses the eggs within a week...so they should be ok for a week? I worry about salmonella...but maybe cooking them would kill that? I don't know. She has a clean house, but (to me) is a bit eccentric about food storage. Maybe it is just old fashioned?

Is she European?

[Anonymous]

I think it's a generational thing. My grandparents and parents have always kept butter out of the fridge (just the stick in the butter dish, the rest of it stays in the fridge or freezer until its turn). Of course, in their family-raising days, they cruised through butter pretty quickly relative to now. Eggs in the refrigerator unless they were going to be used in something, but then they always had to be brought to room temp first for baking. I do remember open jam and peanut butter being kept in the cupboard but my mom doesn't do that anymore. I really think it's just a question of how quickly you consume it-- and the fact that their houses were kept cooler than I keep mine! My DH won't touch the butter at my parents' house!

[Anonymous]

Butter is fine out of the fridge. It doesn't go rancid for a looong time, and it is much easier to spread out of the fridge. Not only that, but some recipes (e.g., for cookies ) REQUIRE the butter be left out at room temp to soften it to the appropriate level.

Eggs should only be left out of the fridge if they are from a farmer and the bloom is left on them (i.e., they are not washed). If they are from the supermarket, they should be refrigerated.

Jam may or may not be ok out of the fridge after opened. Things with higher than 18% sugar content can rarely grow bacteria, plus, if it contains citric acid, it's likely shelf-stable. However, I would always err on the side of caution and put it in the fridge.

Juice should only be stored outside of the fridge if it's not refrigerated in the store, and it's unopened. Once opened, it should be stored in the fridge, because it can grow bacteria (mold is less of a worry). Citrus juices are safer than apple, grape, or something with less acid.

However, with the above said, you'd be surprised how many people leave things like these out in other countries. My in-laws (in SE Asia), leave cooked meat out overnight and don't have any issues. They also leave mayo and ketchup out. I'm not saying you SHOULD do those things, but that it's probably fine most of the time.

[Anonymous]

penguinsix wrote:Keeping eggs cool is kind of an American thing I recently discovered. In many parts of the world, including Europe, eggs are not kept refrigerated and are actually sold off the shelf like any other dried good.

I've read many different reasons, some saying pasteurization of the eggs in the US or the handling here is different, or that our USDA is being overly strict. There are also cultural issues relating back to limited ownership of fridges in some parts of the world, and geographic issues where egg farms are closer to market than say the US which is more spread out.

At my local grocery here in Hong Kong, we have the option of buying them refrigerated or off the stack next to the potato chips (that's just where they are). I asked once why and the manager said they have quite a few Americans shopping who have told them point blank "no way in hell" they'll buy eggs that are not kept cool so they do it that way. Not sure if that is the case in all groceries in HK.

fwiw we continue to buy them from the refrigerated section, just to be safer.

More here:

http://www.projo.com/food/content/fd-storing_eggs_q_a_05-06-09_5SE6BC7_v4.205aa1e.html

It's because the eggs are washed in the US, removing the protective outer covering (the bloom) which usually keeps the inside of the egg sterile. Once that's washed off, the egg needs to be refrigerated. It's usually left intact in other countries, which is why the eggs are safely stored on the shelf.

I ate lots of RAW eggs while living in Japan -- ones that had been stored on the shelf. They are safe if the bloom is on them.

[Anonymous]

I'm not from America and the eggs and butter in the fridge was funny to me when I arrived.

Opened juice and jam belong in the fridge. The package says that.

[Anonymous]

Butter stays out in cool weather (just what's on the butter dish, not the entire box). Everything else goes in, but if they get left out for a while no biggie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

penguinsix wrote:l

It's because the eggs are washed in the US, removing the protective outer covering (the bloom) which usually keeps the inside of the egg sterile. Once that's washed off, the egg needs to be refrigerated. It's usually left intact in other countries, which is why the eggs are safely stored on the shelf.

I ate lots of RAW eggs while living in Japan -- ones that had been stored on the shelf. They are safe if the bloom is on them.

We sometimes get our eggs from a local farm and they aren't washed and we were told they could keep for several weeks out of the fridge. We still keep them in the fridge.

The thing about eggs is that if they've gone bad you will know as soon as you crack it.