Are leftovers low class?

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of people who are on the low end of the socioeconomic spectrum who dislike leftovers. I think it’s a germ thing for them. I’d say it’s individual preference more than money, except for the very poor who can’t afford to waste food. (I say very poor because I know people below the poverty like who waste food because it’s normal to accidentally leave leftovers in the fridge one day too many)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a good friend who literally sweeps any leftover food directly into the trash at the end of a meal.

Maybe she’s learned, like I have, that it feels wasteful to toss leftovers, so we spend a great deal of time decanting in to Tupperware...

I wouldn’t expect anyone who “decants leftovers into Tupperware” to get it.

[Anonymous]

I hate leftovers but will absolutely not waste food. I try and get the quantities bang on and hope we will consume all the food I cooked. Contrast this to my ILs who literally cook 3x what is needed bc they are trying to generate leftovers. I would never actually throw away food though.

[Anonymous]

Thanksgiving is the only meal where I might accept leftovers from the host's house. I have done a lot of "friendsgivings" and you bring home your own dish and in it some of whatever else you wanted to take back. None of my friends had refrigerators big enough to put everything in if we didn't all take something home. I might also take a plate from my relatives' house when I'm there, depending on the travel. If you're traveling a distance you take the stuff that keeps.

The rest of the year, like Christmas, we might swap some desserts to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've only seen leftovers offered when it's family and close friends. Obviously there is a difference between keeping leftovers and handing them out, but in close relationships handing out is part of the keeping.

+1

We have friends who are fantastic cooks, and if we visit them and they have smoked a bunch of ribs or brisket, they will send us home with some. They once made a phenomenal red beans and rice dish and sent us home with a container, which we happily ate the next day. To me it's a sign of their generosity. If the food is of the sort that you cook a large amount, and it isn't the sort that goes bad quickly, and it's amenable to being reheated, I think it's fine to offer it to friends. I wouldn't offer leftovers to guests at a formal dinner party, and I wouldn't offer them to everyone, but I don't think they are inherently suspect or anything.

And we definitely eat our own leftovers. Growing up, one night a week was often "leftover night," when everyone chose from what was already in the fridge. But my mom was a good household manager and we did not waste food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe the opposite: throwing away perfectly good food is low class because it's disrespectful and wasteful.

+1

I was raised to believe that wastefulness is a sin. Many people worked very hard to get that food to you, plus being wasteful is bad for the environment. The only time I wouldn't keep leftovers is if there were a food-safety issue -- something that may go bad quickly and you can't get it under refrigeration right away. Some foods just don't reheat well, but most foods can be reheated if you use the proper method.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe the opposite: throwing away perfectly good food is low class because it's disrespectful and wasteful.

+1

I was raised to believe that wastefulness is a sin. Many people worked very hard to get that food to you, plus being wasteful is bad for the environment. The only time I wouldn't keep leftovers is if there were a food-safety issue -- something that may go bad quickly and you can't get it under refrigeration right away. Some foods just don't reheat well, but most foods can be reheated if you use the proper method.

I grew up without a lot of money and we did not waste food. I have more money now but I hate throwing food away. We eat leftovers twice a week, sometimes more. I am a good cook and consider it a fun challenge to use leftovers in interesting ways.

[Anonymous]

PP decant-Er. That’s my word...anyway, food safety is a huge concern.
Thinking back to class parties or school dances where as a clean up crew member, I’d unceremoniously toss the leftover open serving bowl of chips and invariably another volunteer would gasp and click about food waste as she’d frantically screw on the kids of 1/2 empty soda bottles and mutter that maybe volunteers could take home sodas, leftover, opened items.
Nope, of it was opened and handled and breathed on by dozens of middle schoolers, please just toss.

Covid may change this...

[Anonymous]

The lids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP decant-Er. That’s my word...anyway, food safety is a huge concern.
Thinking back to class parties or school dances where as a clean up crew member, I’d unceremoniously toss the leftover open serving bowl of chips and invariably another volunteer would gasp and click about food waste as she’d frantically screw on the kids of 1/2 empty soda bottles and mutter that maybe volunteers could take home sodas, leftover, opened items.
Nope, of it was opened and handled and breathed on by dozens of middle schoolers, please just toss.

Covid may change this...

There's a huge difference between a middle school dance and a household gathering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate leftovers but will absolutely not waste food. I try and get the quantities bang on and hope we will consume all the food I cooked. Contrast this to my ILs who literally cook 3x what is needed bc they are trying to generate leftovers. I would never actually throw away food though.

I hate to run out of anything when entertaining. I feel like some people may not have had enough. Sure you can put out 3 burgers for 3 people and think "perfect no leftovers" but my son is asking to stop for food on the way home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP 9:54.

I’ll be honest: I hate leftovers. Absolutely gross. Rare exceptions for my MIL who keeps an immaculate kitchen and is a gourmet cook. She typically doles out portions before a meal, packs up just so we can take an entire meal home. This feels fresher and not at all a leftover if that makes sense.

No, it doesn’t make sense. It’s still leftover food, just packed before rather than after the meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP 9:54.

I’ll be honest: I hate leftovers. Absolutely gross. Rare exceptions for my MIL who keeps an immaculate kitchen and is a gourmet cook. She typically doles out portions before a meal, packs up just so we can take an entire meal home. This feels fresher and not at all a leftover if that makes sense.

No, it doesn’t make sense. It’s still leftover food, just packed before rather than after the meal.

PP But not really. Made and put aside and refrigerated. Hasn’t been left out, picked over...

[Anonymous]

We must be trash. Our family encourages one another to bring containers for leftover for big shared meals, it’s part of our holidays. We keep extra gladeware in case someone forgets. We all bring food to contribute and spread the leftovers out among us so no one has to store/waste food. It’s the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP 9:54.

I’ll be honest: I hate leftovers. Absolutely gross. Rare exceptions for my MIL who keeps an immaculate kitchen and is a gourmet cook. She typically doles out portions before a meal, packs up just so we can take an entire meal home. This feels fresher and not at all a leftover if that makes sense.

No, it doesn’t make sense. It’s still leftover food, just packed before rather than after the meal.

PP But not really. Made and put aside and refrigerated. Hasn’t been left out, picked over...

I think you’re taking the term “leftover” way too literally. It’s simply food that was cooked but uneaten, kept to be eaten another day. It’s not necessary for it to be brought to the table, pushed about by spoons, etc.