This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and
destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my
house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line
from the pole to my house fell down.

We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour
period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the
contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer
sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.

The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On
general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the
leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the
bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And
what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of
those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.

What is your suggestion?

Sharon

"Sharon Chilson" > wrote in message
...
>
> This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and
> destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my
> house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line
> from the pole to my house fell down.
>
> We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour
> period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the
> contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer
> sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
>
> The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On
> general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the
> leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the
> bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And
> what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of
> those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
>
> What is your suggestion?
>
> Sharon
>

If it was still cold there was no need to pitch anything. The notion that
mayo spoils quickly is false - in fact, the acidity in commercial mayo is a
preservative. You wasted your mayo and leftovers - no need to waste anything
else.

--
Peter Aitken

On Tue 30 Aug 2005 11:12:40a, Sharon Chilson wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
> This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and
> destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my
> house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line
> from the pole to my house fell down.
>
> We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour
> period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the
> contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer
> sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
>
> The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On
> general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the
> leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the
> bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And
> what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of
> those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
>
> What is your suggestion?
>
> Sharon
>
>

If things were still cold to the touch, I'd keep everything. I would also
have kept the mayo.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Sharon Chilson wrote:
> This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and
> destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my
> house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line
> from the pole to my house fell down.
>
> We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour
> period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the
> contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer
> sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
>
> The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On
> general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the
> leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the
> bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And
> what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of
> those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
>
> What is your suggestion?

Don't throw out anything even the mayonaise. As long as things were
cold to the touch you are okay for that short a period. You may have
been above optimal refrigeration temps but not seriously so for that
short a time.

Don't forget that in summer it is not that unusual to have food in a
buffet out for an hour or more at 20-30C degree temperatures and that
includes mayonaise.

Many people definately overestimate the need for refrigeration. Mind
you if the mayonaise had been there at room temp for 3-4 hours, I would
have said toss it.



> Sharon

"Peter Aitken" > wrote in message
.com...
> "Sharon Chilson" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and
>> destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my
>> house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line
>> from the pole to my house fell down.
>>
>> We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour
>> period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the
>> contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer
>> sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
>>
>> The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On
>> general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the
>> leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the
>> bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And
>> what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of
>> those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
>>
>> What is your suggestion?
>>
>> Sharon
>>
>
> If it was still cold there was no need to pitch anything. The notion that mayo
> spoils quickly is false - in fact, the acidity in commercial mayo is a
> preservative. You wasted your mayo and leftovers - no need to waste anything
> else.
>
> --
> Peter Aitken

What he said.

Dimitri

When in doubt, take a tiny taste before throwing anything out. But
since things were still cold to the touch and the freezer kept things
frozen, I'd say you have a pretty good and efficient refrigerator. You
probably don't need to throw out anything else, unless it was already
old and no good.

Melissa

In article >,
(Sharon Chilson) wrote:

> This is such a trivial question in light of all of the death and
> destruction here in the US, but.......Saturday the power was out at my
> house for 14 hours. The outage affected only my house, the power line
> from the pole to my house fell down.
>
> We did not open either of our two refrigerators during that 14 hour
> period. As soon as the power was restored I immediately checked the
> contents and was very pleased to find that the food in the freezer
> sections were still frozen. I had not even lost any ice cubes.
>
> The food in the refrigerator sections were still cold to the touch. On
> general principle I tossed out the jar of mayonnaisse and all of the
> leftovers. What I am now left wonderring is should I pitch out the
> bottles of salad dressings (not the Italian, but the rest of them?). And
> what about the unopened package of beef salami? We haven't eaten any of
> those items yet as I've been trying to decide what to do.
>
> What is your suggestion?
>
> Sharon

Eat and enjoy.

Thank you for your input. I should have thought to post before I pitched
the mayo, but, well, now I know if, heaven forbid, it happens again.

wrote:
> When in doubt, take a tiny taste before throwing anything out. But

I'm not sure tasting something is the best way to test whether it is
spoiled, although it may be the best way to tell if it is spoiled
enough to make someone sick.

> since things were still cold to the touch and the freezer kept things
> frozen, I'd say you have a pretty good and efficient refrigerator. You
> probably don't need to throw out anything else, unless it was already
> old and no good.
>
> Melissa

-bwg
"We mourn the loss of every life..., and we will honor their sacrifice
by completing the mission and laying the foundation for peace."
-GW Bush