by all means freeze . it is so nice to be able pull a treasure like chili out when you don't have time or energy to spend in the kitchen. ( it's bound to happen one day(lol) )
I have had many servings of venison chili and stew from the time I was a young child. My grandmother never had enough leftovers to freeze, but a neighbor of mine always froze his leftover venison stew and chili. It reheated nicely and was as good as the original bunch.
Before the holidays I made a huge batch of chili and froze the leftovers in a few freezer bags. It sure came in handy in the new year, when I was felled by the fever, cold, and cough bout that seems to have gripped half the country!
I wouldn't worry about food poisoning so much (though it is possible), but after five days, you're definitely going to get deterioration of the flavor. Freeze it and take it out Saturday to thaw in the fridge. You'll be safe and you'll have a better meal.
I say freeze. I found this at the Mayo Clinic website: (Color me paranoid about food poisoning. I promise you that you don't want to go through it.)
According to the Department of Agriculture, you should eat refrigerated leftovers within four days to reduce the risk of food poisoning. If you don't anticipate being able to eat the leftovers within this period of time, freeze them immediately.
Food poisoning — also called food-borne illness — causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Food poisoning is caused by harmful organisms such as bacteria in contaminated food. Because bacteria typically don't change the taste, smell or appearance of food, you can't tell whether a food is dangerous to eat.
Fortunately, most cases of food poisoning can be prevented with proper food handling. To practice food safety, quickly refrigerate perishable foods such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs — don't let them sit more than two hours at typical room temperature or more than one hour at temperatures above 90 F (32 C). Your goal is to minimize the time a food is in the "danger zone" — between 40 F (4 C) and 140 F (60 C) — when bacteria can multiply.
Before eating leftovers, reheat them thoroughly. Reheat leftover sauces, soups and gravies to boiling. If you're using the oven to reheat leftovers, set the temperature no lower than 325 F (163 C) to ensure they're reheated quickly.
5 Comments
Before the holidays I made a huge batch of chili and froze the leftovers in a few freezer bags. It sure came in handy in the new year, when I was felled by the fever, cold, and cough bout that seems to have gripped half the country!
According to the Department of Agriculture, you should eat refrigerated leftovers within four days to reduce the risk of food poisoning. If you don't anticipate being able to eat the leftovers within this period of time, freeze them immediately.
Food poisoning — also called food-borne illness — causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Food poisoning is caused by harmful organisms such as bacteria in contaminated food. Because bacteria typically don't change the taste, smell or appearance of food, you can't tell whether a food is dangerous to eat.
Fortunately, most cases of food poisoning can be prevented with proper food handling. To practice food safety, quickly refrigerate perishable foods such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs — don't let them sit more than two hours at typical room temperature or more than one hour at temperatures above 90 F (32 C). Your goal is to minimize the time a food is in the "danger zone" — between 40 F (4 C) and 140 F (60 C) — when bacteria can multiply.
Before eating leftovers, reheat them thoroughly. Reheat leftover sauces, soups and gravies to boiling. If you're using the oven to reheat leftovers, set the temperature no lower than 325 F (163 C) to ensure they're reheated quickly.