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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be fuming that after we had all eaten our beef stew lunch MiL announced she's made it on Thursday morning.

169 replies

AAAvegetable · 23/10/2011 16:35

Thanks MiL, what I really need tonight is a bout of food poisoning to hit all of us together.

How rude. I would never serve guests meat that I prepared four days previously.

OP posts:
alistron1 · 23/10/2011 19:30

A stew made on thursday and reheated today would have reached the peak of tastiness and succulence.

If it was a beef one, the thing with beef is that the outside needs to be seared/cooked to kill germs. That is why minced beef/burgers are trickier 'cos the outside gets mixed up with the insides and needs more careful cooking.

If it was a stew made with diced braising/stewing beef then it will be fine.

Olivetti · 23/10/2011 19:33

Your DD is probably freaking out because you've been going on about it all day!!

RumourOfAHurricane · 23/10/2011 19:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

QuintessentialShadyHallows · 23/10/2011 19:38

You have nothing to worry about.

My mil lovingly cooked meat wrapped in cabbage parcels in tomato sauce for us on a monday morning. The following day she left Warsaw, by coach. Some 20 hours later she arrived in London, and went to stay with her sister. On saturday morning she brought the food for us to reheat. It had been kept in a cooling bag in her sisters leaving room, so it was fine.

Before leaving she stayed up all night cooking meatballs for us. She put the ready cooked meatballs in the same meat containers the mince had been in. Unwashed. The cooked meatballs were swimming in the uncooked blood from the mince.

Once she cooked stewed cabbage and meat piergo before leaving warsaw, and served it to dh after it had been reheated twice in the course of her stay. This was the day before he was due to fly to India.

I am glad I did not next to him on the plane.

Bellavita · 23/10/2011 19:54

And I am 46 and very young. Jeeze.

Bellavita · 23/10/2011 19:56

But I am not a MiL. Just wanted to say that 40's is not old!!

SpringHeeledJack · 23/10/2011 19:57

I am 45 and very old

I am even older after reading The cooked meatballs were swimming in the uncooked blood from the mince

wherearemysocks · 23/10/2011 19:57

OP, it depends on whether the stew really was only 'luke warm' or if you were just embelishing the story a bit there. 3 days later is fine if it was stored and re-heated correctly. The fridge should have been 5degrees or below and it should then have been re-heated to above 63degrees.

These are the rules though for all food including poultry and fish etc so a more hardy meat like beef is unlikely to cause food poisoning if this was not strictly stuck to.

It is more likely that either she ate too much desert or she's been influenced by your comments later.

Quenelle · 23/10/2011 20:00

YABU

Unless...

How are you feeling now?

Quenelle · 23/10/2011 20:00

YABU

Unless...

How are you feeling now?

Original poster
AAAvegetable · 23/10/2011 20:07

She's dropped off so hopefully all is well. Hopefully.

BTW I have not "gone on about this all day". Other than posting this thread my only reaction was to wait until we were driving home and then calmly ask DH whether he thought it was odd his mum had given us stew that was several days old. He replied that he had been surprised and hoped his dad would be ok as he is flying to China tomorrow. I doubt that exchange inspired DD2's tummy ache.

OP posts:
TheBestWitch · 23/10/2011 20:08

It depends whether it was luke warm because mil only heated it to lukewarm which wouldn't be a good idea at all or luke warm cos she left it standing before serving.

Whatmeworry · 23/10/2011 20:13

IMO any stew,goulash,chilli etc improves with a few days being left. Countries that really know what to do with beef also tend to leave it a few days after it's been cut before cooking.

smartyparts · 23/10/2011 20:22

Not rude - nice.

YABU, but then you have possibly gleaned that by now

ivykaty44 · 23/10/2011 20:28

Stew here starting in the morning so it will be mature by Tuesday - hopefully it will last through till thursday or friday and it will be cooked in the slow cooker and possibly be popped in the fridge.

When it gets to christmas in this house food is eat well over three and four days old. We usually have lamb or beef for lunch on the 25th and the joint will last at least a week, we will have the vegtables for three to four days as bubble and squeek and then make fresh to go with more cold week. There isn't enough room in the fridge for the meat so it goes in the garage.

I never ever reheat rice though as it can dangerous

squeakyfreakytoy · 23/10/2011 20:29

I am a really old MIL........ I am 42 Hmm

Stew that was made on thursday and kept in a fridge will still be fine on Tuesday, never mind today!

Bacon that is opened on a Monday would still be fine a few days later, it is cured meat.

I grew up with a mother who bought a joint of meat from the butcher (with no dates on it!!) on a friday, cooked it on a sunday, and we would eat the last of it on sandwiches on a wednesday. Never got ill.

I have used eggs that have been two or three weeks past the date on the box.. you know if an egg is off, you know very quickly when you crack it!

ivykaty44 · 23/10/2011 20:30

he is flying to China tomorrow

lol Grin oh my that made me giggle

FredFredGeorge · 23/10/2011 20:40

I can't believe all you people are being so Unreasable! There is nothing wrong with cold beef stew, it's perfectly tasty! Bit warm for stew today though round here, a nice salad might've been a better thing for MIL to serve.

IloveJudgeJudy · 23/10/2011 20:51

We've just eaten a chicken curry that was made last Saturday; half was eaten then and the rest kept in the fridge until today. Just eaten it. Yum, yum.

Hardgoing · 23/10/2011 20:54

Surely it depends on the state of the meat when you cooked it, if it's on the last use by date, I wouldn't then leave it in the fridge for four days and eat it myself.

My MIL is also Eastern European, to the person who was talking about cabbage parcels, and she thinks we are a load of wimps. She once fished some pork I had thrown out (as smelly, ugh!) out of the bin and cooked it for her and the FIL. I absolutely refused to let the children eat it.

If the meat is good quality, its ok, but meat practices in the supermarkets are not perfect, there's a lot of repackaging and reselling of quite old meat, I have bought meat from a local butcher and from a local supermarket which has been off the next day after I bought it. That's why I am not convinced by all this 'oh, leave it for days to mature', yes, if there are great meat hygeine practices, if there aren't then you need to be more careful.

WhoseGotMyEyebrows · 23/10/2011 21:07

ThePathanKhansWitch I went for a curry once and the waiter said do you want white chicken or black chicken, i said can you just call me a cab please grin.True. --- Are you sure that wasn't a language problem? Such as he meant the white chicken or the brown chicken? That would make more sense seeing as there is no such thing as black chicken.

TheOriginalFAB My MIL cooks a joint in the microwave/combi oven, leaves it out all night and morning and then feeds us it. DH is frequently ill after lunch there. Kids aren't though, thankfully. --- Eeuuuuwww! Why leave it out?! Cover it up, store it in the microwave/ fridge etc. Yuck the flies!

ThePathanKhansWitch · 23/10/2011 21:16

WhosegotmyEyebrows may have been a language thing. I'm pretty sure he meant white or dark meat, the restaurant was a rather manky looking place,i knew as soon as i walked in i'd made a mistake.

ScarahStratton · 23/10/2011 21:24

I buy my meat from the local farmer. I know for a fact he has his beef hung for 2 weeks before it's butchered. It hasn't killed us yet. Grin

boohoobabywho · 23/10/2011 21:32

feeling poorly today, so decided not to go for the family roast meal just incase i passed on a dicky tummy...

whats good for a dicky tummy? i know- tea and toast. Bread is mouldy. oh bugger - not going to the shop in me jammies....

one furtle in the cupboard later... Aha! part baked rolls.

cooked 'em, eat 'em.

DH came home and said ' i was meaning to throw them out, the best before date ws JULY 11!'

and there was me wondering what the hinky smell was!

Alambil · 23/10/2011 21:35

did it taste ok? then it was ok...

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