MIL DOESN'T REFRIGERATE ANYTHING - AIBU?

[TooManyDustyCandles]

Was staying with my (very lovely) MIL last week
She is great but doesn't refrigerate cooked food! She will cook a Sunday roast, make a couple of extra dinners for the next day, and leave the whole lot (beef, potatoes, gravy, veg) with a bit of foil loosely over the top, just sitting on the side, to have the next day.

Or she will do a food shop at lunchtime for dinner that evening, say a pizza, and not put it in the fridge, as she's just going to heat it up later!

Is it a generational thing. DP says she's always done it and none of them ever got sick!

Given your MIL is still alive and well YABU

IMO we over refrigerate these days, so many things taste better if not left in the fridge. I wont take risks with fish though, and I put eggs in the fridge as we tend to use them over a week or so.

I also think most eat by dates are ludicrously over safe.

I sometimes leave pans of soup/stews out on the stove overnight to have the next day, although not in warm weather.

Butter stays out in the dish, as is right and proper.

my pet hate is when someone brings in cakes at work, and there are some left over, people insist on putting them in the fridge. why??

Maybe we all have the same MIL?

I have started sneakily wrapping (MIL leaves cooked meat uncovered on the side despite having pets & an abundance of files) & putting leftovers in her fridge when we stay.

Opened jam & ketchup live in a cupboard there too - ketchup always tastes really vinegar & I have chucked jam before with thick layers of mould. She has 3 fridges so it's not that she doesn't have shelf space!

My MIL used to do this. She cooked a ham joint once and left it on the kitchen bench for 4 days. She put it in the fridge on day five and was still offering people ham sandwiches 4 days later. By this time it was a funny shade of grey.

I'd agree we probably over refrigerate , but I don't have a larder and with limited worktop space I don't have many options for where to put things. So my egg are in the fridge, as are many veg that don't need to be and in the summer jam too. In many ways its just a cupboard to me.

All I have to say is YUCK. My MIL keeps chicken sitting on the counter for hours before cooking it. The gravy from Sunday is still on the stove on Monday night. She says the kitchen is cold - not THAT cold!

My mum puts her bread in the fridge - that's seems mad to me!

I want a pantry.

Too much stuff in my fridge too but it's fairly big and my cupboard space is limited.

Ooh yes, cakes. Put them in an airtight tin, not the bloody fridge.

We had our downstairs loo -which was off the kitchen turned into a pantry. It's my favourite room in the house. Wherever Ilive I'm having a pantry if I can. Stores all my groceries, cake tins, saucepans, cereal, candles & all that stuff. Is brilliant.

Why would you even put cakes in a fridge???

They go in in a container! Cake goes horrible if put in a fridge!