What to throw out with a broken fridge--a vegan answer
Hi all--
In the past few days I've noticed that my fridge isn't feeling as cool as it should. I tried putting it onto a higher setting (in case the INSANE heat here was a culprit), but I've felt no difference. I know it's not just me b/c my frozen fruits in my freezer feel like they're thawing.
I'm calling tomorrow to get it fixed, of course, but in the meantime I'm wondering what I should throw out and what I could keep. Yes, I know that there are 10000000 threads on this subject around the internet, but most of them are very meat-based, and even those that aren't still assume a fair bit of egg and dairy (of which I have none in the fridge).
Plus, while I'm pretty sure that some condiments are fine, and that many of the fruits and veggies in my fridge don't really need to be there (more just to keep away from fruit flies), I have some ingredients that I'm less certain of and that wouldn't be on the radar of most site recommendations. Do I ditch the last bit of miso I have (just enough to make another batch of salad dressing?) An unopened thing of extra-firm tofu packed in water? Vegannaise? Earth Balance? Good, jarred sauerkraut? All of these things come from the refrigerated section of the store. And what about those thawing frozen fruits, anyway?
I just threw out some leftover quinoa and brown rice.
Any thoughts would be welcome. I'm kind of sad as I've been on a good cooking kick, and until this gets figured out I'll have to stop that :\
i say smell it and proceed... or look at it and proceed... i'm sure if it looks gross though it probably smells gross...
i wouldn't be so lenient if that was actually rotting corpses or secretions cause that shit could def make you sick
Miso and sauerkraut are fermented and have enough salt that they should be fine. I don't think miso even needs to be refrigerated. The tofu is probably ok as well, especially since I assume you'll be cooking it before eating. The earth balance should be ok too as long as it's not left out for days at a time (smell before using though). I don't know about vegannaise...just do the smell test. As for thawing frozen fruits...if your fridge gets fixed before they're fully thawed you could probably freeze them again, otherwise I would bake a whole lotta muffins/pies/fruit breads/whatever. Or can them or make jam/preserves.
Smell test everything. The only thing I'd be worried about would MAYBE be tofu, vegenaise, earth balance, tofutti products, etc.
Thanks, all. Everything seems fine--I think I'm going to throw out the leftovers from an open can of chickpeas, but that's about. Smell-tested the vegannaise and it was OK. (Aside--I HATE when smell-test is the answer, since I was responsible for smell-testing way too much sour milk when I was little. Maybe that's why I don't want to drink it now.)
Went ahead and made a small salad with some caesar chavez dressing (Appetite for reduction) to use up the last of the miso. I'm not dead. The fruit was still pretty cold so that was ok too.
By the way, I finally found this list which, while still heavy on the meat/dairy products, still gives more attention to other stuff than anything else I've seen: http://www.buckscounty.org/government/departments/humanservices/healthdepartment/PowerOutageFoodGuidelines.aspx