How do I know if a given food or ingredient I have is still good, or if I should discard it? How can I best preserve a food or ingredient? This broad question is intended as a "general reference" question to quickly answer many how long will food keep for? questions. Please feel free to edit...

If I leave fully-cooked food (particularly meat) out at warm temperature - say on the counter or in a crock pot that's been turned off - how long will it stay safe to eat? Does it make any difference if I re-cook the food afterward?

I heard that putting really warm food in the fridge right after cooking it is not the right thing to do. It might cause bacterial growth? Is this true?

I generally defrost meat on the kitchen counter. A friend of mine suggested that this was dangerous and suggested that I defrost meat in the refrigerator. I am no biologist but it seems to me that as long as the meat doesn't get warm defrosting it on the counter should be safe. Generally, I remo...

I have a friend that is training for a marathon and he drinks 6 raw eggs before running (Yes, like Rocky) - is this safe?

I've come across this particular recommendation many times in various recipes and cookbooks and probably even given it out myself once or twice. Poultry is sufficiently cooked when the juices run clear, not red or pink. In recent months and years, as I've grown more interested in and knowledgea...

Cooked food becomes potentially hazardous when it cools and also when it is re-heated from cold. Why one brand would have a food safety warning and another would not, I cannot say. Sometimes manufacturers treat food in other ways (like irradiation) to control possible contamination issues. The...

Propanethiol S-oxide gas will stop the browning affect on the surface of avocados. This sulfur oxide is found in the gas formed from cutting bitter/sharp onions. When storing guacamole in a bowl, place a half an onion chopped inside a smaller bowl, then place the smaller bowl in the center on to...

My friend was telling me about a habit in the Spanish culture (I'm not sure if it's done elsewhere as well) of leaving the avocado seed inside when making guacamole. The claim is that if you leave the seed inside the guacamole, something in the seed prevents the guacamole from browning. I'm a li...

Propanethiol S-oxide gas will stop the browning affect on the surface of avocados. This sulfur oxide is found in the gas formed from cutting bitter/sharp onions. When storing guacamole in a bowl, place a half an onion chopped inside a smaller bowl, then place the smaller bowl in the center on to...

For me it isn't fried rice without toasted sesame oil, and the fried rice I have had in restaurants always tastes to me as if it contains toasted sesame oil. Peas are pretty required too. BTW, La Choy is synthetic soy sauce, it was at the very bottom of the America's Test Kitchen taste testing of...