I could cry......refrigerator door left open -

[Sparkly]

This happened to us- somebody left the fridge door open just a crack before we went out for 5 hours. Luckily everything was still cool to the touch and meat was still fine- we cooked it well before eating.

 

[luvsJack]

I hate that you threw anything away, it was not necessary.

Milk will not ruin that quickly, nor will meat. I let mine thaw on the counter all the time. As long as you got it back down to the right temp as soon as possible or cooked the meat, it was fine.

Even after Katrina with no electricity; we came home to a "less than cold" fridge and freezer. We cooked every piece of meat and ate for a week on it (did keep it cold after it was cooked).

 

[Minnie_me]

Thanks for all of your replies. I didn't throw *everything* away, but I did throw out the meat -- it was all *warm* and that made me very uncomfortable. I didn't want to risk my kids' health by serving "iffy" meat.

I also threw away all of the yogurt, pudding and pasta salads that were on the top shelf. Because they were close to the light bulb, they were actually *hot*!

I tossed the older gallon of milk, and kept the other one in there. I thought if I could get it cold again, I'd see what it tasted like. But here it is, over 8 hours later, and the stuff in the fridge still isn't COLD!!

As for all of the suggestions to make my kids pay (or otherwise suffer), I'm not going to. Yes, they have money. But this was an honest mistake. (and as I said in my OP, it very well could have been my fault)

 

[Gorechick]

Sorry you lost so many things in your fridge. As an aside, why doesn't your district split your paychecks up throughout the entire year? That stinks that you have to wait all summer for a paycheck.

 

[TravelMommy]

I feel your pain, we lost power for a week and between loosing all the food in the fridge/freezer and the added expense of restocking the pantry we were out a lot of $$$, glad you were able to salvage a few things

 

[LoriKutchey]

Sorry you lost so many things in your fridge. As an aside, why doesn't your district split your paychecks up throughout the entire year? That stinks that you have to wait all summer for a paycheck.

I believe it is up to each employee how they want to get paid. At least in my sister's district. She receives less per check but gets paid during the summer.

 

[buckeev]

That just plain SUX!
My dear bride unplugged the wrong cord in the garage a few weeks ago, and over $500 worth of shrimp, cajun sausage and steaks completely thawed.
I was understanding though, no (noticeably) visible bruises.

Hang in there Minnnie!

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Glad you were able to salvage some, but it does stink that so much was wasted. My brother unplugged our fridge once without knowing it was the fridge plug and everything was warm. Had to throw out some frozen things (oddly enough those small items spoiled but everything else was ok)

 

[Ali]

I just went outside and saw my beverage fridge was open. I know I was in there this morning but I thought I shut it. Glad it was just drinks. The freezer section with the ice cream was still cold enough that nothing melted. I sympathize with you.

 

[Minnie_me]

Sorry you lost so many things in your fridge. As an aside, why doesn't your district split your paychecks up throughout the entire year? That stinks that you have to wait all summer for a paycheck.

Our district has never offered this, in the 25 years I've worked for them. I have a "summer savings" account through the credit union that I don't touch throughout the year. I'm used to it. But somehow, that summer money is never enough. School supplies, and other things always crop up.

 

[DawnM]

That stinks.

I got paid every 4th Friday, which is 13 times per year. It was really nice because I budgeted each check 12 times, so the 13th was a "bonus" to me when I did it that way.

Dawn

Our district has never offered this, in the 25 years I've worked for them. I have a "summer savings" account through the credit union that I don't touch throughout the year. I'm used to it. But somehow, that summer money is never enough. School supplies, and other things always crop up.

 

[luvsJack]

Thanks for all of your replies. I didn't throw *everything* away, but I did throw out the meat -- it was all *warm* and that made me very uncomfortable. I didn't want to risk my kids' health by serving "iffy" meat.

I also threw away all of the yogurt, pudding and pasta salads that were on the top shelf. Because they were close to the light bulb, they were actually *hot*!

I tossed the older gallon of milk, and kept the other one in there. I thought if I could get it cold again, I'd see what it tasted like. But here it is, over 8 hours later, and the stuff in the fridge still isn't COLD!!

As for all of the suggestions to make my kids pay (or otherwise suffer), I'm not going to. Yes, they have money. But this was an honest mistake. (and as I said in my OP, it very well could have been my fault)

Don't blame you a bit on the yogurt and stuff that was hot.

I would have cooked the meat and gone from there, but you have to do what you feel is best.

Can you put the other gallon of milk in the freezer? Anything left that isn't fresh fruits and veggies, I think I would put in the freezer or maybe get some bags of ice to get it cold again.

 

[goofyredraider]

If your refrigerator isn't cooling, you may need to unplug it. It may have "frozen" trying to cool off when the door was oft open.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Sorry about your fridge.

A little tip I recently learned about milk. If it is starting to turn, or even sour, you can make cottage cheese with it. It is super quick and easy and better than throwing it out.

You can google full instructions, but basically, you put it in a pot, heat it on the stove to 185 degrees, take it off the heat, then add 1-3 tablespoons of white vinegar to form the curds. (I start w/ 1T vinegar add and stir if it curdles, it is enough if not add another T. or 2)

Rinse the curds in a cheesecloth in a strainer, rinse until water comes clear to remove the whey. At that point you can break up the curds to the size you like, then put them into a container, add fresh milk for the creamy base and a little salt to taste.

 

[lauradis]

OP that just stinks

If we left fridge cracked open we would come home to dog laying on kitchen floor with giant belly and no food in fridge.

Did you fridge stop working?

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

Thanks for all of your replies. I didn't throw *everything* away, but I did throw out the meat -- it was all *warm* and that made me very uncomfortable. I didn't want to risk my kids' health by serving "iffy" meat.

I also threw away all of the yogurt, pudding and pasta salads that were on the top shelf. Because they were close to the light bulb, they were actually *hot*!

I tossed the older gallon of milk, and kept the other one in there. I thought if I could get it cold again, I'd see what it tasted like. But here it is, over 8 hours later, and the stuff in the fridge still isn't COLD!!

I am so sorry this happened to you.
Two years ago this scenario was ME with my deep freezer, and everything had to go.

But Great Job with making the hard decision to get rid of the stuff!
You are smart and safe to throw out those things.

I teach food safety and the problem with meat is that bacteria grow rapidly in warm temps and also produce toxins.
You might be able to kill bacteria through cooking, but not the toxins.
That is why it is not safe to cook the meat and eat it.
The toxins are not killed or diminished by cooking, they are still present and can make you extremely sick.

The only thing worse than losing all that food
is having to pay for medical attention or lost wages because your family got sick from eating that food.

When in doubt, remember that bacteria double every 20 minutes at room temperature.
1 bacteria can become 4,096 bacteria in as little as 4 hours, and 32,768 in 5 hours.
As few as 10 bacteria can make you sick.

Some families build up a resistance to certain bacteria, or have simply been lucky so far.
The reason why native Mexicans don't get sick from drinking their water and we do is the same reason why some previous posters don't get sick from behaviors like drinking milk that has sat out for hours.

Food borne illness is more common than people think.
According to the CDC, each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

You can always find out more about safe food handling at:
http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/ec446/build/ec446.pdf
http://food.unl.edu/web/meatproducts/preparation
http://food.unl.edu/web/safety/preparation-and-handling

 

[Tink575]

A few years ago I had just stocked my side by side frig with meat and everything and the frig died. We lost almost all our food, I was able to save a few things from the freezer by putting them in my mom's freezer in her garage. Hers was unplugged so it took quite a while to get cold. Things were tight and I had the expense of a new frig. My heart goes out to you.