How Long Can You Keep Cooked Foods in the Refrigerator?

Generally, it is safe to keep cooked food in a refrigerator for 2-3 days. If food is kept outside the fridge for 2-3 days, it will start to get micro-bacterial growth on it. Even inside the fridge, the food can start to get toxic if stored for too long.

How long you can keep a food item inside a fridge depends on the type of food item in question. Let’s look at the refrigerator shelf-life of commonly consumed food items in India:

Roti:

Roti has a shorter shelf-life than other food items, including paranthas and puris. At most, roti should be refrigerated for 2 days. And when you take it out of the fridge to consume it, make it a point to reheat it with ghee or oil to make it edible.

Rice:

Rice stays edible for about 3 days after being refrigerated. Since rice has negligible amounts of protein and fat, and high amounts of starchy carbohydrates, it has a longer shelf-life. Bacteria that grow on starch are much less likely to cause harm than bacteria that grow on protein. It must be rehydrated and reheated after being taken out of the fridge for consumption.

Vegetable curries/Sabjis:

Chicken or fish curries have a shorter shelf-life in the refrigerator than vegetable curries. Vegetable curries tend to last a day longer. However, if any curry is exposed to extreme temperatures - that is, if it’s refrigerated, then reheated, then refrigerated again - it will tend to spoil faster. Therefore, you should only reheat the portion of the curry that you will consume.

Ultimately, how long the food stays safe and edible in the fridge can also depend on the refrigerator brand. Hitachi fridge have been trusted by millions of Indian households. But a company can only do so much - even the best refrigerator brand in India can’t stop the food from rapidly losing its nutritional value and flavor profile. Therefore, the best practice often is to only cook as much as you can consume in a single meal, and consume the left-overs in a day or two.