Storage & leftovers
How long your leftovers will keep, and how to store and reheat them safely.
3 calculators in this section
Safety and quality are different questions
Safety is about time and temperature: cooling leftovers quickly, keeping the fridge between 0°C and 5°C, and reheating until steaming hot all the way through. Quality is about texture and taste, freezer burn, watery sauces, tired herbs. Frozen food stays safe far longer than it stays good, so the freezer calculator gives you the quality window and says so.
Chilling, freezing and defrosting
Cool cooked food quickly and get it into the fridge rather than leaving it on the worktop. Defrost in the fridge, on a plate on the bottom shelf, and allow considerably longer than most people expect for a large joint or a whole bird. Each of those three jobs has its own calculator here, with the Food Standards Agency guidance attached to it.
Questions and answers
Common questions about food storage
Why do these tools tell me to defrost in the fridge rather than on the worktop?
Defrosting on the worktop lets the outside of the food sit in the danger zone long before the middle has thawed, which is when bacteria multiply. Defrosting in the fridge keeps the whole thing cold throughout.
Food safety
Defrost food in the fridge, not on the worktop, and make sure the middle is fully thawed with no ice crystals left. Partly defrosted food may not cook evenly. Use it within 24 hours of being fully defrosted.
Source: Food Standards Agency, How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely: defrosting food (GOV.UK) · Reviewed 2026-09-11 · Guidance version 2.0.0
Is freezer storage time about safety or about quality?
Mostly quality. Food kept at -18°C stays safe indefinitely, the months quoted for each food are how long it stays at its best, not a safety cut-off.
Can I refreeze food once it has been defrosted?
Not unless you cook it first. Once defrosted food has been properly cooked, the resulting dish can be cooled and frozen again.
Food safety
Defrost food in the fridge, not on the worktop, and make sure the middle is fully thawed with no ice crystals left. Partly defrosted food may not cook evenly. Use it within 24 hours of being fully defrosted.
Source: Food Standards Agency, How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely: defrosting food (GOV.UK) · Reviewed 2026-09-11 · Guidance version 2.0.0
How soon should I get hot leftovers into the fridge?
Ideally within 1 to 2 hours of cooking. Dividing food into shallow containers helps it cool quickly enough.
Food safety
Cool cooked food at room temperature and get it into the fridge within one to two hours. Eat leftovers within two days, or freeze them. Your fridge should be between 0 and 5°C.
Source: Food Standards Agency, How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely: chilling food (GOV.UK) · Reviewed 2026-09-11 · Guidance version 2.0.0
What does 'reheat until steaming hot' actually mean?
It means the food should be steaming hot all the way through, not just warm on the surface. Check the thickest or densest part. Reheat leftovers only once.
Food safety
Reheat leftovers until they are steaming hot all the way through, not just warm, and only reheat them once.
Source: Food Standards Agency, Cooking your food: reheating leftovers (GOV.UK) · Reviewed 2026-09-11 · Guidance version 2.0.0
Which tool should I use to work out how long a specific food keeps?
Use the Leftovers calculator for cooked food already in the fridge, and the Freezer Storage tool for how long something keeps in the freezer and how to defrost it.
Do all foods need to be defrosted in the fridge before cooking?
No, some can be cooked or reheated straight from frozen, such as thin fish fillets or a portion of frozen soup. Others, such as bread and pastry, can safely come back to room temperature on the worktop.
Guidance
Guides for this section
- How to Defrost Food SafelyWhy the fridge is the right place, roughly how long a joint or a bird needs, how to tell it is fully thawed, and how long you have once it is.
- How to Store and Reheat Leftovers SafelyCooling food quickly, how long it keeps, reheating until it is steaming hot, and why rice has its own rules.