Is it safe?

December 8, 2006 2:35 AM

Pizza purchased hot on Wednesday night and kept in the fridge till Friday....Good to eat?

Chicken, green peppers, onion and mushroom. Help me hive mind before I implode with hunger!

posted by anonaccount to Food & Drink (43 answers total)

Was it saved simply in the box it came in, or did you wrap the pieces in foil or put them in bags?

When it arrived, was it left out at room temperature a long time -- say, longer than 4 hours?

The first question is a question of quality; if you left it in the box, it's more likely to be dried out. The second regards bacterial growth.

Heck, as long as I didn't leave it out a long time after it arrived, I'd eat it with no qualms.
posted by seancake at 2:43 AM on December 8, 2006

That is, as long as you're talking 2 days and NOT 9 days storage.
posted by seancake at 2:47 AM on December 8, 2006

uh yes
posted by Marquis at 2:47 AM on December 8, 2006

Microwaves kill all. Go for it.
posted by disillusioned at 2:49 AM on December 8, 2006

Yeah, it's totally good. If you can wait, put it in a 375 oven for ten minutes instead of the microwave, it's 100 times better.
I want some pizza.
posted by cilantro at 2:49 AM on December 8, 2006

I say eat it! It's only been in the fridge for, like, 2 days.

Just don't microwave it, pizza tastes really bad microwaved.
posted by MarvinJ at 2:51 AM on December 8, 2006

Response by poster: Cold pizza FTW! *scoffs*

(*sigh* i wasted my askme...)

FYI - wrapped in foil and shoved in the fridge as soon as I was home Wed night.
posted by anonaccount at 3:00 AM on December 8, 2006

It will be fine, with the only caveat the one seancake mentioned - if it was left unrefrigerated for some substantial period after you bought it, then no it's probably not okay. But pizza that's put the fridge quickly is perfectly fine to eat after two days.
posted by Jimbob at 3:02 AM on December 8, 2006

heck only 2 days?
the flavor is just starting to mature, give it another week.
posted by sophist at 3:10 AM on December 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

I'd eat it.
posted by cholly at 4:23 AM on December 8, 2006

It's definately good.

Go for it.
posted by champthom at 4:41 AM on December 8, 2006

I'd eat it even if it was sitting on the counter since wednesday night. But then, I have a reckless disregard for my intestinal health, according to my girlfriend. In the fridge? Perfectly safe.
posted by antifuse at 4:46 AM on December 8, 2006

Safe - yes
Good - doubtful
posted by caddis at 4:49 AM on December 8, 2006

1. Just eat the damn thing.
2. I hope nobody really believes that you're killing everything by microwaving.
posted by rxrfrx at 4:56 AM on December 8, 2006

Before I looked at the more inside I was going to say "Yes, as long as it doesn't have chicken in it."

I'd still say yes; it hasn't even been 48 hours.
posted by grouse at 5:28 AM on December 8, 2006

I would eat it only if I was going to take a chance with stomach problems over the weekend. You have no idea how old the ingredients were when they cooked it. If the cook was saying the same thing, and its common in restaurants, about the chicken now you're adding 3 days to its questionable freshness.

If you got this pizza from a greasy spoon kinda place then I'd toss it to be safe. I give more leeway to nice restaurants as they can afford to toss out aging ingredients. Sure, its a generalization but one thats works for me.
posted by damn dirty ape at 5:41 AM on December 8, 2006

This is a no brainer. Eat it hot or cold. I lived four years in college on old pizza for breakfast. Two days is actually the perfect amount of time for ripening the 'za. I would say the over/under for cold pizza in a box is four days. Fully wrapped, a week.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:58 AM on December 8, 2006

I like the over/under approach. For me, in high school and college, it was two days unrefrigerated, so long as it was stashed safely in a dresser drawer. No micro.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 6:02 AM on December 8, 2006

Fuck the microwave. If you just heat it in the oven for 5 minutes at 350, you can indefinitely reheat it. And it tastes better than when it was fresh, usually.
posted by cellphone at 6:04 AM on December 8, 2006

Don't listen to Damn Dirty Ape. A girl I was seeing picked up a half-baked pizza from a greasy spoonish place that I like (but is in a different city), and had it in a car for about 5 hours on a reasonably warm day. I took it home, finished the bake, and ate it. Tt was delicious, and my stomach didn't so much as flinch.
posted by cellphone at 6:08 AM on December 8, 2006

Just to add to the consensus: it'll be fine. I've eaten leftover pizza significantly older than that and had no problem. And definitely use the oven, not the microwave.
posted by languagehat at 6:11 AM on December 8, 2006

Yep, two days is about perfect ripening time.....

As long as the crust isn't so hard as to break tooth, it is good....
posted by peewinkle at 6:16 AM on December 8, 2006

For the future, you can really easily freeze pizza, and then heat it up in the oven just like you would anyways. It will last indefinitely.
posted by smackfu at 6:36 AM on December 8, 2006

I'm usually paranoid about food poisoning, but in this case I would definitely eat the pizza. Four days is about the point where I would throw it out.
posted by calhound at 6:39 AM on December 8, 2006

A couple evenings ago, I ate two slices of pizza that had been in the fridge, in a pizza box, for two weeks and a day. They looked like ass when I opened the box, but a few minutes in the toaster oven totally reanimated them. And I'm still alive!
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 7:54 AM on December 8, 2006

I routinely eat week-old pizza from questionable restaurants that I refrigerate in the original box. I have never had a problem with it. The human digestive system is a wonderful thing. I try to challenge mine regularly.
posted by Uncle Jimmy at 8:08 AM on December 8, 2006

I would eat it even if it hadn't been in the fridge.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:16 AM on December 8, 2006

mmm pizza. eat it.
posted by tastybrains at 8:43 AM on December 8, 2006

I would definitely have a problem with a house that ate my pizza. Get out. Now.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 10:45 AM on December 8, 2006 [2 favorites]

i used to order a pizza and leave it in the fridge 2 days before i started eating it. as long as they're not green onions, dig in.
posted by sonofslim at 10:49 AM on December 8, 2006

If you don't eat it, can I have it?
posted by blue_beetle at 10:57 AM on December 8, 2006

I'm flabbergasted that anyone would consider NOT eating it. Two days in the fridge doesn't even begin to set off my warning bells. Two days outside of the fridge is fine IMO.

As I see it, it's in your best interest to push your threshold when eating questionable food. When the apocalypse comes you'll wished that you worked out your gut better.

I eat raw chicken that I keep in my car trunk just so I'll have the microbes I need to eat zombies when they attack.
posted by Telf at 12:55 PM on December 8, 2006

Pizza (and Taco meat) is the only food I'll eat as leftovers. It is one of the only foods that too me is often as good cold as it is warm.

In other words, I'd hit it.
posted by drezdn at 1:58 PM on December 8, 2006

A guy I knew in high school used to keep a pizza in its box on the back seat of his car and eat pieces of it for breakfast and lunch several days in a row and never had a problem.

If you don't challenge your immune system, it gets weak!
posted by xiojason at 3:17 PM on December 8, 2006

Yeah, I'd eat it, but rather than putting it in the oven I would put it in a covered pan on the stove. It gets hot faster, and it puts a crispness back in the base.
posted by tomble at 3:54 PM on December 8, 2006

Up to an entire week. Just as long as the toppings look ok. That's "ok", as in good enough.
posted by thetenthstory at 4:04 PM on December 8, 2006

To answer the specific question, yes.

To elaborate on this, I'd add that for chicken I personally would not eat it after the second day or so (in other words, you're approaching the outside period I'd consider safe for chicken). Most pizza toppings are pretty safe un- or less-refrigerated, as the meats are usually pretty preservative-laden (sausage, Pepperoni, etc.). They're *designed* to keep longer. Obviously, it's the meats you'd have to worry about first.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 4:11 PM on December 8, 2006

Oh for fuck's sake. Eat the pizza, it's fine.

If two-day-old pizza made you sick, the nation's college classrooms would be empty.
posted by ottereroticist at 6:04 PM on December 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

Wow i can't believe this is even a question... I mean I just finished eating the last of thanksgiving leftovers... Mmmmm stuffing....
posted by JakeLL at 6:44 PM on December 8, 2006

This question makes me sad because I left out my favorite pizza last night while making room for something else in the fridge.

Today, after it had been sitting out ALL DAY, I saw it, sitting forlornly on the counter.

I'm actually welling up right now.
posted by tomierna at 7:23 PM on December 8, 2006

Hell yeah eat it.

Put it in a cold oven set to 400. When the oven clicks off (i.e., gets to 400) eat your pizza. It'll be delicious.
posted by Opposite George at 11:07 PM on December 8, 2006

I can't believe the number of people who store leftover pizza at room temperature. For days even! Gross.
posted by jaysus chris at 12:14 AM on December 9, 2006

I can't believe the number of people who store leftover pizza at room temperature. For days even! Gross.

Welcome to the disgusting world of (some, usually single) men. We also leave dirty socks on the floor. For weeks. Months even.

Also, we often don't change/clean the sheets on our beds, for amusingly long periods of time (I had a roommate who lasted a whole year. And he only took them off because he wore a hole in them).
posted by antifuse at 3:20 AM on December 11, 2006