Perhaps the only thing better than eating a delicious Christmas dinner is spending the following days picking at the leftovers.
Some how it is all the more satisfying to graze at your leisure in the days after Christmas. Unfortunately nothing lasts forever and the that once delicious turkey will eventually go off.
But how long will it last. To help you prepare we have gone through some of the most common Christmas leftovers to give you a rough guide for how long different food stuffs will last after cooking.
The UK Government website advises that you cool and cover your leftovers, and put them in a fridge or freezer within one to two hours. Splitting leftovers into smaller portions will cool food quicker.
It is important to remember that the below information is just guidance, not a hard and fast rule. Use your common sense and be cautious.
Turkey
Usually the bulk of the left over food is the turkey with Boxing Day turkey sandwiches a great tradition. But how long can you pick at that bird?
The advice is mixed. The US Department of Agriculture recommends using cooked turkey within three to four days. However the NHS is more conservative recommending that one to two days is the only safe period for eating your turkey.
Clearly sometimes you will be unable to finish it all in two days but you can freeze then (but be careful to ensure that you do this no later than the second day of them being in the fridge). If it's frozen, your turkey can be safe to eat for between two to six months, as long as you fully defrost it before eating it
Christmas pudding
This mainstay of the Christmas dinner table is well known for its longevity (partly down to its high booze contents). Following Christmas Day you have a bit more time to finish the pud with iconic celebrity chef Nigella Lawson saying left over Christmas pudding will usually keep for up to 2 weeks if kept refrigerated.
Roast potatoes
Ahh the roastie. Just glorious. After cooking the website Lovefoodhatewaste recommends that, providing you store in an airtight container in the fridge, they will last up to a maximum of two days. If you put them in the freezer they will last three months.
Sprouts and other vegetables
If you are delaying cooking your bubble and squeak you are probably wondering how long your cooked veg will last. According to dietician Lisa Wartenberg writing for Healthline, you have more time with the veg than you do with the meat. She wrote: "When cooked, leftover vegetables stored in an airtight container will usually keep up to 3–7 days in the refrigerator. Cooked canned vegetables like beans or other legumes generally last 7–10 days with proper storage (2).
"Fruits and vegetables with higher water contents, such as tomatoes, cucumber, and strawberries, lose their freshness quicker than those with a lower water content like kale, potatoes, and bananas."
Trifle
Food safety is not a trifling matter (as if we are not already bored of cracker jokes). Providing you don't add the cream till just before you serve it as long as you store your trifle in the refrigerator, tightly covered it should last three days from when it was made.
Stuffing
Once cooked you should be able to get four days out of your stuffing. Again this is subject to storing it correctly in the fridge.
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