chicken stock in the fridge - would you eat it

[JMJ]

I made stock on 12/21/10, so just under 2 weeks ago.  I used some the next day and some more on Christmas, so I broke the seal of fat on the top.  I didn't have any more room in my freezer, so I was planning on getting it boiling and set in the jar with the remaining fat creating a seal on top before I left town, but we left in a hurry, so it was just sitting there while we were out of town.  I'm reboiling it now, and I'm going to be cooking with broth tomorrow.  Is the stuff I left in the fridge for 2 weeks still good, or am I better off tossing it and thawing enough for what I need tomorrow?

[CherryBomb]

2 weeks would be too long for me.

[PeggyinNC]

I used to worry about broth that was left even for a few days, but now I sometimes leave it for a couple of months, even. My fridge is cold, about 38 degrees, to keep my raw milk cold, and I also put the broth in mason jars when it is very warm, and it usually has a good cap of fat. Those factors seem to always keep the broth for very long periods of time. Whenever I open a jar, I always smell it first, and if it smells fine, I then reboil it. I have had no problems then.

[JMJ]

I would think it would have been fine with a good cap of fat, but it didn't.  It smelled fine but it looked a little cloudier than normal and formed air bubbles on top while I was cooling it after reboiling.  I'm not sure if that meant anything, but it was only a little over a quart, so I threw it out.  I have no shortage of broth right now.

[Annie Mac]

Meat based item, two weeks in the fridge? I think not. Veggie stock, maybe. 

Peggy, you go months in the fridge & have never had a problem? You are braver than me, but I'm an abundance of caution when it comes to food.

Has anyone ever watched Aggie & Kim on How Clean is Your House? They have this little handheld gizmo that will give them a bacteria reading in minutes. Sometimes I'd really like one of those, just to see how food really fares, for real, not just a sniff and a guess.

[PeggyinNC]

Yeah, but remember, we like bacteria in some of our food...just not chicken broth! LOL  My raw milk lasts usually about four weeks, and I cook in bulk things like beans and steel-cut oats, not to mention various ferments like dairy and water kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, and pickles. I used to be so paranoid about germs, because I am extremely sensitive, but I find things last a good deal longer than I would have ever believed if I had not experienced it myself! Could be keeping the fridge at 38 degrees, I think. I am more paranoid now of man-made chemicals than I am of naturally-occurring bacteria. I am a big believer in the smell test, but if I have any doubt, I do throw it out!

[cristeen]

I go by the smell.  If you heated up that stock and it still smelled fine, I would have eaten it.  IME, chicken stock that has turned will smell nasty even when stone cold. 

[CherryBomb]

See, that wouldn't work for me, I think stocks smell funky even when I've just made them!

[PeggyinNC]

Beef stock smells funky to me all the time!

[Llyra]

I'm very cautious about stock. Stock is an ideal medium for so many things like molds, etc. But I have to be cautious, because DH has a severe mold allergy--- man can't even eat aged cheeses.

I would think that if it smelled okay, and you reboiled it, hard, for five minutes or more, and there was no visible mold or anything, it's probably okay. But I personally wouldn't eat it. That's outside my comfort zone. I don't go more than five days, with stock, and after three days I reboil.