Food To Go
Transport Your Vittles

B y Matt Hampton

The holidays, above all else, are a time to let the people in your life know how much you care. It can be difficult to do that, however, if you show up at the door with Granny’s bunt cake in shambles. Nobody wants to eat that casserole you had to peel off the Tupperware lid with a pair of salad tongs.

Thankfully, the Queens Tribune has compiled some helpful hints to help our readers channel their inner Martha Stewart, minus the house arrest. Step one: be careful with all that insider information (just kidding, Martha).

In all seriousness, the most important element of transporting any holiday dish, be it for a pot luck or just a little something to add to an already elegant spread, is keeping the flavor fresh.

Step one: Keep the distance in mind. Prepared food should not be kept at room temperature for longer than two hours. If you’re going a long way, it might be a good idea to bring non-prepared items like bread or deserts.

Step Two: Hot foods should be given about five minutes to firm after coming out of the oven. After that, wrap them in foil, then a towel. Cold foods should be placed in a cooler with ice packs. Once you get to where you’re going, an oven set at just above 140 degrees will keep anything warm, and the fridge is the best place for cold items.

Step Three: When packing anything in a container, make sure the contents are tight enough to prevent a lot of motion, but not so tight as to completely mash the contents. Take a cue from your neighborhood pizza place, toothpicks or straws will keep a lid from mashing down on that delicate entrée.

With all this in mind, it should be easy to keep the holidays nice and civil, and avoid the horror and embarrassment of showing up with the fruitcake that nobody wanted.