Disease at the National?

[L Verge]

I'm ancient, I know, but growing up in the 50s and 60s, I remember food care that would curl some people's hair today. Pies were put in pie safes, not in refrigerators; ham was covered up, but could sit on the kitchen counter or in that same pie safe waiting for the next dinner (or ham sandwiches); same with turkey or chicken; stuffing went inside the chicken or turkey for baking and stayed there until all dug out with leftovers the next day or so - unrefrigerated; a big pot of homemade stew didn't always fit into the fridge. I was shocked the first time a friend of mine yelled at me because my homemade coconut snowball cake wasn't refrigerated; potato salad was made with homemade dressing and then taken on picnics. Have I made you sick yet?

I am the product of a great-grandmother's cooking habits, and she lived well into her seventies throughout most of the 19th century. Her daughter inherited those cooking habits and lived to be 91, and my mother inherited those cooking habits and lived to be 94. They also ate anything they wanted. My grandmother was never inside a hospital as a patient. My mother had me at age 28, and the next time she went to the hospital was when she was 79. My medical history is none of your business, but I do okay.

Sorry for going against modern thinking, but... Yes, I refrigerate my ham, turkey, stuffing, and potato salad - but that coconut cake still sits under its cover on my kitchen counter, when and if I make it.