I'd say most things are fine. If there's anything you're really worried about (milk, maybe?), just smell it to check.
And remember, a lot of things that we typically refrigerate these days (eggs, butter, hard cheeses, yogurt, etc) don't actually need to be refrigerated, and didn't used to be.
The most dangerous things are prepared foods, particularly uncooked meat products, and anything that has a large surface (so you might think twice about raw mince).
Unless the temperature in the fridge got above 20C, I'd not worry about the damage that could have been done - if you have any dishes that you worry about, toss them, but UHT milk, eggs, vegetables, cooked food can all be stored at room temperature for several hours. (veggies and eggs for days, just look how supermarkets sell them). Fresh milk might go off, but fresh milk can go off on a whim anyway, even in the fridge.
veggies and eggs for days, just look how supermarkets sell them
Ah, that must be another pondian difference in food cultures -- grocers in the US typically sell eggs and produce out of chilled open-fronted displays. And some retailers that only sell a small range of fresh perishables, like convenience stores and chemists, keep even the eggs and veg in glass-fronted refrigerator cases.
Most of the time, foods just "age" faster when exposed to warmer temperatures. In the case of milk products, this is not all that dangerous for brief periods of time (although YMMV as to how desirable it is ... one person's yogurt is another person's spoiled milk, after all). Meat is a little more tricky, but unless it warmed up - the USDA page I found says "above 40°F for 2 hours or more" - it's likely to be OK.
I had a room mate from California who thought eggs could be kept out of the fridge entirely, so those are probably OK too.
And with fruits and vegetables, most of this is not an issue at all.
Eggs CAN be kept out of the fridge entirely, although I suggest use within 3-5 weeks. Its just that the cold air in the fridge arrests the growth of the eggs air pocket that a growing chick would breathe through. The larger the air pocket, the more chance bacteria has to enter the porous egg shell. Now, I do suggest leaving them in a cool dark cabinet if you plan to not refrigerate them though, because excess heat will accelerate the air pockets growth, and will eventually spoil the egg, since store-bought eggs aren't fertile.
If, however, you want rotten eggs to egg someones house, or throw at an annoying sister/brother, leave them in the full sun for about 2 weeks. 'Nuff said.
My microbiologist mother (may she rest in peace) was terribly cautious about most of this. California Roomie, on the other hand, was so off in her own happy little place most of the time that I was never sure how seriously to take anything she said. I don't imagine that her statement that "people in California keep their eggs on the counter" was quite as all-encompassing as she seemed to mean, for instance.
That's interesting about the air space, though. My experience is that older eggs (in terms of time in the fridge) are better for hard-boiling and peeling because the shells don't stick to the cooked white as much. I'm not sure what this actually means in terms of what's happening to the egg.
(Farmer's market eggs might hatch instead, though, maybe? That's where we prefer to buy them, but if you want the non-exhorbitantly-priced ones, you have to be there right when the market opens, and we don't always make it.)
Most of the rest of the world doesn't refrigerate their eggs, as I understand it. I find it kind of fascinating, the differences in food treatments. The UK seems very...lax to me when it comes to jams and jellies, but I was inculcated by strict panicked USDA extension offices at an impressionable age.
Unless the folks at your farmer's market are specifically marketing their wares as fertile eggs, I suspect there is very little chance you'd need to worry about them hatching. Laying hens don't require the presence of a rooster because their egg production is triggered by seasonal/artificial light exposure; so most commercial egg farmers don't bother with the hassle and extra cost of keeping noisy, aggressive roosters that they don't actually need. (And it wouldn't make much business sense not to label fertile eggs as such -- some people believe that they're more nutritious and will pay a premium for them, while others are deeply squeamish at the thought of recognizable chicken embryos...)
As for storing eggs at room temp, that depends on how the egg's been previously handled. Unwashed eggs straight from the hen have a protective coating known as "bloom" (http://zoeyfarms.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/egg-facts/) that makes the shell considerably less porous, so the egg isn't as vulnerable to bacteria and doesn't dry out as quickly. You can store washed and unwashed eggs at room temp, but the unwashed ones will stay good for much, much longer.
Older eggs work better for hard-boiling because they're a little dehydrated -- some of the moisture in the whites has evaporated out and the inner membrane has pulled away from the shell. If the bloom was still on the eggs, refrigerated or not, it'd take even longer for them to get to that easy-to-peel stage since the coating makes the shell less porous.
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And remember, a lot of things that we typically refrigerate these days (eggs, butter, hard cheeses, yogurt, etc) don't actually need to be refrigerated, and didn't used to be.
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Be careful of milk and meat--anything high protein.
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The most dangerous things are prepared foods, particularly uncooked meat products, and anything that has a large surface (so you might think twice about raw mince).
Unless the temperature in the fridge got above 20C, I'd not worry about the damage that could have been done - if you have any dishes that you worry about, toss them, but UHT milk, eggs, vegetables, cooked food can all be stored at room temperature for several hours. (veggies and eggs for days, just look how supermarkets sell them). Fresh milk might go off, but fresh milk can go off on a whim anyway, even in the fridge.
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Ah, that must be another pondian difference in food cultures -- grocers in the US typically sell eggs and produce out of chilled open-fronted displays. And some retailers that only sell a small range of fresh perishables, like convenience stores and chemists, keep even the eggs and veg in glass-fronted refrigerator cases.
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Most of the time, foods just "age" faster when exposed to warmer temperatures. In the case of milk products, this is not all that dangerous for brief periods of time (although YMMV as to how desirable it is ... one person's yogurt is another person's spoiled milk, after all). Meat is a little more tricky, but unless it warmed up - the USDA page I found says "above 40°F for 2 hours or more" - it's likely to be OK.
I had a room mate from California who thought eggs could be kept out of the fridge entirely, so those are probably OK too.
And with fruits and vegetables, most of this is not an issue at all.
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Eggs CAN be kept out of the fridge entirely, although I suggest use within 3-5 weeks. Its just that the cold air in the fridge arrests the growth of the eggs air pocket that a growing chick would breathe through. The larger the air pocket, the more chance bacteria has to enter the porous egg shell. Now, I do suggest leaving them in a cool dark cabinet if you plan to not refrigerate them though, because excess heat will accelerate the air pockets growth, and will eventually spoil the egg, since store-bought eggs aren't fertile.
If, however, you want rotten eggs to egg someones house, or throw at an annoying sister/brother, leave them in the full sun for about 2 weeks. 'Nuff said.
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My microbiologist mother (may she rest in peace) was terribly cautious about most of this. California Roomie, on the other hand, was so off in her own happy little place most of the time that I was never sure how seriously to take anything she said. I don't imagine that her statement that "people in California keep their eggs on the counter" was quite as all-encompassing as she seemed to mean, for instance.
That's interesting about the air space, though. My experience is that older eggs (in terms of time in the fridge) are better for hard-boiling and peeling because the shells don't stick to the cooked white as much. I'm not sure what this actually means in terms of what's happening to the egg.
(Farmer's market eggs might hatch instead, though, maybe? That's where we prefer to buy them, but if you want the non-exhorbitantly-priced ones, you have to be there right when the market opens, and we don't always make it.)
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As for storing eggs at room temp, that depends on how the egg's been previously handled. Unwashed eggs straight from the hen have a protective coating known as "bloom" (http://zoeyfarms.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/egg-facts/) that makes the shell considerably less porous, so the egg isn't as vulnerable to bacteria and doesn't dry out as quickly. You can store washed and unwashed eggs at room temp, but the unwashed ones will stay good for much, much longer.
Older eggs work better for hard-boiling because they're a little dehydrated -- some of the moisture in the whites has evaporated out and the inner membrane has pulled away from the shell. If the bloom was still on the eggs, refrigerated or not, it'd take even longer for them to get to that easy-to-peel stage since the coating makes the shell less porous.