Can you imagine watching a container of your mom's famous sweet potato casserole being thrown into the garbage? Me neither. Leftovers are considered by many to be the best part of Thanksgiving.
If the plane ride home from your Thanksgiving destination is quick enough that leftovers will survive the travel time, it's a given that you'll want to take that home-cooked goodness back to your own kitchen table. Don't let your giddy anticipation of a day-after feast get squashed by TSA regulations; learn which items will pass safely through security when you read more.
Independent Traveler got in touch with a TSA representative to find out, once and for all, which food items are OK to bring through security. The good news is that not all of your Thanksgiving leftovers are against the rules, and the bad news is that you may hold up the security line if you do bring certain items.
- Good to go: You shouldn't get into trouble when you bring turkey and stuffing.
- Kind of OK: You can take pies, cakes, and other bakery goods through security, but don't be surprised when your food is pulled aside for additional screening.
- Destined for the trash: Mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, creamed spinach, etc. will most likely be declared too gel-like to pass security.
D&G
Tod's
Christian Dior
Wow, this is good to know. I didn't even know that people take food on the plane. I guess they would instead of sending it.
1lucky for me i won't be bringing back food - but i guess that it all makes sense right? i think that it's extreme when we have to resort to finding out what foods are 'ok' for the plane ride.
2who brings leftovers on the plane?? weird!
3my thoughts exactly lawchick
4I agree lawchick - very weird. Are people planning on making a turkey sandwich on the plane?
"Could someone pass the gravy to 11F"
5security never lets me take any food through! they took my apple last time!
6This is so ridiculous. "Too gel-like"? I understand the need for security, but honestly I don't think anyone's going to use mashed potatoes to build bombs. I wonder how many terrorists board planes everyday and instead they're worrying about pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes.
7I guess it pretty much goes without saying that gravy is no go. Oh man, next to stuffing, gravy is my favorite thing.
A lot of pie fillings are kind of gel-like. I wouldn't be too sure they'd let pie through.
You know something's seriously amiss when mom's apple pie can be considered a threat.
8hmm.. i have never taken anything except crackers in a plane... i didnt think you can take food... where do you put it?
9Last time my bf went back to CA without me he brought me back some sprinkles cupcakes(the thing i miss most about CA) and he had a really hard time getting them past security
10idk- i put a 15lb smoked brisket in carry-on once. they did a lot of screening at security though- i guess people don't come through with a slab of meat everyday
as for the gravy, just put it in 3oz containers. problem solved.
11I always travel with cakes. My mom bakes them for the diff relatives that I visit.
12My mom always bring me lots of food when she visits and give me stuff to take back when I visit. Stuff I can't get where I live. Mostly stuff that can be packed frozen in sealed boxes and bags. Not as carry ons. It tends to be very cold in the luggage compartment, so the stuff would still be frozen after the ride in the plane.
She also loves to take her own food onto planes, since she's vegetarian and not a fan of veggie plane food. Nothing smelly, of course.
But then, I live somewhere where there's very little agriculture so you can bring all kinds of foodstuffs here and customs doesn't care.
I imagine cakes would be tricky. How do you keep them from getting smushed? Would you have to be really careful to keep them upright?
Hmm... I wonder if you can freeze pie (the already done, leftover kind, that is) and rebake them later? Would it ruin the pie?
13Hmmm i never thought people brought back leftovers on the plane.
14Never knew people did this
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