Foods that should Never Be Reheated and Why

[Renee Profile]

I really didn't know most of these …

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/foodanddrink/ ... 3f5fccdcb1

[mark111757 Profile]

A very interesting post, thanks for the share

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

How odd.
I know about care over rice, natch.
But not the others - some of which you wouldn't reheat anyway.

Toxins = toxic and food poisoning. It doesn't seem to be based on too much tho, Renee.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I think you don’t know about them because it’s just made up scaremongering with little basis in fact. Just click bait.

Do not reheat chicken why not - some rubbish about high protein - we’ve been making chicken fricassee, curried leftovers etc for centuries. Not to mention oriental soups and noodle dishes

Don’t reheat spinach? Well no more spinach and ricotta filled pasta then? I reckon half the spinach I eat it in recipes that require twice cooking intentionally

It’s like a similar one that was going round - X number of foods never to refrigerate - the implication being it would be harmful. It was actually a list of things (such as dill pickles) that might not need chilling - though my experience is that pickles stay crisper in the fridge

[Renee Profile]

I had been looking forward to your post, Sue. I'd never heard anything like that before, except for rice, of course, but then many thousands of people do reheat rice without any problems.

[Pampy Profile]

I was thinking the same as Sue. Even rice, if kept in suitable conditions, can be re-heated safely (again, if done properly). I don't think that Tilda, Uncle Ben's et al would sell microwaveable pouches of pre-cooked rice if it was unsafe. And how would you make fried rice?
I often roast a chicken and then use it in dishes that are cooked - pies, curries etc - and then I freeze them and re-heat again!
I think that most things can be dangerous if not treated correctly - the main thing for cooked foods is to chill/freeze quickly and not leave them hanging about in conditions where toxins can form.
There are loads of "do/don't lists" to be found on t'internet, some of which are just bunkum. There's a site called "Expert Home Tips" which sometimes publishes downright dangerous advice. I tend to go with what works for me.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Oooer! I see nitrates/nitrites got mentioned a lot, in a week when I've finished off a delicious gammon hock and had bacon for breakfast most days recently.

Here's how I'm going to change my diet in response to those revelations:

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I read this last night, we had just got in from a do, had opened a few windows upstairs and were waiting for the bedroom to cool a bit before turning in. I was going to post a reply, but thought it might be better done in the cold light of day, if only to avoid intemperate language.

Reheating protein doesn't make it poisonous.

Heating nitrates in air doesn't turn them into nitrites, which are more reduced salts. As I understand it, nitrites can be formed in the body from nitrates, it's irrelevant if the food is reheated.

Rice has to be infected with Bacillus cereus in order to be poisonous after reheating. Infected rice can cause food poisoning if it stands at room temperature for a prolonged period after cooking, in which case it would be poisonous whether or not it was reheated. Most years this century there were no reported outbreaks in the UK (8 years between 2000-2103), the other 6 there were 1-4 outbreaks, and by no means all B cereus poisonings are anything to do with rice.

Fried rice, Scotch eggs, cottage pie, triple cooked chips, many of the Monday night dinners we've had over our lifetimes. How did we all survive?


Clearly it's nonsense.

[Joanbunting Profile]

I took one look and thought ???????

Any cook worth their salt would know about rice - but only if kept for days. If you csn't reheat it how would you ever make egg fried? What about saute potatoes? Just to mention the most obvious.

[jeral Profile]

It does seem daft and counter-productive that someone employs exaggeration and unjustified extrapolation which obscure the two or three important points that ought to be conveyed to those who don't already know them.

It makes you wonder where the funding came from. Maybe big agriculture corporates who want people to buy more by throwing away perfectly good produce. After all, in the UK, the impetus to stop wasting food must rankle with them.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Worth reiterating the rice thing
Reheating makes no difference, serving rice cold after the toxin had formed is equally bad - in fact rice salads on buffets are possibly the highest risk (and I still make and eat them)

The problem is slow cooling and / or leaving at or above room temperature, for a while (it doesn’t take long in fact)

As BM says it also has to be infected with B Cereus in the first place, most rice we get probably isn’t affected

Just cover at once and refrigerate asap

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Any picture presentations like this are, IMHO, to be taken with a pinch of salt - which can also cause high blood pressure and therefore, kill you on the spot.
I saw one recently on a blog. It was entitled " 10 foods that can kill you". Tomato vines, raw potato skins and coconuts. The halfwit who wrote the blog said " if you´re sitting under a coconut palm, a coconut could totally (sic) fall on your head and kill you".
I couldn´t resist the temptation to reply, and asked him " does a coconut fall totally, or partially?"

[Stokey Sue Profile]

It does seem daft and counter-productive that someone employs exaggeration and unjustified extrapolation which obscure the two or three important points that ought to be conveyed to those who don't already know them.

It makes you wonder where the funding came from. Maybe big agriculture corporates who want people to buy more by throwing away perfectly good produce. After all, in the UK, the impetus to stop wasting food must rankle with them.

It’s clickbait. Something that is actually very carefully phrased (or at least the headline) to encourage us to follow the link and have a look. Then the slides are usually very well photograped so you keep on travelling

Notice how many of these bits of rubbish are phrased as if talking to you personally - 10 Habits to Break Now! 8 Hygiene Mistakes you are making! Doesn’t matter if you think you are looking to learn something new you need to explore, or if you are going to mock, you still see the advertising so careful arranged round the slides, and the number of views of the adverts is what the people who set up the slides are paid for. Quite straightforward really

A bit like Metro is free because the advertising pays for what news content there is

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

I have seen that list before and thought it was a bit ridiculous. However, there is some truth in the rules about rice as has already been mentioned. On the rare occasion I've bought the hot chickens from the supermarket, I've noticed a warning on the bag that tells you not to reheat it. However, I have ignored that instruction to make a chicken noodle soup without any ill effects. I think providing you reheat things thoroughly and then eat then whilst piping hot or fridge cold then you are OK, especially of you've cooled them down quickly.

[Rainbow Profile]

I agree with all that's already been said. But I googled the topic and found the exact same information in an article from Woman's Day - dated Sept. 2015.
(A magazine well known for nutritional accuracy )

So it's old non-news And I guess that wasn't click-bait - just magazine fill.

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

It's probably been written with American germophobes in mind!

[Uschi Profile]

Boiled potatoes have ever been kept for the next day (or days, depending on the size of the fridge) to turn them into Bratkartoffeln by slicing them and frying them in the pan. Add a whisked egg at the last minute and serve with gherkins and tomato slices and you have one of the most wonderful leftover dishes ever.

[Renee Profile]

That sounds good Uschi and almost like a Spanish omelette with the potatoes, but not quite, of course!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Living alone I never cook a single portion of new or plain boiled potatoes

A Tupperware of cold potatoes is a staple in my fridge, especially in summer

Sauteed, in potato salad, in frittatas, even a version of saag aloo...

[Uschi Profile]

Renée, every family have their own recipe for Bratkartoffeln. In mine we make the slices a bit "wedgy" so you get a crisp thinner bit and the thicker end a bit softer.

Bratkartoffeln can be made with or without eggs, but they are best if they are accompanied by something moist and cool like tomatoes or tomato salad, gherkins and what have you.