These are the foods you should NEVER reheat and this is why!
There are some foods you shouldn’t reheat!
It happens to all of us: you’ve made too much dinner and you’ve got half a pan left after everyone’s done eating. Throwing it all away is a huge waste, so what do you do with it? You put it in a plastic container in the fridge or freezer to eat later. Leftovers are good for your bank account and for the environment. And they’re so easy! Just whip out the plastic container and reheat the food in the microwave. It seems ideal, but did you know there are some foods you really shouldn’t reheat?
It can even be very bad for your health to do so.
Don’t reheat
There are a couple of foods you’re better off throwing in the bin if they’re leftover. Or just not make as much of it in the first place. Whatever you do, reheating them isn’t a good idea.
- Reheating potatoes is a bad idea, because the heat is a breeding ground for the bacterium C. botulinum and this can cause food poisoning. The bacteria aren’t killed by the heat; they will actually multiply because of it!
- If you’ve got any cooked chicken leftover, you should eat it cold the next day or reheat it very slowly on a low temperature. What you shouldn’t do is put it in the microwave to be heated in a short burst. The proteins in the chicken will change if it is suddenly moved from the cold of the fridge to the heat of the microwave and this can really upset your stomach.
- Reheating rice is risky because rice can be a breeding ground for bacteria. What you really shouldn’t do is let the rice get up to room temperature before reheating it. Just put it straight into the microwave when you take it out of the fridge. Even better: just eat it in one go or throw out the leftovers.
- You can find celery in a lot of soups, but if you’ve got any soup leftover, it’s best to take out the celery. Celery contains nitrates and those transform into nitrites when they’re heated. Nitrites are toxic and are linked to cardiac diseases, among other things.
- It’s best to eat eggs immediately after you’ve prepared them (or eat them cold later on), or throw them out. Reheating them can cause the release of toxins that can really damage your body.
