Whether you cook a large amount of food to meal prep for the week or just love the convenience of leftovers, reheating food is a widespread practice. While this practice is done in many homes around the world, the question remains: can you reheat food twice?
Although many people do, it is not recommended that you reheat food more than once. Even though heat destroys bacteria, toxins that are stable in heat tend to remain which can cause food poisoning. Additionally, when you reheat food more than once, the quality may be compromised.
Learning a few food safety guidelines concerning reheating leftover food can help save you and your family from food poisoning. Read on to discover more about reheating recommendations and whether you can do it safely.
Why Can It Be Bad to Reheat Food Twice?
Reheating food more than once can result in food poisoning due to the harmful bacteria that form on food after it has been cooked. In some cases, bacteria and harmful toxins can adhere to food that has been cooked and stored in the fridge. The heat kills bacteria but not toxins when it is reheated.
Most people know that bacteria begin to grow on food shortly after the cooking process is completed. The longer food sits out, the faster bacteria can grow, which is why it is recommended to refrigerate food within two hours.
Once the meal has been refrigerated, the bacteria growth is slowed down due to the colder temperatures. While certain bacteria do not grow at a rapid rate, they still grow the longer the food is left in the refrigerator. Some of the bacteria are harmful toxins that tend to grow on the food as well.
When you take the dish out of the refrigerator to reheat, the properties of the food are broken down allowing the bacteria to begin to grow. If food is heated properly, meaning the food reaches a temperature of about 160℉ and is steaming throughout, then the bacteria is often destroyed.
Toxins that grow on the food as it sits in the refrigerator, however, are heat-stable, meaning that they can survive elevated temperatures. Because of this, each time the food is reheated, the more toxins you are exposed to which can cause food poisoning.
In addition to the bacteria and toxins you can expose yourself to after reheating food more than once, you can also compromise the integrity of the dish. This means that each time the food is reheated, the quality of the food is reduced. This can result in food that is bland and not pleasant to eat.
What Foods Are Not Safe to Reheat?
Although leftovers are a staple in many kitchens, some foods are not safe to reheat even once. This is because certain foods, once reheated, can cause several types of food-borne illnesses such as botulism, upset stomach, and other unpleasant food poisoning illnesses.
Many people choose to place leftover food in the refrigerator to avoid waste and to be able to enjoy them for days to come. These same people may not be aware that some foods should never be saved and reheated.
Check out this list of foods that are not safe to reheat under any circumstances:
- Potatoes-when potatoes are left out for any period, harmful bacteria that cause botulism can grow. This means that when you cook potatoes if they are not immediately put in the refrigerator, you should not reheat them. The reheating process is not hot enough to kill this type of bacteria.
- Mushrooms-since mushrooms are packed with proteins, when they are left to sit at room temperature for any period, bacteria can form and break down the essential proteins. Reheating mushrooms can wreak havoc on your digestive system.
- Chicken-in some cases chicken should not be reheated after it has been cooked. This is because most chicken does not heat at the same temperature throughout. Unless you have a meat thermometer handy to ensure that the chicken is heated to at least 175℉ you should not reheat it.
- Eggs-keep in mind that eggs should never be left out for any amount of time since the risk of salmonella can form quickly. If you then put the eggs in the refrigerator and then reheat them, you can expose yourself to the unpleasant side effects of food poisoning. Some say you can reheat boiled eggs if you do it properly.
- Rice-this is a food that should never be reheated after it has been cooked. It is recommended that you consume rice shortly after it has been cooked because the Bacillus Cereus bacteria grows on rice and is heat resistant. This means that reheating rice is exposing you to food poisoning.
How Do You Know If a Reheated Dish Is Ok to Serve?
Knowing if a reheated dish is okay to serve requires understanding that the food should be brought to a temperature of at least 165℉. To ensure the safety of anyone eating the dish, a food thermometer should be used to check the internal temperature before serving.
It is important to keep in mind that if the dish contains any of the foods that are not recommended for reheating, it should not be served. The last thing you would want is for someone to get food poisoning from the leftovers you serve them.
To ensure the safety of everyone involved, especially if you do not have a food thermometer, any food should be reheated until it is steaming throughout. This means for foods such as soups, stews, or sauces, you should bring them to a boil stirring them constantly to ensure the heat is evenly distributed.
If you choose to reheat your dish in the microwave, it is important to rotate and stir the dish halfway through the cooking cycle. This allows the heat to be distributed evenly throughout the entire dish.
If you plan to reheat leftovers often, you should invest in a food thermometer to ensure that the dishes you are heating are safe to serve others. Without a thermometer, you are risking the dish not being heated thoroughly enough to ward off any harmful bacteria.
What’s the Proper Way to Reheat Cooked Food?
If you insist on reheating cooked food, there are some things you can do to ensure you are doing it properly to avoid food poisoning. Many of these ways are recommended whether you are reheating for just yourself or your entire family.
If you have cooked a dish to be used as your meal prep throughout the week, it is important to store each serving in a separate container. This will allow you to avoid having to reheat the dish up over and over, exposing it to contamination.
When you cook soups, stews, or anything like it, it is recommended that when you are going to reheat it for yourself or others, you should only take out the portion you are going to serve. This allows the rest of the dish to avoid exposure to harmful bacteria that can ruin it.
Many people choose to freeze any leftovers so they can have them for meals later in the week or even month. If this is the case for you, it is recommended that before you plan to reheat it that you take it out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator with the lid intact so it can thaw first.
Most kitchen experts recommend that, if possible, reheating on the stovetop is a much more reliable method of reheating than the microwave. This is because the microwave does not tend to heat evenly. On the stovetop, you have more control over ensuring the food is heated completely.
Why Do Some Products Say Do Not Reheat?
Some products purchased in the market advise against reheating due to a variety of reasons. In most cases, the label exists as protection against the company should you decide to reheat it more than once and get food poisoning.
Since it is not recommended that food products be reheated more than once to reduce the risk of getting food poisoning, some products will say “Do Not Reheat.” Most of the time this is a label that comes on frozen meals that can be purchased fully cooked.
At the manufacturer’s facility, these frozen products are fully cooked and then flash-frozen to maintain the freshness of the food and to reduce the risk of harmful bacteria forming. Once they have been safely taken to the market and purchased, you, as the consumer, must heat the dish thoroughly to consume it.
When you heat the food, it is important to keep in mind that this is the second time that the food has been heated. If the food is not consumed in one sitting, it is suggested that it be thrown out to avoid any food poisoning that may occur.
Overall, although many people reheat food multiple times, it is not recommended that you do so to avoid any food-borne illnesses. The best way to avoid this risk is to separate the food into smaller containers that can be reheated without contaminating the rest of the dish.