After the lively Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, there are often many hearty dishes left in the home. How do you properly dispose of these leftovers to avoid waste and ensure that food safety and nutritional value are not lost? As your smart nutritionist, Xiaomei, is here to share with you some tips on storing and reheating overnight dishes today.
Precautions for storing overnight dishes.
1.Rapid cooling: Food should be lowered to room temperature as soon as possible after cooking is complete and then placed in the refrigerator for refrigeration. Dishes can be divided into multiple shallow containers to help speed up cooling and avoid bacterial growth due to prolonged storage at room temperature.
2.Sealed storage: Use plastic wrap or sealed boxes to tightly wrap or cover leftovers to reduce contact with air and prevent water evaporation, oxidation and cross-contamination.
3.Low temperature refrigeration: Put the leftover food in the refrigerator room below 4, and try to keep the internal temperature at a constant position, to avoid frequent opening and closing of the refrigerator door to cause temperature fluctuations.
4.Time control: In general, it is best to consume vegetable dishes within 24 hours, and meat and soy products can be extended to 3-4 days, but it is recommended to eat them as soon as possible to maintain the best taste and nutritional value.
The right way to reheat an overnight dish:
1.Adequate heating: When reheating, make sure the core temperature of the food reaches 70 degrees or more to kill any bacteria that may be present. It can be heated in the microwave, steamer or wok until it is heated through.
2.Uniform heating: In the case of large pieces of meat, cut it into small pieces and reheat it to help thoroughly heat and sterilize the inside. For soups, stir well and then heat until boiling.
3.Avoid repeated freezing and thawing: If leftovers need to be stored for a long time, one-time freezing is safer than repeated freezing and thawing, which can easily reduce the quality of food and increase the risk of bacterial multiplication.
4.Observe the color and smell: Carefully check the color and smell of leftovers before reheating, and should not be eaten if they have an off-smell, discoloration or mildew stain, even if they have not exceeded the recommended storage period.
5.Reasonable mixing: Try not to mix the reheated overnight dishes with other fresh ingredients to avoid affecting the freshness and flavor of the new ingredients.
To sum up, when we gather together during the Spring Festival, although the New Year's dishes are abundant, we must also pay attention to saving food and protecting health. Through reasonable storage and reheating methods, we can make the delicious Chinese New Year's Eve dinner last until the next day, and at the same time ensure the food safety of the family. May you all have a happy and healthy Chinese New Year!