Foods you should avoid reheating

It is best to reheat food on low flames rather than very hot fires.  PHOTO | PINTEREST

What you need to know:

  • Amanda Twebaze, a nutritionist, says reheating is a good practice but how safe it is depends on how it is done and which foods you are reheating. 

Reheating food is a common practice in many households. In Africa, reheating is done in order to avoid wasting food while people from the western world do it more to save on time in the kitchen. 

Amanda Twebaze, a nutritionist, says reheating is a good practice but how safe it is depends on how it is done and which foods you are reheating. 

Proteins  

Twebaze says proteins are generally not good for reheating because heat, especially high heat easily renders them useless nutrition wise and can be a cause for irritable stomachs. 

“Eggs for instance can stay in the fridge for six weeks but the moment they are boiled, they should be eaten immediately. When they are left around, they can carry bacteria such as salmonella which causes food poisoning. Reheating them can cause a release of toxins that damage the body,” she says.

Vegetables 

Vegetables such as beetroots, spinach, turnips, celery, radishes and carrots should not be reheated because of their nitrate composition. When nitrates are reheated, they produce toxic chemicals that are potentially cancerous and are linked to heart disease. 

Cooking oils

Twebaze says most oils that are available in the markets are supposed to be cooked at a low heat. Every time oil is reheated, it produces toxic chemicals and free radicals that can be cancerous.

Starchy foods

Starchy foods such as rice and potatoes can also cause stomach discomfort if reheated because the risk of multiplying dangerous microorganisms such as spores and clostridium botulinum bacteria is increased whenever they are left uneaten. 

A lot of people rinse rice in order to get rid of the Bacillus cereus; a spore-forming bacterium typically found in soil but can also be found on potatoes, peas and beans.

“The spores are resistant to heat and may even multiply with increased temperature which makes left-over starches such as rice unsafe and a reason for many cases of food poisoning,” Twebaze says.

To reduce the risk of food poisoning, make ensure you boil the potatoes until they are steaming and do not keep them at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep them in the fridge or eat them in one go or throw away the leftovers.

Caution 

Reheating leftover food for whatever reason is not a bad practice, however, what is important is how you store the food before it is reheated. It is a good to keep it refrigerated.

The reheating mechanism you are using is another important aspect. Open flames or stoves are much more efficient and safer than microwaves. It is better to reheat your foods over the stove than in the microwave. Amanda Twebaze, a nutritionist, recommends ensuring the heat is evenly distributed before consuming the food.

“This is because the heat in the stove is more uniformly distributed and has the capacity to kill more stubborn bacteria and other microorganisms such as salmonella. In a microwave, it is hot on the edges but cold in the middle,” she warns.

Lastly, temperatures at which you are reheating the foods also matter. The best and recommended temperatures are low flames rather than very hot fires.