Can leftovers be eaten?

　　Leftovers are divided into two categories: vegetables, and fish, meat and soy products.

       Conditions for storing leftover meat

　　No matter what type of food it is, the longer it is kept at room temperature or the later it is put in the refrigerator, the greater the "base" of microorganisms will be, making it less safe after storage.

　　When entering the refrigerator, the speed of cooling is also important. If the refrigerator is too full and the cooling effect is insufficient, or the dishes are too large and the cold air is introduced slowly, it will be difficult for the food to cool down for a long time, which will also cause safety hazards.

　　1. Fish, meat, and soy products—be careful of toxic microorganisms

　　Fish, meat and soy products only have problems with microbial reproduction, and there is basically no need to consider the problem of nitrite.

　　Compared with fish, meat and soy products, soy products are more susceptible to spoilage. Their common trouble is that they may breed dangerous pathogenic bacteria, such as the terrifying Clostridium botulinum. This bacterium can produce the world's most toxic "botulinum toxin", which is 10,000 times more toxic than potassium cyanide. Toxins can be destroyed by heating above 100 degrees for a few minutes, but if they are not heated through, they are very dangerous.

　　2. Vegetables – Beware of nitrites

　　People often say that overnight food may produce harmful substances, but they are actually talking about vegetables. Because vegetables contain high levels of nitrite, they may gradually transform into toxic nitrite due to bacterial activity during storage.

　　However, if it is just left in the refrigerator overnight, the increase in nitrite is far from causing a food safety accident. But in any case, it is not recommended to leave vegetables for more than 24 hours, especially cold dishes.

　　3. Heat thoroughly

　　It’s okay to save leftovers for a second meal, but be sure to reheat them thoroughly. The so-called thorough heating means heating the entire dish to 100 degrees and keeping it boiling for more than 3 minutes.

　　Meat heating: If the meat is larger, be sure to cook or steam it for a longer time, or chop the meat into small pieces and reheat it.

　　Microwave heating of leftover food is a great way to fully heat the inside of the food. However, in families, the microwave heating time is often not well controlled, and it is easy for food to splash into the inside of the microwave oven. You can consider heating it in a microwave for a minute or two to increase the internal temperature of the food, and then heat it in a pot or steam it in a steamer, which will make it easier to heat through. For leftovers that don’t want too much soup, you can steam or fry them to reheat them.

　　Heating soy products: Compared with meat, soy products are more susceptible to spoilage, so you should be more careful when heating them. It’s not a pity to cook it for a few more minutes, because the vitamin content in tofu is very low, and the protein, calcium, magnesium, etc. it is rich in are not afraid of heat, and heating will not significantly reduce the nutritional value.

　　Heating vegetables: Vegetables are not suitable for long-term heating. You can consider steaming in a steamer. The heat transfer effect is better than direct heating in a pot, and the loss of nutrients is less.

　　Special reminder: It is important to note that dishes must not be reheated multiple times. If you know you won't be able to finish the second meal of fish, reheat only half of it and keep the rest deep in the refrigerator. Even some cooked foods and soy products can be frozen directly in small boxes in the freezer.

　　How to transform leftovers

　　People are very excited when eating new dishes； But eating the same dish over and over again is decidedly unpleasant. In many families, housewives gain weight and lose their slim figure because of eating leftovers because their husbands and children disdain them. In fact, in addition to vegetables, it is not difficult to renovate fish and meat leftovers. It is nothing more than changing the knife, adding ingredients, and changing the seasoning.

　　For example, if there are some large pieces of meat left and it is not enough to make a single dish, you can cut them into small pieces and add some fragrant vegetables to make vegetable stir-fried meat slices. For example, adding coriander, onions, celery, etc. can make the fried meat slices fragrant and tempting, and your family will definitely welcome it as a new dish. For another example, if the meat originally had a braised flavor, you can now consider adding some curry powder and some potatoes and carrots to transform it into a curry flavor. You can also transform leftovers into soup, such as adding vegetables and noodles to leftover ribs to make vegetable ribs soup noodles; tomato Add tomatoes, fungus and gnocchi to scrambled eggs and transform it into tomato-flavored gnocchi soup.

　　This way, leftovers don’t go to waste, are cooked “through” enough when reheated, are safe, and are enjoyable for your family to eat.

　　In summary, while having no leftovers is the ideal goal, with animal foods, especially meat, it is common to cook them for two or three meals at a time. As long as you divide and store it immediately after cooking, and reheat it properly for the second meal, you can safely live in peace with the leftovers.