Although people's living standards have greatly improved, many people still maintain the good quality of being thrifty and frugal. Nowadays, when dining out, it is common to pack up unfinished food and bring it home to be reheated and eaten later, especially during the end of the year and the beginning of the year when there are more opportunities to dine out with family and friends. While saving is a virtue, health is more important. Which types of food can be packed? How should they be packed? How to handle leftovers? In the face of these common issues in daily life, we should learn more knowledge to make our lives healthier.
The habit of packing leftover vegetables is not worth advocating and is not good for health. Fresh vegetables generally contain non-toxic nitrates, but nitrates can be reduced to toxic nitrites by bacteria during harvesting, transportation, storage, and cooking. An excess of nitrites can cause poisoning. Moreover, nitrites react with amino acids and amines in food to form carcinogenic nitrosamines and nitrosamides, increasing the risk of gastric cancer and posing serious health hazards.
Vegetables are safest to eat when they are just cooked, with the lowest bacterial count and rich nutrient content. Leftover vegetables after a long banquet are the most dangerous food. When a dish is served, everyone's chopsticks stir in it, and the more times the chopsticks stir, the more toxic nitrites are produced. By the time you ask for a "doggy bag" when you are full, the bacteria have already multiplied vigorously, and the level of nitrites has increased. Even if you reheat the leftovers before your next meal, you can only kill the bacteria and not eliminate the harmful toxins that have already been produced. Vegetables that have been soaked overnight in salt will have higher levels of nitrites. And after heating, the toxicity of nitrites increases. Therefore, the safest way is not to pack vegetable dishes to bring home.
These issues only apply to vegetables. It is still feasible to pack fish and meat dishes, but it is best not to pack the soup along with the dishes. It is better to bring them back dry to avoid staining clothes and reduce the spread of bacteria. Nevertheless, it is still recommended that when dining out, instead of wasting money and being detrimental to health, it is better to focus on ordering, choosing quality over quantity, and try to avoid "doggy bags". At the same time, dining table etiquette should be observed, and do not move the food around the plate with your chopsticks, which is a sign of self-respect and respect for others.
Overnight raw vegetables also have harmful substances. Once leafy vegetables wilt and lose leaves, it indicates that the nitrite content has increased significantly. If the leaves have water spots or even change in taste, the nitrite content is already dangerously high. In comparison, melons and fruits like eggplants, tomatoes, and winter melon have relatively low nitrate content.
When storing leftovers, it is important to store them separately in clean and airtight containers. The growth rate of microorganisms varies in different foods, so storing them separately can prevent cross-contamination. Packaged food should be cooled before being placed in the refrigerator because sudden entry of hot food into a cold environment can cause quality deterioration in the center of the food and the heat brought in can cause condensation of water vapor and promote the growth of mold, resulting in spoilage of all the food in the refrigerator.
Leftovers should ideally be consumed within the same meal, with leftovers from breakfast eaten at lunch and leftovers from lunch eaten at dinner, preferably within 5-6 hours. Generally, most pathogenic bacteria can be killed by heating at a high temperature of 100℃ within a few minutes. However, if the food is stored for too long, the bacteria in the food will release chemical toxins that cannot be eliminated by heating.
Packaged food should not be stored for too long, and after storage, it should be taken out of the refrigerator and reheated. This is because the temperature of the refrigerator can only inhibit the growth of bacteria but cannot completely kill them. If consumed without reheating, it can cause discomfort such as dysentery or diarrhea. Before reheating, you can use your senses to judge if the food has spoiled. If you feel anything abnormal, do not consume it. When reheating, ensure that the center temperature of the food reaches at least 70℃.
Cold dishes should not be packed because they have not been heated during the preparation process and are easily contaminated by bacteria. Improper storage can easily cause food poisoning. Therefore, it is best to finish cold dishes during the meal.
Packaged starchy foods should be eaten within 4 hours because they are prone to be parasitized by Staphylococcus aureus, which affects food quality. The toxins produced by these bacteria cannot be decomposed even under high-temperature heating, and the problem of spoilage cannot be solved. Therefore, even if it looks fine from the appearance, do not consume it if it has not been eaten within a short period of time.
During the reheating process of packaged food, attention should also be paid to some details. When reheating meat and animal products, it is best to add some vinegar. This is because these types of food contain relatively rich minerals, which will be released with moisture during heating. Adding vinegar during heating will cause these substances to react with acetic acid to form calcium acetate, which not only enhances its nutritional value but also benefits the absorption and utilization by our bodies.
Bacteria are easily proliferated in fish dishes, and the Escherichia coli on them can double every 8 minutes at a temperature of around 20℃. Within 5-6 hours, one bacterium can become 100 million. Such a quantity is enough to make your stomach uncomfortable. Therefore, packaged fish should be heated for 4-5 minutes. However, if the heating time is too long, the beneficial nutrients such as high-quality proteins, fats, and rich vitamins in the fish will also be greatly reduced.
When heating shellfish and seafood dishes, it is best to add some additional condiments such as wine, green onion, and ginger. This not only enhances the taste but also has a certain sterilizing effect, which can kill the potential Vibrio parahaemolyticus and prevent gastrointestinal discomfort. Especially ginger, it has antibacterial and detoxifying effects in traditional Chinese medicine.
Friendly reminder from the editor:
It is best to finish food on the same day, as leftover food left for too long or stored improperly can produce toxic substances. Many pathogens can still reproduce at low temperatures, for example, Yersinia and Listeria can still "reproduce" in a refrigerator at 4℃ to 6℃.
