Sooo much pooping

[SylvisMum]

Hi everyone, I have just re-registered but am not really a new member, I was here a while back. On the Friday before Christmas I made a big beef in red wine casserole in my slow cooker to reheat the next day for my family who were coming round. It went down well but I had quite a bit left over - two, maybe three portions. To have it another time would mean reheating it twice. I could not bear to throw the stew away so I put it in a dish and put it in the freezer.

 

What would everyone else do - should I get the stew out of the freezer and throw it away? I bought really nice beef, but on the other hand I don't want to poison my long suffering other half.

[abwsco]

Well, I'd reheat it but made sure I brought it up to boiling really quickly and give it a good reheat.

[Gertie]

Me too, as long as there's no guests or folks with vulnerable digestion!! I just cooked a packet of bacon lardons today that went out of date on 17th December...so far so good!!!

[clucker1]

Well I too went through this thought process earlier today, curry made with some decent leg of lamb for New Years Eve. Reheated it again tonight and made sure it boiled for sometime...oh yes and also a small amount of chicken curry. Didn't want to waste it.

[majorbloodnock]

I'd have no problems reheating again. The long slow cooking of the casserole initially has blitzed the bacteria about as effectively as any form of cooking could, and has done so throughout the food, not just on the surface. Any bacteria in there now are only what has returned since the last reheating, so if you've been making reasonable use of the fridge, I can't see it having a problem at all. The only minor concern you may have is that multiple reheatings will degrade some vitamins, so the stew won't be quite so nutritious now as when you first made it. However, serving with fresh veg will sort that out perfectly well.

[The Dogmother]

No problem here either, in fact I often re-heat meals as I tend to batch bake our meals for the week, then freeze them as that works for my work routine and our meal needs.

[Saronne]

I did the same thing with a chicken and ham pie made from leftovers from Christmas dinner; I made the pie (which was enormous!) had enough portions leftover for two more servings. Just shared the last big portion with friends. I made certain it was re-heated very thoroughly (reheated in hot oven).

 

My method of checking this in a pie:

 

1. Wash hands very carefully.

2. Insert pinky finger into middle of pie

3. If it burns your pinky within 2 seconds, it's done.

[Space Chick]

No problem here either, in fact I often re-heat meals as I tend to batch bake our meals for the week, then freeze them as that works for my work routine and our meal needs.

 

I do the same, loads of things get cooked, frozen and then re-heated

[Egluntyne]

If you mean that it would be heated a third time (cooked once and reheated a further 2 times), then I wouldn't. I was once given some lasagne that had been heated a third time and I was hideously ill for over a week.

[kinsk]

I've done it loads of times with things like beef bougignion. Made a big lot in advance, heated it for a party and then had the leftovers another time, wouldn't think twice about it, just make sure it's properly hot throughout.

[SylvisMum]

Thanks everyone for writing to tell me of your experience of reheating meals. I would not have any problem with cooking, freezing and then reheating something once but this would be reheating it twice. I hate to waste it but ... I know what I will do. I will make another beef in red wine for us to have fresh, I will close my eyes as I throw the leftover one away, and next time we have company I will cook the meat on the day we are eating it to avoid waste.

[Cinnamon]

This has made me think.....................

 

I have a batch of Turkey & Ham pie filling that I made after Christmas in the Freezer that I was going to use next week. Obviously that will have been reheated twice too,because I cooked the pieces of meat,cooled them,then cooked them into the pie filling,froze it,then I need to thaw & heat again to make the pies.

 

I am sure I have done this before though

[The Dogmother]

I tend to do the same Sarah; I have some cold roasted chicken in the fridge, which is going into our favourite chicken and bacon pie with puff pastry crust. I usually make smaller pies though and freeze what isn't eaten immediately so that I don't need to reheat too often.

[kinsk]

 

I am sure I have done this before though

 

I've definitely done it before, maybe we are just lucky, or have cast iron stomachs.

[clucker1]

Well we are still alive and kicking from eating our curry which was reheated twice and ate it 2 day ago. It was cooked frozen, defrosted reheated for New Years eve cooled and reheated again for Wed this week. Very nice too. Quantities were advised by Nigella in her Feast book, on the generous side, but delicious.

[rabbitfluff]

It's not just the bacteria themselves but toxins produced by the bacteria that can cause an upset stomach. Bacteria might be killed by cooking but you'll get a cumulative amount of toxins from allowing the food to cool down (and bacteria to breed) twice.

 

That said I'd probably still scoff it.

[Chucky Mama]

I have done a few cookery courses and the chef says that you can reheat twice in addition to the first cook providing the food it properly chilled and heated thoroughly.

[SylvisMum]

I hate wasting food but I am sure I throw away more stuff from my fridge than I need to because I hate the idea of giving anyone food poisoning with something I have given them. It's clear that some people keep, and use their food past the sell by date and also reheat food more than once with no ill effects.

 

I didn't really understand why it is safe to reheat food once, as long as it is done well but not recommended to do it twice - surely any bacteria will be killed by the third really good cooking if they are killed by the second. I have done a bit of research on the internet about it, and apparently the bacteria present in the food can be mostly killed, however in the meantime it has produced toxins which are not killed by heating and it is that which can give you food poisoning.

 

As you know I have been agonising over my lovely beef in red wine, especially as I went to the butcher and got some really good beef. However I decided to chuck it because it does seem to be a risk using it up now - and I would sooner throw it away than risk someone's health.

[chickencam]

So long as the food has been cooled and refrigerated quickly and is used within a couple of days after thorough reheating I am happy to do this. I will also freeze things that have been reheated once. I think that it is more of a problem with something like a lasagna that you can't boil though.

[merlina]

My gran used to keep a pot of soup going throughout the winter on her old cast iron range. It would be heated up every day and something new chucked into it (which might in themselves be some kind of leftovers). Every night it would be taken off to cool down in the pantry. Only if all the soup was eaten would it be started again from scratch. None of us ever got ill from the soup. She used to take a bowlful to anyone in the village who was poorly - and I never heard of anyone getting more sick from it. I assume it was OK as it sat there bubbling away for hours

 

So, yes, I definitely reheat things twice or more, but they get a serious cooking each time

[The Dogmother]

That's a very French thing to do Merlina; my uncle in France used to do it and various Italian relatives did too.

[Blackrocksrock]

Actually I think it was a stay at home culture the soup pan always on the boil - soup was the cure all - when you were cold it warmed you up and when you were sick it made you feel better = Grans and mums stayed at home and so they always had a soup pan on the go. Long as it reaches a rolling boil then its fine.

[The Dogmother]

I always have some Italian chicken soup in the freezer for warming and recuperative purposes.

[kinsk]

My gran used to keep a pot of soup going throughout the winter on her old cast iron range.

 

I have an Indian friend who does that with curry, it's always on the go every day and more just gets added, her family come and go, the rice cooker is always on and they just help themselves. No matter what's in it, it always tastes amazing, and I've never been ill from it.

[Saronne]

The soup thing sounds cross cultural. My mother in law from Lancashire told me how her mother and grandmother did that on their farm throughout the winter. They all lived to ripe old ages.