NOTE: The material in the audio and video is covered on the following pages in written form if you prefer to read.
[/tab] [tab]
The DOs and DON’Ts of Reheating Meals.
DO
* DO Use a low to medium heat.
When we’re reheating the trick is to get the food warm all the way through without overcooking. This is particularly tricky with larger pieces of food. By using lower temps we allow time for the heat to transfer to the middle while minimizing exposure to the edges.
* DO Cover your food
As you’d expect this prevents over browning and drying out. The steam trapped around the food acts as a nice buffer.
* DO Be wary of drying out and add water if needed
Even when we have dishes covered while heating, there is still a risk of drying out. Particularly for dishes like cooked beans that like to suck up moisture while they are being stored in the fridge. The easy solution is to add back some water a little at a time so you don’t go too far and end up with a diluted watery mess.
* DO Store and heat different components separately
This is HUGE! The biggest cause of reheated meals and leftovers being perceived as ‘boring’ is when everything has been lumped in together and you lose the textural and flavour variety of the different components. By taking the time to store different elements separately, you give yourself options to add back variety when you serve.
For example the sweet potato and chickpea tajine in this module will be much fresher and more vibrant if you keep the coriander (cilantro) separate and just sprinkle it over the top of your warm tajine.
* DO Only reheat as much as you think you’ll eat now
This is from a food quality and food safety perspective. The more times you cool and reheat a meal the more likely you’re going to overcook or dry it out. And the more it is sitting around at warm temps the more risk of food spoilage microbes growing.
* DO Chill leftovers asap
Of course sometimes there will be leftovers so make sure you keep them as safe as possible and chill as soon as is reasonable.
DON’T
* DON’T Leave warm food sitting around for more than 2 hours.
I know we’ve already covered this but I can’t emphasize the quality and safety implications enough.
* DON’T Serve everything at the same temperature.
This is about keeping reheated meals and leftovers as delicious as possible. I try and serve something raw and fresh with every meal, even cheese on toast!
My go to options are:
– serving a green or other type of salad as a side
– sprinkling over leafy herbs such as mint, parsley, coriander or basil
– toasted nuts – not raw as such but they do provide textural contrast and that super delicious ‘crunch’
– serving on a bed of baby spinach, cauliflower rice, shaved cabbage or other raw bite sized veg.
* DON’T Reheat straight from frozen.
There are exceptions for this one. Meals with lots of liquid like soups and stews are usually OK to go from the freezer to the pot. This is because the liquid means you can stir the food and quickly transfer heat from the hot to the colder parts. As opposed to a large chunk of meat.
The other exception is small particles like rice or peas, again because they can easily be stirred. We’ll go deeper into the best methods for defrosting soon.
[/tab][tab]
7 Golden Rules of Freezing Food.
1. Don’t Refreeze Raw Food
Freezing doesn’t kill food spoilage yeasts and bacteria. It slows them down dramatically but, they’re still alive. Once food is defrosted, the little critters can get going quite quickly, so if you freeze the food again, you can be freezing much higher levels of microbes that may make the food unsafe to eat.
By sticking to rule number 1, you minimize the risk.
2. It is OK to Thaw Food, Cook It and Then Refreeze
By cooking the food you’re effectively killing the yeasts and bacteria and bringing the food back to safe levels. So think of it as starting with a clean slate.
3. Cool Your Food Before Freezing
The problem with putting hot food in the freezer is that it can increase the internal freezer temperature for a while and possibly start to defrost the already frozen food. It makes more sense to cool first but make sure you’re not leaving food sitting around for long periods of time at room temperature.
4. Freeze Things ASAP.
Freezing is a great food preservation technique but it’s only going to be as good as the food that goes in. Best to freeze food at it’s freshest so that it will be at it’s best once defrosted. The wonderful sweetness we take for granted in frozen peas wouldn’t be possible if the peas were old when frozen.
5. Choose Appropriate Packaging / Containers
The air in your the freezer is very dry, otherwise you end up with the insides of your freezer looking more like an igloo. If your food is exposed to the air, it’s going to loose moisture, dry out and get that awful freezer burn look and flavour.
Don’t assume that all plastic bags are going to protect your food in the freezer. Best to go with bags that are designed for freezer use such as thick ziplock bags. Or better yet, invest in some pyrex containers that can go from freezer to oven.
6. Allow for Expansion
Water, and therefore food, expands when it freezes. This is why isn’t not a good idea to leave bottles of wine in the freezer. Make allowances for this and avoid messy explosions.
7. Freeze Smaller Portions
There are 2 benefits here. First is that smaller volumes will freeze and defrost more quickly. Second is that you can just defrost and use what you need rather than having a whole heap of food on your hands. As my Dad found out recently when he splurged on gluten free bread and popped the loaves all in the freezer without slicing.
DO FREEZE
* Bread. Just slice it first so you can quickly defrost in the toaster.
* Soups, stews and stocks.
* Cooked rice. Great to have on hand for egg fried rice.
* Raw Meat & fish – although they will loose some moisture upon thawing,
* Bacon. Great to keep on hand for when there’s an emergency call for pork products
* Bananas. Great for making banana bread or if you remember to peel them first almost instant ‘ice cream’
* Berries. If you ever find yourself with a berry glut, freeze them in a single layer on a tray. Then pop them in a freezer bag or container.
* Pastry. I always make more than I need then freeze the rest for later. If you’d like to explore making your own pastry, check out our Super Simple Baking class.
* Fresh chilli, horseradish, tumeric & ginger. Great to have on hand.
* Herbs. While they will loose their fresh appearance, the flavour will still be great. Especially good for the woody herbs like rosemary & thyme.
DON’T FREEZE:
* Dairy products – except for butter and hard cheese.
* Whole eggs – because they crack on expanding
* High moisture fruit & vegetables – like celery or lettuce. When the water expands it damages the vegetable cell walls which turns them to mush when they thaw out.
* Jam. The pectin which causes the jam to gel breaks down at freezing temperatures.
* Mayonnaise.
[/tab][tab]
Defrosting 101
I’m not a big fan of the whole microwave thing. They take up heaps of space and most people rarely cook with them. But for years I kept one cluttering my tiny kitchen because I thought I needed it for defrosting things from the freezer.
It’s been years since I sold my microwave on ebay. And I haven’t missed it one bit.
I especially haven’t missed the feeling when you’re defrosting raw meat in the microwave and leave it in too long so that the edges get overcooked while the middle is still icy. Ick.
The Quickest and Safest Methods for Defrosting Without a Microwave
1. In the Fridge
Most of the time I try to get things out of the freezer the night before and let them safely and slowly defrost in the fridge, like a good food-safety-law-abiding citizen. The only problem with defrosting food in the fridge is that it can take 24 hours or more.
There are times when I forget or my plans change, and that’s when I use the following methods…
2. Straight Into a Pan / Oven
If I want to defrost something like a soup or stew, I just run the bottom of the freezer container under the hot water tap for a little while, enough to loosen. I then deposit the frozen chunk into a saucepan and slowly allow it to defrost over the lowest heat with the lid on. Too easy.
Most frozen veg, like peas, are best popped straight into a pan with a little olive oil, or into a saucepan of boiling water. Frozen chickpeas, lentils and beans all work in a similar manner.
3. Defrosting on a Metal Surface
I used to think meat and fish were more tricky to defrost, than tubs of soup, until I learned this wonderful new method. I picked up the idea from a food science book called ‘What Einstein Told His Chef’.
Basically, things will defrost faster the quicker their coldness is taken away from them. So you want a surface that will conduct heat to the frozen item (or take the cold away) as efficiently as possible.
While a metal sink is better than a wooden bench top at conducting heat, the ridged surface means that only part of the food is in contact with the metal. Much better to use a heavy cast iron frying or roasting pan for the maximum heat/cold transfer.
I recently put this to the test defrosting 2 similar sized steaks. One, I unwrapped and placed directly on my cast iron roasting pan. The other I left wrapped in it’s Styrofoam tray from the butcher. I turned both every 20 minutes or so. And the winner was undoubtedly the steak on the roasting pan which took about an hour to defrost fully. Whereas the other steak took about 3 1/2 hours to get to the same state. I love it when an experiment proves the point!
For module 2 I’ve done the Slow Cooked Chickpeas, I didn’t have tomato paste, so I’ve used canned tomatoes… It doesn’t really tasted as good as probably it should be, but I made a big batch and it was great that I could eat with anything else that I had available.
On the following week I still had some chickpeas in the fridge and it was beginning to spoil… Normally I would throw in the bin, but then I saw the Sweet Potato & Chickpea Tajine recipe in module 3 and I was able to save the rest of the chickpeas! 🙂
My big question is how do you keep track on what needs to be eaten soon so it doesn’t spoil? Do you add expiration dates to the pots?
I think you already said something about this, but my main trouble is to keep this rotation in my fridge, things getting in and out constantly…
Normally I just get to the point that I have nothing in the fridge to start all fresh in the following week, but then there’s always a gap… Maybe I should use my freezer more often, right? heheh
No I don’t label things with expiry dates but there are two habits that really help me keep track of what needs eating…
1. Look in the fridge every day (including opening the drawers and checking out what’s hidden on the shelves).
2. Moving any ‘eat asap’ items to the front of the fridge on the top shelf so I see them every time I open the door and don’t forget.
And yes your freezer is a great resource to help with the balance! Especially for things like the chickpeas.
I’ve found several recipes I’d like to try. Magic Sausage supper is a regular for us already, and we like eating it for 2 nights (I always double the recipe). It would take some doing to freeze and save it… When we are going to be home for more than a couple of weeks I’ll try making some things ahead and freezing them. It is nice to be able to pull something out of the freezer in an emergency, and although I’ve sort of tried to have freezer meals before it hasn’t worked well for me. I’ll have to develop a consistent practice of making them.
OMG the mushroom ragu is amazing! And the sweet potato and chickpea tagine was lovely as well. I made them both on the weekend and put them in the fridge for easy access during the week. I must say that given the simplicity of the recipes, I was a (tiny bit) surprised at how delicious they were. I had some mushroom ragu with some sauteed cabbage that I had also prepared on the weekend.
Thanks Jules!!!
Wow, Jules, a big thanks for the tip about defrosting the meat/steak on the cast iron pan. I keep my cast iron skillet on the stove always. I can’t wait to use that tip because I absolutely hate trying to defrost meat in the microwave!
Jenny
I love the Dahl! I make that often. The magic sausage supper is a popular recipe here. We’re always throwing in different vegetables & herbs. Plus we have a German butcher here so we can mix up the sausages too. Endless possibilities! I never seem to have enough to keep for leftovers though.
Yay for dahl Nic!
And I find the same thing with the sausage supper… we always seem to eat it all even when I’ve added extra for leftovers / lunches
Jx
I’m amazed how mise en place works wonderfully!
For module 2 I’ve done the Slow Cooked Chickpeas, I didn’t have tomato paste, so I’ve used canned tomatoes… It doesn’t really tasted as good as probably it should be, but I made a big batch and it was great that I could eat with anything else that I had available.
On the following week I still had some chickpeas in the fridge and it was beginning to spoil… Normally I would throw in the bin, but then I saw the Sweet Potato & Chickpea Tajine recipe in module 3 and I was able to save the rest of the chickpeas! 🙂
My big question is how do you keep track on what needs to be eaten soon so it doesn’t spoil? Do you add expiration dates to the pots?
I think you already said something about this, but my main trouble is to keep this rotation in my fridge, things getting in and out constantly…
Normally I just get to the point that I have nothing in the fridge to start all fresh in the following week, but then there’s always a gap… Maybe I should use my freezer more often, right? heheh
Great question Marina!
No I don’t label things with expiry dates but there are two habits that really help me keep track of what needs eating…
1. Look in the fridge every day (including opening the drawers and checking out what’s hidden on the shelves).
2. Moving any ‘eat asap’ items to the front of the fridge on the top shelf so I see them every time I open the door and don’t forget.
And yes your freezer is a great resource to help with the balance! Especially for things like the chickpeas.
Jx
I’ve found several recipes I’d like to try. Magic Sausage supper is a regular for us already, and we like eating it for 2 nights (I always double the recipe). It would take some doing to freeze and save it… When we are going to be home for more than a couple of weeks I’ll try making some things ahead and freezing them. It is nice to be able to pull something out of the freezer in an emergency, and although I’ve sort of tried to have freezer meals before it hasn’t worked well for me. I’ll have to develop a consistent practice of making them.
Great Susan!
OMG the mushroom ragu is amazing! And the sweet potato and chickpea tagine was lovely as well. I made them both on the weekend and put them in the fridge for easy access during the week. I must say that given the simplicity of the recipes, I was a (tiny bit) surprised at how delicious they were. I had some mushroom ragu with some sauteed cabbage that I had also prepared on the weekend.
Thanks Jules!!!
So glad you liked them Niki!
Jx
Wow, Jules, a big thanks for the tip about defrosting the meat/steak on the cast iron pan. I keep my cast iron skillet on the stove always. I can’t wait to use that tip because I absolutely hate trying to defrost meat in the microwave!
Jenny
I love the Dahl! I make that often. The magic sausage supper is a popular recipe here. We’re always throwing in different vegetables & herbs. Plus we have a German butcher here so we can mix up the sausages too. Endless possibilities! I never seem to have enough to keep for leftovers though.
Yay for dahl Nic!
And I find the same thing with the sausage supper… we always seem to eat it all even when I’ve added extra for leftovers / lunches
Jx