Fresh food is healthy, stale food–not so much. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. As kids, we were always taught to never waste food. We were told to finish the food on our plates and only serve ourselves portions that we could polish off. This part of the conversation with our parents, however, never really included much about eating stale food, reheating leftovers, and savouring them much later. But we all do it now, don’t we? We keep the leftover rice, dal, and all sorts of veggies in the fridge–and finish them two days later. While the smarter thing would be to cook only small portions that you can finish the same day, we get it–at times, leftovers are inevitable. That said, certain food items should never be kept for the next day. Read on to know which ones we’re talking about:
1. Eggs
“Eggs should never be eaten recooked or reheated. If you don’t heat it at the right temperature and for the right duration, it can impact your health–because proteins attract microorganisms when not refrigerated. The growth of microorganisms is really high for non-veg food or anything that’s high in protein,” explains nutritionist Ritika Samaddar, regional head, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Max Healthcare. Apart from being a rich source of protein, eggs also contain a high amount of nitrogen–which may get oxidised, if heated over and over again. So, as soon as you boil those eggs, consume them immediately.
2. Mushrooms
Mushrooms should always be consumed fresh. It’s not a good idea to keep them in the freezer for days and then consume them slowly. Savour them as soon as they get cooked. “Every time you reheat them you lose nutrients,” adds Ritika.
3. Potatoes
If you love potatoes, it doesn’t matter if you eat them fries hot or cold–right? But, did you know that stale fried potatoes are a major source of bacteria? Ritika suggests: “Don’t leave them out in the open at room temperature as this increases the chances of bacteria formation. Even reheating them is a bad idea. Or for that matter, any other fried food. If you leave any moisture-rich food out in the open at room temperature, potato being one of them, the growth of fungus and bacteria would be much faster as compared to other food items that don’t have as much water content.” So there you have — from potato bites to wedges to fries, eat them while they’re hot or don’t eat them at all.
4. Chicken curry
Stale chicken curry tastes even better, right? That’s why we always save some curry for the coming few days to savour with naan and chapatis. But here’s the thing: at times, we need to give our health more importance than our taste buds. Heating chicken or meat curries over and over again can cause serious digestive problems. “Nitric acids are generated when you reheat processed meat. For that matter when you reheat chicken tikkas, time and again in the microwave, on gas, or on flaming charcoal, certain chemical reactions take place which can make the food carcinogenic,” explains Ritika.
5. Green leafy vegetables
Yes, green leafies are the healthiest of them all–but that doesn’t mean you can reheat them continuously. These nitrate-rich leaves release toxins that can be cancerous. Reheating stale green leaves oxidises the iron content and can cause health problems.
