Photo: Chiot’s Run / Flickr

It’s difficult to cook the exact amount of food needed at each mealtime which means that one is often left with leftover food – but this needn’t go to waste. While it’s best to cook and eat fresh foods, leftover food can be combined or used in other meals like soups, pastas and stocks. Leftover foods tend not to be as flavourful so you may have to season them again for taste. Here are some tips on how to store and re-heat leftovers.

How to store leftover food

Hot leftover food should be cooled as quickly as possible, although cooling food in the fridge is not recommended. Place the food in a container and then let it rest in a bowl of ice cold water – click here for more information on how to store food if you do not have a fridge.

Once the food has cooled, cover it or wrap it so that it is well sealed or store it in a container that is air tight.

Storing leftover meat

By lightly wrapping foods like fish, meat and chicken, you will prevent the cooked flesh from drying out. Aim to cut cooked meats just before using them, rather than before freezing them. If you are going to use leftover cold meat in future dishes, cut off the fat before storing.

Re-heating leftover food

When re-heating leftover food, be sure to heat the food through completely as partial re-heating may cause upset stomachs. Slowly bring soups to the boil and then keep the soup on the boil for about five minutes.

Heavier dishes like lasagne should be heated for about half an hour in an oven that has been pre-heated to 180 degrees Celsius ‑ the top should be covered to avoid burning. Once the dish has been heated through, the covering can be removed for a further five minutes or so.

For some recipes using leftover food, click here.

Tags: cooking, food storage