Reheating leftovers

[Anonymous]

My MIL, who is a bit of a neurotic nut, for the first time told us that "now that we've reheated it, we have to eat it or throw it out" about food that we had Fri night and then again for Sat lunch. She tends to throw everything out and cook things until they are very very very dead and tasteless, so I dont tend to listen to her much, but I was wondering if there is a rule about how many times something can be reheated and why?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Food should only be reheated once. It has to do with bacteria growth (I dont' remember the specfics, but basically everytime it's heated up it can grow more bacteria).

I follow this rule most of the time, my husband thinks I am nuts. So far, he is still alive.

[Anonymous]

I only reheat foods once, then throw them out.

I usually don't wind up throwing them out, though, b/c I try to reheat only the amount we're going to eat. You can always reheat a bit more, but once it's been reheated, I don't like to save it in the fridge for a second time.

[Anonymous]

We generally put leftovers into single-serving containers either when we are putting them away, or right before reheating. That way we don't reheat more than needed. I do this mostly b/c food dries out and gets yuckier the more it is reheated.

I can see 13:06's point on the bacteria, especially if foods are not heated to 160 degrees or are left out too long before putting it in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

Huh. First time I've ever heard this. I do tend to reheat only what I need, but I have also reheated entire pots of soup 2 and 3 times.

[Anonymous]

OP,
One point for your MIL! Seriously, do not keep reheated leftovers for the reason given above (bacteria risks). Just heat up what you think folks will eat. Leftovers that have not been heated up keep for a day or two or more, depending on what the leftover is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh. First time I've ever heard this. I do tend to reheat only what I need, but I have also reheated entire pots of soup 2 and 3 times.

I wonder if bacteria is a problem when reheating soups, since they're usually reheated to the boiling point. Anyone know?