What will you do with leftovers that you can't finish eating?
In order to avoid waste, many people choose to put leftovers in the refrigerator for storage, and then heat them up to eat.
Of course, for leftovers, people still have a vague worry about its safety, and they have heard some sayings that they are harmful to their health.
Is it better to put the refrigerator in the cold meal or to put it while it is hot? What should I pay attention to when preserving leftovers? What foods are suitable for the refrigerator and which are not for the refrigerator?
Next, I'll give you a good talk.
Meals were cold and put in the fridge well
Or put it in while it's hot?
The real scientific approach is: the food that cannot be eaten should be put in the refrigerator while it is hot, and the faster it is, the safer it is.
In fact, there are bacteria in meals and food, such as "E. coli", which is usually not harmful to the human body, and only reaches a certain number of "conditional pathogenic bacteria" that can make people sick, as well as "Staphylococcus aureus" and "Salmonella", which are strong virulence pathogens that will be very harmful to the human body when the number is small. Once these bacteria are proliferated in large quantities and eaten by people, symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and even life-threatening will occur.
Temperature has a big impact on the rate at which bacteria in food multiply: when the temperature exceeds 60 ° C, the vast majority of bacteria cannot survive; when the temperature is below 4 ° C, the vast majority of bacteria proliferate significantly slower. 4 ° C - 60 ° C is known as the "danger temperature zone" of food, during which most bacteria can grow and multiply relatively quickly.
So, the longer the food is left at room temperature, the more bacteria multiply. Put the food in the refrigerator while it is hot, the purpose is to reduce the temperature to below 4 ° C as soon as possible before the bacteria multiply, reducing the time that the bacteria can multiply rapidly. Therefore, the meals that cannot be eaten should be set aside in advance, put in the crisper box, and stored in the refrigerator as soon as possible.
In addition, some people will have such a question: "Hot dishes put in the refrigerator, will the refrigerator hurt?"
The answer is: it doesn't hurt, and the fridge isn't as fragile. Although placing food in the refrigerator while it is hot will briefly raise the temperature of the refrigerator, the temperature sensor of the refrigerator initiates cooling when the temperature change is felt, allowing the refrigerator to return to a low temperature state.
What should I pay attention to when preserving leftovers?
1, try not to eat "saliva dish". The "leftovers" eaten the next day are meals stored with clean tableware before eating, so that the "leftovers" are relatively less contaminated by bacteria and can be refrigerated for the next day to eat; but if the leftovers are "saliva dishes", the bacteria in the overnight leftovers will definitely increase, and it is not recommended to eat.
2. Classified storage. Sorting and storing refrigerated leftovers avoids bacterial cross-infection and stores them in clean containers, such as crisper boxes, crisper bags, or with a layer of plastic wrap attached to the dishes.
3, the storage time should not be long, fully heated before eating. Although most of the pathogenic bacteria can be killed after the previous day's leftovers have been sufficiently high temperature or microwave heating, it is not recommended that leftovers be stored in the refrigerator for too long.
Which foods are good to put in the refrigerator
Which ones don't fit?
Suitable for use in refrigerators and refrigerators:
1, rape, cabbage and other stems and leafy vegetables
These vegetables are difficult to store for a long time, water and vitamins are easy to lose, so you can put such vegetables in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator, the temperature is controlled at 0 to 5 degrees Celsius, the humidity is about 85%, and the water is sprinkled regularly, so that it can be stored for up to 3 to 4 days.
2. Watermelon
Watermelons that have been cut need to be wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator to avoid the growth of bacteria and eaten as soon as possible within 24 hours.
Not suitable for use in refrigerators and refrigerators:
1, sweet potatoes, potatoes and other rhizome vegetables
These vegetables are not easily lost in moisture, so they can be placed in a cool, dry place. The humidity in the refrigerator is high, which is easy to make sweet potatoes, onions, potatoes, etc. soft and moldy, thus losing the fresh taste.
2, tomatoes, cucumbers and other melons and nightshade vegetables
Underripe tomatoes can be stored at room temperature and do not need to be placed in the refrigerator. Because the ripening process of tomatoes is terminated at low temperatures in the refrigerator, leading to the loss of umami taste. If the tomatoes are ripe, it is best to eat them quickly, or put them in the refrigerator and wrap them in plastic wrap and store them separately to prevent the natural ripening hormone (ethylene) released after ripening from affecting other vegetables and fruits.
Other melons and eggplant vegetables, such as cucumbers, are also not suitable for preservation in the low temperature of the refrigerator, otherwise it is easy to frostbite, so it should be eaten and bought fresh.
3. Tropical fruits such as bananas and lychees
These tropical fruits are suitable for storage above 8 °C. The average temperature of the refrigerator freezer is generally a low temperature of about 4 ° C, which not only makes these fruits not easy to ripen, but also easy to frostbite, and the peel is prone to black spots and depressions. This tropical fruit is best placed in a cool, cool and ventilated place, and eaten as soon as possible.
In short, vegetables and fruits are best eaten as they are bought to ensure freshness.
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This article is reproduced from the WeChat public account "Popular Science China"
Expert: Dou Pan, Deputy Director Of the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Peking University First Hospital