How to eat overnight vegetables to be healthy (eating healthy)
At noon on weekdays, I often use the food from the previous night to make bento.
You may ask: Isn’t it said that overnight dishes are unhealthy?
Overnight vegetables are unhealthy and cannot be summed up. It is related to storage conditions, ingredients, and cooking methods.
Many people worry that overnight vegetables are unhealthy because they heard that "overnight vegetables can cause cancer"-overnight vegetables will produce a large amount of nitrite, and nitrite will enter the body to produce nitrosamines, which is a carcinogenic substance.
The basis for the production of nitrite is the reproduction of bacteria in the food.
Therefore, if you want to ensure the safety of overnight dishes, you must inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Keep leftovers depending on the temperature
First of all, it depends on the temperature.
If overnight dishes are stored at a room temperature of ten to twenty degrees Celsius, bacteria will proliferate rapidly, which will easily lead to spoilage of dishes, produce more pathogenic bacteria or bacterial toxins, and may greatly increase the content of nitrite.
However, if the overnight dishes are stored in an environment below 10 degrees Celsius, it is safer to leave them overnight.
Although the bacterial count and nitrite content will increase, they usually do not reach the value that causes actual harm.
Vegetables better not overnight
Second, it depends on the ingredients.
Vegetables are best not to stay overnight.
From the perspective of safety, vegetables are the most prone to produce nitrite.
Because vegetables contain a substance called nitrate, nitrate is originally harmless and even beneficial to the cardiovascular system.
But under the action of bacteria, the nitrate in vegetables will turn into nitrite, which is the carcinogen that we are worried about.
The meat dishes were okay overnight
Try not to overnight aquatic products.
Generally speaking, meat dishes are fine overnight. When they are heated again, although some B vitamins are lost, the protein and minerals are completely retained and the taste does not change significantly.
But aquatic products are an exception.
Because the protein in aquatic products is particularly easy to be decomposed by microorganisms.
Studies have shown that aquatic products such as shrimps, crabs, and shellfish are often contaminated by low-temperature-resistant microorganisms. These foods are usually cooked for freshness and taste, and the heating time is short. If the heat is not thorough, it will not kill all the microorganisms, even in the refrigerator. Medium refrigeration also has the risk of the reproduction of pathogenic microorganisms.
The staple food should be frozen for long-term storage.
If there is rice left and you can't finish the next meal, you can divide it into small portions and store it in the refrigerator.
If there are leftovers such as cakes, steamed buns, steamed buns, dumplings and other noodles that are easy to dry and harden, they should be divided into the amount that can be eaten at a time and put into fresh-keeping bags or lunch boxes.
One part is eaten the next day in the refrigerator, and the others are frozen in the freezer. Take out the steaming heat when needed, or use the "thaw" position of the microwave oven directly.
Cold dishes are prone to bacteria
Third, it depends on the cooking method.
Raw cold dishes, such as shredded cabbage and shredded radish, have not been heat-sterilized and the nitrate in them has not been removed. Such ingredients have a poor "foundation" and are more likely to cause bacterial growth.
And cold dishes will taste strange after heating next time, so don't leave cold dishes overnight.
Meat cold dishes are not recommended overnight, because even if it can be kept refrigerated, bacteria will grow.
If you continue to "eat cold" in the next meal for the sake of taste, it is not safe.
Of course, eating cold dishes for the first meal, and heating them thoroughly for the second meal, I have no objection to this.
Leftovers are best leftovers
Fourth, it is best to "leftovers".
When the food comes out of the pan, there are very few bacteria.
Because the process of cooking and heating is a process of high temperature sterilization.
But if it is eaten on the table for a while, it is picked up by chopsticks and mixed with saliva, it is equivalent to helping the bacteria "inoculate".
Therefore, if you order too many meals or cook too much, it is best to set aside some of them first (it is best to refrigerate them), and then eat the other parts together to minimize the contact between the meals and bacteria.
Put the vegetables in the refrigerator while they are not cold
Fifth, refrigeration must be as soon as possible.
If the vegetables are cooked and put in a clean crisper without turning over, and placed in the refrigerator when they are not hot, the safety is even higher.
Every time I suggest this, someone will say: "When the food is still warm, put it in the refrigerator, how much do you destroy the refrigerator!" I especially want to ask: Is my health important, or the health of the refrigerator?
And do you really have such a worn out refrigerator in your house?
(The author is a registered nutritionist of the Chinese Nutrition Society and a well-known science blogger)
Wu Jia