How do I reheat food safely and without ruining it?

Reheating has to satisfy two things at once: hot enough throughout to be safe, and not so long that the food is ruined. Adding moisture and using a gentler method for longer solves both, and covers most of what goes wrong.

Safety

What you'll need

• Microwave, oven or pan (optional)
• Lid or cover (optional)
• Splash of water or stock (optional)

Step by step

1. Take food out of the fridge and break up large portions.Anything dense reheats from the outside in. Breaking it up or spreading it out gets it evenly hot far faster.
2. Add a splash of liquid to anything that will dry.Water, stock or a little sauce. Rice, pasta, curry and stews all reheat much better with a spoonful added.
3. Cover it.It traps steam, heats more evenly and stops the surface drying. A plate over a bowl works if you have no lid.
4. In a microwave, stir at least once halfway through.Microwaves heat unevenly, leaving cold spots. Stirring is what makes microwave reheating safe as well as better.
5. Let it stand for a minute after microwaving.Heat equalises through the food during standing time. It is part of the process, not an optional wait.
6. Check the centre is genuinely hot.Steaming throughout, 75°C if you have a probe. Warm on the outside and cool in the middle is exactly the situation to avoid.
7. Use the oven or hob for anything you want to stay crisp.Pizza, roast potatoes, pastry and fried food all go soft in a microwave. A hot oven or a dry pan restores them.
8. Only reheat once.Take out what you need and leave the rest cold. Repeated heating and cooling cycles both raise the risk and destroy the food.

Tips

• Rice must be cooled quickly and refrigerated within an hour of cooking. Rice left at room temperature is the leftover most associated with food poisoning.
• A frying pan with a lid and a splash of water reheats most things better than a microwave and takes barely longer.
• Portion leftovers into single servings before refrigerating. It makes reheating faster, more even and avoids repeated heating of the whole batch.

Common mistakes

• Not stirring microwaved food — Microwaves leave cold spots. Unstirred food can be scalding at the edge and unsafely cool in the middle.
• Reheating the same dish more than once — Each heating and cooling cycle gives bacteria another opportunity, and the food deteriorates badly.
• Leaving cooked rice out to cool for hours — Spores survive cooking and multiply at room temperature. Cool it fast and refrigerate within an hour.

Questions people ask