The Habit of Recycling Leftovers

April 23, 2012 By 8 Comments

A common problem in every household or restaurant kitchen, especially those offering buffets, are leftovers. In our homes, these leftovers tend to crowd our refrigerators. We reheat them over and over again until the meat is too dry and tough, or the sauce has dried and the dish is almost tasteless. I know, it’s not appetizing anymore. The reason why we tend to keep leftovers in our fridge is, no, it’s not sentimental value, but it’s because of monetary value. We often think that throwing food away is throwing away money. That’s why we got into the habit of recycling leftovers. And now, we ask, how often should we recycle our leftovers?

The Habit of Recycling Leftovers

It’s actually not the number of times we reuse them that matters. You can use leftovers for a new dish, provided they were prepared and stored hygienically. Bacteria in food breeds faster during the preparation and storage of food. Do you know that the number of bacteria doubles every 20 minutes? Improper handling of ingredients during production and improper storage can shorten the lifespan of food. Bottom line is if the food is not yet spoiled and still good to be used again, you actually can. But I suggest, you only do that once. For example, you can use your leftover roast chicken for pansit guisado. But that’s it. No more second or third recycling.

Handling and storing of food is very important in reusing or recycling ingredients for another dish. Well, it’s not really that bad to recycle cooked items, just make sure it’s still safe to eat and still flavorful.

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  • http://totenggaleng.wordpress.com/ totenggaleng

    Thanks. I hope you can give us simple and easy-to-follow tips on recycling food. I really am not a fan of wasting food (because we were raised to think that way) but I don’t want to compromise the safety of our tummy.

  • http://www.itsberyllicious.blogspot.com Itsberyllicious

    very informative post :) I’ve also read somewhere about the no second recycling of food. That’s why we make it a point that we consume everything we cook at home to avoid leftovers :)  

  • http://sweethestia.blogspot.com Jade

    I really dont recycle left overs kasi feel ko masisira siya that’s why i make sure that the food that i cooked really suites for the day

  • liezelice

    ang hirap samin we always have leftovers that ends up to be spoiled food after sometime ksi di na nakikikita.. di tuloy nakakain.. sayang naman. so adviseable nga tlaga yung mga see-through containers para alam mo kung ano pa yung mga available food. di sayang =)

  • http://thepurpledoll.net Sumi Go

    We have leftovers too since my mom usually cooks in large batches.. :( But we’re staying away from that little by little ’cause reheating leftovers isn’t that good, especially for my dad who’s not only picky about what he eats, but who also has a weak stomach.

  • travelona Shoestring

     We usually put leftovers as ingredients to Pancit or chop suey.

  • http://www.yedylicious.com/ YedyLicious

    Thank you for sharing this informative post. I agree that food recycling should not be more than once. Good thing in our house, our cook only prepare food which can be consumed within the day, so we rarely deal with leftovers.

  • yaniconquistadora

    You are not talking about storage alone here but food safety as well which is of prime importance in every household. Cooking less more often will avoid too much leftovers :)