6 Foods You Shouldn’t Reheat in the Microwave

Modernity has made undeniable contributions to our practical lives, and that includes many facilities in the kitchen. If people used to need a lot of salt to preserve food, today the fridge doesn’t let us down, and often the food made at dinner time ends up becoming lunch the next day.

This reuse of food is very practical, even because we can take a ready lunch box to work and, thus, stop spending a good amount of money at lunchtime.

The question that doesn’t always concern us is whether it’s healthy to reheat these foods and if there’s a correct way to do it – let’s face it: most people are used to leaving the task of turning yesterday’s food into the microwave oven. hot meal today, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, although the microwave is part of the items that make life easier for people today, not all types of food should be reheated in this type of oven, you know?

If you have the habit of using the microwave frequently, stay tuned to the following information and learn what types of food should be heated in another way:

1. Boiled eggs

The problem is not in reheating the egg that was previously cooked, but in the way we do it.

The microwave oven has the ability to make food very hot, including the inside, and the danger with a hard-boiled egg is that once you take it out of reheating, it can simply explode and cause serious burns. . To ensure your safety, cut the egg in half before reheating it.

2. Breast milk

Many women drain their breasts and freeze the milk so that their babies have the food ready to go. The problem with using the microwave to defrost and heat milk is, again, the temperature, as the oven can end up heating regions of the bottle unevenly, creating hot spots that can burn your baby’s mouth and throat. .

In addition, reheating plastic materials is an activity not recommended, due to the carcinogenic factors present in this type of material. The recommendation is to thaw the milk and reheat it in a bain-marie or using hot tap water, if applicable. You can also leave the frozen bottle to soak in a container of heated water.

3. Processed meat

This type of food contains chemicals and preservatives, so they last longer. By heating processed meats in the microwave, we can end up exposing ourselves to dangerous chemicals, such as oxidized cholesterol.

It has already been proven that the reheating of this type of protein is associated with the development of some heart diseases, so it is interesting to avoid this process.

4. Rice

Here’s an item that almost everyone has reheated in the microwave, right? Unfortunately, this can end up causing food infections, due to a bacteria present in this type of food, the bacillus cereus.

The microwave heat kills the bacteria, but it can eliminate toxic and very heat-resistant substances. When rice comes out of the microwave and is exposed to natural temperature again, these toxic substances end up increasing a lot and can cause great intoxication, with the presence of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The ideal is to reheat the rice and then keep it above 60ºC.

5. Chicken

You need to understand that the heat of the microwave oven does not always kill bacteria and that foods more susceptible to them should always be reheated on the stove. Chicken, for example, can be contaminated with salmonella, and its preparation must involve great care: it is necessary to cook the meat completely and, when reheating, use the stove.

6. Green leaves

If you’ve saved what’s left of your sauteed kale to eat the next day, reheat that item on the gas stove instead. The microwave turns the natural nitrates in leafy greens, which are great for health, into nutrosamines, which are carcinogens. The same goes for beets.

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only. They do not replace the advice and follow-up of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, physical education professionals and other specialists.