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storing cooked food

  • 11-05-2014 7:31pm
    #1
    NeVeR
    Registered Users Posts: 5,325 ✭✭✭


    Hi All,

    I want to prepare food for 3 to 4 days ( 4 meals a day ).

    I'd like to cook them all tonight and store them in the fridge and on the day i need them take out 4 portions add them to there own Tupperware containers and reheat later in work.

    I will have mainly chicken .. I might add some steak
    I will have brown rice and I will have veg ( Carrots and Broccoli )

    If i cook all these tonight how long will they stay good for and should i store them all in the fridge?

    Is there anything I should watch for ?

    thanks.


Comments

  • #2
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    As far as I know, reheating rice is a big No-No. Of course, you could always get those microwavable rice packs.

    Let food fully cool before putting it in the fridge, but try to get it in there as soon as possible. Air-tight containers are better, and try to leave as little space for air as possible.

    Also, I think it's a bit ambitious to try to cook that much food that far in advance. I don't think you'd realistically manage what you've said you're looking to do, so you might have to make some compromises. I can't imagine steak microwaving well.


  • #3
    jlm29
    Registered Users Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭jlm29


    I used think that about rice, but (and someone else may know for definite) I think the issue with rice isn't actually the reheating- it's the way it's cooled. If you cook a big pot of rice, and leave it in the pot for ages to cool down, it gives a chance for spores to grow, which cause the problems. If you take it out of the pot and cool it quickly, and put it straight in the fridge, it's ok. Or so I've read on the internet.


  • #4
    HeidiHeidi
    Registered Users Posts: 28,769 ✭✭✭✭HeidiHeidi


    I only heard that about rice relatively recently - I've been reheating previously cooked rice for years and haven't killed myself yet. But I'm less likely to do it now, having heard it's not such a good idea.

    Apart from the tastiness/palatibility of whatever you're reheating - 4 days is fine in a fridge IMO. I often cook large quantities of things, and freeze some and keep some in the fridge. I apply the nose test - if it smells OK, it probably is OK - and again, I haven't killed myself yet.

    If you get organised enough, and have enough containers, I'd recommend cooking enormous quantities of whatever it is you want. Portion it into single servings, freeze them all, and take one for tomorrow's work out the night before and defrost it in the fridge.


  • #5
    zuhuraswa
    Registered Users Posts: 94 ✭✭zuhuraswa


    I have been reheating rice and we always did that since I was a child. Where I came from we didn't even have fridges and it was the norm to re-heat rice the next day/meal and nothing ever happened to us. But then again, now that you know it might not be good, better be safe than sorry. I would still re-heat mine though no bother.
    Back to your question, I find that I don't have time to cook during the week because I would be typically rushing from work to gym to after gym club/classes etc. So I mass cook and freeze them in meal portions and thaw them in the fridge the night before. I'd cook a batch of 7 or even 10 days meals at a time. Freeze the whole lot except for maybe the first 2 days.


  • #6
    rick_fantastic
    Registered Users Posts: 910 ✭✭✭rick_fantastic


    chicken will last a few days cooked in fridge no problem... so will veg but its always nicer cooked fresh :)

    i invested in one of those tefal steamers & a george foreman for work and have never looked back!

    with rice -

    i cook a large pot and then immediately cool with cold water (this stops rice cooking)

    then i bag it up into whatever portion size (usually 100grm cooked) and stick bags in the freezer.

    then all you have to do is pour some boiling water over the rice and leave it for a few mins, drain and serve...


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  • #7
    NeVeR
    Registered Users Posts: 5,325 ✭✭✭NeVeR


    I would love to bring my foreman into work but they won't allow it.

    I will give this a go with 3 days of food 1st.

    The main reason for trying this is to stop me snacking on **** food.. If I had this available to throw into the microwave it would be great.

    I will cool the rice right away and freeze.. I will steam veg and grill chicken.. I've loads of Tupperware I can use.

    thanks lads.


  • #8
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,614 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    I would consider batching up the dinners and freezing them, then taking one out to thaw before you go to work in the morning each day. If you did this, you could vary your dinner, by cooking a couple of different dinners over a weekend. As for rice, I've also heard it's bad to reheat but don't actually know for sure. You could use boil in the bag rice, which is nicely portioned if you buy the smaller ones (62.5g). It'll only take 10 mins to cook, and half that time will be to re-heat your dinner anyway. One tip: freeze or store in lunchboxes but you're better off reheating in a pyrex dish - the food tastes better and you preserve your lunchboxes longer. They warp over time with both freezing and reheating.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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