Would you like to use common methods to reheat leftover fries or rice so that they are edible again? Below are some easy ways to do this!
If you find that there are leftovers in the fridge, you can save yourself the trouble of cooking by reheating the leftovers. However, when it comes to various types of rice and potatoes, heating such foods may not always produce satisfactory results. At first glance they often appear to be dried out or sticky, which is not particularly appetizing. Fortunately, leftover food like this can easily be restored to the previous day's condition so that you can enjoy it again. For this purpose, you can follow some simple steps and prevent food waste at home.
What should you know before reheating foods like potatoes or rice?
Nowadays, many people prepare larger quantities of food to save themselves the time and effort in stressful everyday life. Also those ordered the day before or bought and leftoversFood is often reheated. Here are some factors to consider:
- In such cases, it is advisable to only warm up the portion that you eat at a meal. Otherwise they loseheat-treated foodsof vitamins and nutrients, some of which even contain substances that are harmful to health.
- The key factor in safely reusing leftover food is to cool it as quickly as possible after preparation or meal.
- You should therefore not reheat leftover chips or rice that have been sitting on your plate for hours. Instead, place them directly in the refrigerator to prevent the risk of food poisoning.
Given this, you can use the following methods with fries and then try a few more with rice dishes as well.
How can you properly reheat leftover French fries?
Although it may sound optimistic at first to save leftover fries to eat later, there are a few tricks to doing so. This will make them tasty and crispy again, but not always. In this case, you should never use a microwave for this, for example. An equally important rule of thumb is to first bring the fries to room temperature by removing them from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes beforehand. Then do the following:
- You can use air fryer or convection oven as common options for reheating fries. Distributing hot air through a fan not only speeds up the heating process, but also makes the potatoes crispier. With this method, you heat it from the outside in, rather than the other way around, as is the case with the microwave. First, heat up the oven with the fan function on and warm the fries in it for about 5 to 10 minutes. If necessary, turn the individual pieces over and do not place the potatoes too close together on the baking paper.
- Use a similar approach when using an air fryer, but shake the basket several times during reheating because the interior space is narrower than that of an oven.
- Another common option is to use a pan when reheating fries. However, such a method would work better for smaller quantities. First, heat 2 teaspoons of oil of your choice in a frying pan over medium heat and add the potatoes. Make sure the fries are not stacked on top of each other. Stir constantly and enjoy the results after about 3 to 5 minutes.
- The slightly unhealthier option, if you have a conventional deep fryer, would be to simply warm up the fries in hot oil for 2 minutes.
What common methods are used to reheat the prepared rice?
As already written, cooked rice dishes often tend to become dry in the refrigerator. But can these still be made fluffy again? Unlike potatoes, using a microwave would be the best option in this case. You can also reheat chilled rice this way to make it fluffy and juicy again. Obtain microwave-safe dishes such as a plate or bowl and take the following steps:
- First, put the leftover food on the plate or bowl and cover it. Depending on the quantity, you can then heat the rice dish in intervals of around 30 to 60 seconds, stirring occasionally.
- If the leftovers are more than two days old but less than a week old, you will need to sprinkle some water on them. This will restore the moisture to the rice, with a few splashes being enough. Otherwise you will make the dish too mushy and inedible.
- It is also possible to briefly fry this food again to reheat it. For this purpose, it is best to use a wok with oil, where you can lightly stew the dish while stirring. This way you will get rid of the lumps quickly.
- You can also heat larger quantities in the oven with a little water and oil in a baking dish. The fat prevents the rice grains from sticking together, while the water makes them fluffier.
- Unlike potatoes, rice can also be frozen easily by using a suitable container with a lid. If it is still microwave safe, you can reheat the frozen rice at any time in the next few months.
