Is reheating food ok?!

Reheating food is not dangerous. You don't want to reheat food in a styrofoam container because it will release chemicals into your food.

It may not necesarily be tasty, but it won't hurt you.

The danger is in storing the food. Most bacteria are killed at high temperatures (which is why we cook meat to a safe temperature) and will multiply very slowly at low temperatures (which is why we refrigerate food). The danger zone is in the middle, where the food is not hot enough to kill the bacteria but not cool enough to slow down their multiplication.

So, if you stick a hot pot of soup into the fridge, in addition to warming up other things in the fridge, it will slowly cool. That leaves it in the middle danger zone for too long.

When the food is hot, you should cool it down before refridgerating it. Put a pot into a cold water bath in the sink, or divide the food into smaller containers that allow it to cool.

If your parents cook soup, they're reheating it many times. And they probably don't worry about that. As long as you are careful about how you cool very hot foods, you'll be fine. Some foods might dry out if you don't seal them properly (like rice), but they won't hurt you.

I don't know why your parents would say that - most people have left overs and reheat them the next day, or even several days later.

It's all about proper food storage and handling - which you can read about on the web or in most cookbooks. Proper food handling isn't just so the food tastes good but also to prevent the spread of dangerous food-borne illnesses.

Unless they just hate leftover, reheating is fine. You just have to get food from the safe storage temperatures of 42 or below, to the safe eating zone of 140 and above, as fast a possible to prevent food-borne illnesses from developing. Cooling should be done as rapidly as possibly, as well.

CA Food Handler's Cert.

I have been reheating food for a lot of years and am still alive and healthy. I use the microwave and tupperware or a plate or whatever. I add some water always.

i think you can re-heat food. it's called left-overs. no one eats them cold.

its fine re heating food, i do
but you cant re heat all foods