To many, leftovers are a foe they cannot come to terms with.
The thought of re-heating food that has already been eaten (or even picked at) isn't appealing to everyone. This is especially the case when experiencing Warmed-over Flavor (also known as WOF), a term food scientists give to the funky, stale, painty, or rancid taste some meats get due to oxidation of some fats in meats after being cooked, refrigerated, and then reheated the next day. 1 Admittedly, some foods just aren't worth keeping around for leftovers.
However, when planned and executed correctly, leftovers have the potential of being huge game-changers when it comes to meal planning.
Not only can they help you save time, their reuse helps reduce food waste and save money. For example, when you buy more ingredients to prepare multiple servings for leftovers (i.e. a bigger pack of meat/poultry/fish versus several smaller packs), it's often a bit cheaper. Some research even suggests that some ingredients and recipes may become more tasty the next day!
True, it may take some creativity and knowledge of food safety to truly make leftovers work. Consider some of the following tips and see if any of them may help simplify your weekly meal routine one step further.
REHEAT-FRIENDLY FOODS
Let's start with the most simple option - simply reheating your leftovers and eating them the same as you did the first time. This works well with chili, lasagna, pizza, soups, curries, casseroles, and stews. One of the reasons these foods still work so well as leftovers will be touched on further in the article. For now, suffice it to say the ingredients in these foods not only are acceptable the next day, they might be even better!
Why do they get better? The herbs have had a longer time to infuse their flavor into the sauce, veggies, meat, and other ingredients. Of course, you can still freshen up your reheated foods with some fresh herbs, such as parlsey, cilantro, dill, chives, etc.
NO REHEAT NEEDED FOODS
What if you could enjoy your leftover foods without having to cook them again? The following suggestions require a little bit of assembly but you're on your way to an extra meal this week with minimal cooking required!
Take your leftover protein (such as meat, poultry, fish) and toss them with a bed of greens, any veggies on hand, and some cheese or rinsed canned beans.
Use Roasted/Rottiserie Chicken next day as a Chicken Salad - Whether you have store-bought rottiserie chicken or you roasted one yourself, have the whole bird cooked for plenty of options to work with throughout the week. For example, make a waldorf chicken salad - cube the chicken, add diced onions, celery, apples, chopped walnuts, and cranberries or grapes. For healthier fat options, use a blend of avocado, lemon juice, EVOO, and seasonings instead of mayo.
Grill Extra Meat/Poultry - On a similar note as the roasted poultry tip above, when grilling for a meal, grill an extra steak, chicken, pork chop, etc to use for your next meal in a sandwich or salad.
REPURPOSING FOODS
Pulled or shredded pork or chicken can be repurposed into sandwiches, sliders, salad toppings, wraps or burritos, tacos, or stews all week long.
Leftovers side dish veggies can be blended the next day into a pasta sauce. Leftover stir-fried veggies work great in omelettes, frittatas, or wraps.
With a big batch of your favorite cooked whole grain (i.e. brown rice or quinoa), you can repurpose it all week long. For example, one night you can fry the rice in some oil with whatever leftover veggies you have on hand and some frozen peas. Another night make a grain bowl out of it.
Take any and all of your favorite vegetables and roast them on a pan or two. Season them with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper or get creative with herbs and spices you enjoy. Then, for the rest of the week, repurpose them into omelettes, tostadas, tacos, pastas, stir fry dishes, grain bowls, or salads.
PREVENTING WARMED-OVER FLAVOR
Food scientists have figured out the culprit of warmed-over flavor. As meat cooks, iron molecules are "loosened" or "freed". These free iron molecules spark the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, a specific type of fat found in cell membranes that are more prone to oxidation due to their structure. Oxidation results in the production of free radicals and breaks apart those fat molecules, releasing smaller molecules that give off those rancid flavors.2, 4
Meat-packing plants may have their industrial methods of preventing the chemical reactions that lead to warmed-over flavor. For example they process meats with phosphates or vacuum-seal them to limit oxidation. But what can we do in our own home kitchens to limit the chemical process that leads to warmed-over flavor and truly enjoy our leftovers? 2
Consider the following suggestions:
- Limit the amount of time your cooked meat is exposed to air/oxygen. 3
- Store them tightly in leftover containers. 3
- Sauces can create a protective barrier between the meat and air. Recipes where the stored meat is completely covered in a sauce may help reduce WOF. These include recipes like curries, soups, and stews. 3
- Use potent herbs and spices in your sauces since some of the antioxidant capacity of these may help with preventing a measure of oxidation in the meat. 3
- Find recipes where you can use the leftovers cold since re-heating tends to intensify WOF. 3
References:
1. Mielche, M.M., Bertelsen, G.. (1994). Approaches to the prevention of warmed-over flavour. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 5(10), 322-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/0924-2244(94)90183-X
2. Younathan, M.T. (2003). Causes and Prevention of Warmed-Over Flavor.
3. Frischkorn, K. (2019, September 25). Meet warmed-over flavor, the phenomenon that Turns LEFTOVERS FUNKY. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/08/what-is-warmed-over-flavor-leftover-chicken-meat.html)
4. Domínguez, R., Pateiro, M., Gagaoua, M., Barba, F. J., Zhang, W., & Lorenzo, J. M. (2019). A Comprehensive Review on Lipid Oxidation in Meat and Meat Products. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 8(10), 429. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8100429