[ast3r3x]

Honestly why? I don't understand, why something can be soooo delicious, cool down to room temperature, get reheated to a previous state of warmth when it was delicious and be completely blah. It seems to be the case for most foods too, you'd think more foods would be able to handle temperature shifts. Is it just access to air, or is it really the temperature shift? If I vacuum sealed leftovers would they still be delicious?

My grandma makes apple sauce, and then freezes it, I let it thaw, maybe even get to room temperature, and stick it in the fridge…still tastes delicious at any point along the way.

I guess my real question is, why can't more foods be like apple sauce?

[Banana]

I think it's important to consider the tool used to reheat the food. If it's your standard microwave... well, no surprise since it's kind of violent way to reheating. If sticking it in oven is akin to snuggling in a cold blanket and warming up, then microwave would be akin to leaping in a scalding hot shower, I suppose.

Then of course it depends on what food we're talking about. Some food I view as "Must eat today or else" and other as "Still good". Potatoes, especially the mashed variety, are definitely of the latter as they still can absorb taste and in fact I sometime think one-day old reheated potatoes tastes better than right hot out of stove.

I think it has more to do to what the chemical makeup of the foodstuff is, and potatoes and meat lends itself nicely to reheating because it take time to get the flavor to sink in and thus can't be rushed. Fried foods (e.g. fried chicken), OTOH, being already coated with grease doesn't really work that well when reheated because that hardened grease melts and you get a greasy chicken. But you can reheat grilled chicken without that problem.

[Swox]

Curries are fantastic the next day, as long as you don't mind them getting a bit spicier! I love leftover curry!!!

[Maciej]

My theory has always been that since the microwave heats up the water within your food, bringing the molecules to a boil quickly, they evaporate and during this process permanently alter the flavor of the food.

[Kickaha]

Yup, that's also why nuking bread will make it nice and warm and steamy for about five seconds, and then it starts to get really hard and chewy-nasty. You're forcing all of the water out of the bread, leaving it insta-stale.

[Partial]

Originally Posted by Banana I think it's important to consider the tool used to reheat the food. If it's your standard microwave... well, no surprise since it's kind of violent way to reheating. If sticking it in oven is akin to snuggling in a cold blanket and warming up, then microwave would be akin to leaping in a scalding hot shower, I suppose.

Elegantly put

[Chris A]

I grew up in Europe and I am old enough to have experienced life without microwaves and refrigerators. Perhaps it is European frugality, perhaps it is lessons learned in wartime when one had to "stretch"—whatever the reason, my experience with warmed-over food has been very good. Sometimes, for the sake of variety, one slightly modifies a meal for its encore or simply uses it as the basis for something more radically altered. There is an old Danish saying, a naked woman soon learns how to spin (invention is the mother of necessity), and the war years saw the publication of cook books that were dedicated to using yesterday's meals.

That approach requires a little more work and a bit of imagination, but the rewards go beyond taste and budgetary advantage.

[Moogs]

Certain things are actually better the second time, including many types of pastas. Usually the things that are not better are things not designed to be cooked twice. Meat dishes, steamed vegetables, fish, etc. Basically anything that was alive at one time, is better when not re-cooked. That's my theory anyway. Also there can be a big difference between re-heating something in a real oven vs. a microwave... the latter almost always producing inferior results.

[alcimedes]

My wife thought I was crazy to always want to reheat food in the oven instead of the microwave, but after tasting the difference in food she's coming around to my way of thinking.

[billybobsky]

I don't own a microwave, and I really don't see a point in having one...

Microwave dinners are always better from the oven (if you go that route). Melting butter and chocolate is slower but more delicate on the stove. etc etc...


Lasagnas are better the second day for the same reason curries are... Any body else have foods that get better with age?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by billybobsky I don't own a microwave, and I really don't see a point in having one...

The biggest reason for having one is time.

Sure, most food will taste better from the oven, but not everyone has the half-hour it takes to heat the oven and the food to the right temperature that way. If you do have the time, well, count yourself lucky.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by billybobsky Lasagnas are better the second day for the same reason curries are... Any body else have foods that get better with age?

Chili, though that's kind of like a curry. But also, Pancake batter tends to be better when it has been given an evening to chill/thicken. Pizza is not 'better', not at all, but it is still awesome.

[beardedmacuser]

Originally Posted by billybobsky I don't own a microwave, and I really don't see a point in having one...

We're ripping out our kitchen soon for a thorough refurb. For something like a week our "kitchen" will be a kettle, microwave and fridge in the dining room. Our microwave will be most appreciated.

[ezkcdude]

I don't have a microwave anymore, and I don't miss it.

[FFL]

Jambalaya is definitely better a day or two later. It's like the flavor soaks into the rice even more.

[709]

Originally Posted by billybobsky ... Any body else have foods that get better with age?

My Texas Corn Chowder gets way better after a 24hr sit, as does a salad mix I make that involves some of the same spices. Come to think of it, anything with a few direct spices is better the next day. Curry, cumin, some of the dried pepper spices....possibly turmeric, but I'd have to test that to be sure. The former can be advanced by a little citrus, but I still like to let a few things sit for a day to get the full flavors working.

AFA microwaves go: coffee. That's the only reason I have a microwave.

[alcimedes]

Anyone had a chance to try those newfangled "heat with light waves" microwave things they have now? Supposed to be less soggy in the cooking side, but I don't know anyone that actually has one.

[Bonn89]

I live in a college dorm, so as long as whatever I pop into the microwave doesn't come out alive/visually tainted, it goes in my belly.



I do, however, have a soft spot for a well-cooked meal and I LOVE to cook whenever I venture home for a weekend or during breaks.

[Maciej]

It doesn't get any better than a convection oven. Convection is brilliant.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by alcimedes Anyone had a chance to try those newfangled "heat with light waves" microwave things they have now? Supposed to be less soggy in the cooking side, but I don't know anyone that actually has one.

I turned on the TV the other day thinking that there was a basketball game on, I had the time wrong, and the channel wrong. I wound up watching the beginning portion of an infomercial. I thought, well, I haven't actually seen a real infomercial in a long time, maybe this will be fun. The infomercial started off fairly normal, and then MR. T literally burst through the door and started playing the baffled luddite fall guy to Darla Huan's technowizardy.

I have to admit that for a moment I was legitimately baffled myself, the product, a 'flavorwave' really did seem like a winner. So I went online to read more about it. Turns out that, although they might work brilliantly in principle, in practice, they are often underpowered, resulting in most foods not receiving enough heat and turning out very poor. So, I came away from that experience believing that the concept(convection+heat+infrared) is sound, but that particular brand/model is likely to be worthless.

[Wrao]

Btw, with regards to this thread.

Toaster Oven. /thread

[Maciej]

Toaster oven? No.

With anything that's greasy its liable to start a fire if the grease drips on those burning red rods.

[Banana]

There's ovens with rods on bottom? I don't think I've seen such thing- usually they have heating elements on tops and maybe sides.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Maciej Toaster oven? No. With anything that's greasy its liable to start a fire if the grease drips on those burning red rods.

My toaster oven has burning red rods above the food...

[709]

I think he meant that toaster ovens in space are a bad idea. Very dangerous.

[Maciej]

Well, my regular oven has them on the bottom. I'll take a picture if you don't believe me, but I just assumed if my regular oven had them then the toaster ovens would.

And I don't really think it would start a fire.

However, I stand by my toaster oven hate.

You can't fit an entire ham in a toaster oven, or a halibut.

[curiousuburb]

Stuffed Bell Peppers (rice/cheese/etc) work brilliantly in Toaster ovens.

My electric and fan ovens are flaky, and my microwave/convection has a finicky door sensor.

If you wiggle the door just right, it works... cooking voodoo dance required.

As for things that taste better with age... Wine, Cheese, Sauces/Dressing (where time distributes flavours).
And certain Women (ditto... although the reheating may take more time)

[Banana]

If you're cooking ham or halibut in a toaster oven, I'd say you're doing it wrong.

I perceive toaster oven as an alternative to microwave, rather than an alternative to oven. Furthermore, it's easier to operate a toaster oven because it takes less energy and effort to heat up a small space and the cooking can be done much faster for say, grilled cheese sandwich or re-heating yesterday's panini sandwich than if an full size oven was used. That's the function of the toaster oven.

And my regular oven does have element on the bottom as well. Doesn't mean that toaster ovens have it as well.

[Maciej]

I guess we can agree that there's different means for different goals. I will grant you that a toaster oven is a brilliant way to reheat smaller items. But I don't think I would put leftovers in it.

[Swox]

60%+ of my cooking is done in the toaster over. I love that little bastard!