Many people save leftover food from the evening to enjoy the next day, and this food becomes overnight food. Not all overnight food is edible; some can cause symptoms of food poisoning, and in severe cases, can even be fatal! Therefore, it is crucial to be cautious with overnight food to prevent its dangers from harming your health. So, which overnight foods should you not eat, and what harm can they cause?
8 Overnight Foods That Can Be Fatal
1. Overnight tea should not be consumed.
Due to the long duration, most vitamins in overnight tea are lost, and proteins and sugars in the tea become nutrients for bacteria and mold to grow. Therefore, it is generally believed that overnight tea should not be drunk.
2. Can overnight Tremella (silver ear fungus) be eaten?
Tremella soup is a high-nutritional tonic, but overnight, its nutritional value decreases and harmful substances are produced. This is because both indoor-cultivated and wood-cultivated Tremella contain high levels of nitrates. After being cooked, if left for a long time, bacteria will break down the nitrates into nitrites.
When a person drinks this soup, nitrites enter the bloodstream. The red blood cells in the blood contain hemoglobin, which can carry large amounts of oxygen to meet the body's needs.
However, nitrites have the opposite effect, oxidizing the body's normal hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which loses its ability to carry oxygen, causing the body to lack normal hematopoietic function!
Tremella soup
3. Even overnight boiled water should not be consumed?
Boiling tap water for 3-5 minutes minimizes the content of harmful substances like nitrites and chlorides, making it most suitable for drinking.
Drink less overnight boiled water: Nitrites can form carcinogenic nitrosamines in the body. Experts have found that the nitrite content in boiled water is higher than in raw water.
Furthermore, repeatedly boiling water for too long or water that has been boiled for more than 24 hours shows a significant increase in nitrite content. After 24 hours, the nitrite content in boiled water is 1.3 times that of freshly boiled water.
It is a habit for Chinese residents to drink boiled water. It is best to boil and drink it fresh or only drink the same day's boiled water. Do not drink boiled water that has been boiled for too long.
4. Can overnight eggs be eaten?
Overnight eggs, can they be eaten?
Northerner: Yes, don't you see tea eggs sold everywhere!
Southerner: No, especially for men, because it can cause hernias and swollen testicles!
Scientist: Not necessarily! If the egg is not fully cooked, the uncooked yolk, if eaten overnight and stored improperly, can easily breed bacteria in the nutrient-rich environment, thus harming health, such as causing gastrointestinal discomfort, bloating, etc. However, if the food (egg) is fully cooked and properly sealed and stored at a low temperature (generally refrigeration temperature), it can generally be safely stored for 48 hours.
From the scientist's advice, we know that whether an overnight egg can be eaten depends not only on whether it is reheated, but also on whether it was fully cooked the first time it was boiled. Only after being fully cooked the first time can it be reheated and eaten the next day without issue.
Tea eggs follow this principle. Many people may not know that tea eggs are boiled twice: the first time to cook them through, and the second time after cracking the shell and adding tea and other ingredients. Therefore, tea eggs are definitely cooked. Some people now like to eat half-cooked eggs (with a semi-liquid yolk); those eggs should not be eaten overnight, even if reheated the second time.
5. Do not eat overnight leafy green vegetables!
Because some leafy green vegetables contain high levels of nitrates, if cooked and left for too long, bacteria will break down the nitrates into nitrites, which are carcinogenic and cannot be removed by reheating.
Generally, stem and leaf vegetables have the highest nitrate content, followed by root and stem vegetables and cauliflower-type vegetables, with gourds having the lowest. Therefore, if you buy different types of vegetables, you should eat the leafy greens first, such as cabbage and spinach.
If you plan to cook extra food to reheat the next day, try to make less leafy greens and choose gourds instead.
6. Do not eat overnight home-braised and marinated foods.
Braised and marinated foods are seasonal favorites for Shanghai residents. Many people like to put leftover braised and marinated foods in the refrigerator "overnight," but this practice has significant food safety hazards.
To prevent food poisoning, do not eat overnight braised and marinated foods in the spring and summer.
Unpackaged braised foods should be finished on the same day and not left overnight. From a food safety perspective, this is unhygienic. If possible, it is best not to eat overnight marinated foods.
Food experts remind us that even food stored in the refrigerator is not absolutely "safe." Molds and psychrophilic bacteria can easily grow in the refrigerator.
7. Seafood cannot be eaten overnight.
Foods that should not be eaten overnight include fish, seafood, leafy greens, and cold salads.
After being left overnight, fish and seafood can produce protein degradation products that can damage liver and kidney function.
Leafy greens contain varying amounts of nitrates. If overcooked or left for too long, the vegetables will not only turn yellow and change flavor, but the nitrates will also be converted by bacteria into toxic nitrites, which are carcinogenic.
Cold salads are often contaminated during preparation. Even when refrigerated, they are very likely to have spoiled overnight and should be made and eaten fresh.
8. What to do with overnight soup?
Cantonese people love to make soups. Leftover soup is put in the refrigerator and reheated the next day. Is this overnight soup good for your health?
Healthy way to eat:
The best way to store soup is to not add salt or other seasonings to the base. After cooking the soup, use a clean spoon to scoop out the portion for the day. For the leftover soup, it is best to store it in a clay pot in the refrigerator.
This is because leaving leftover soup in an aluminum or stainless steel pot for a long time can cause chemical reactions. It should be stored in a glass or ceramic container.
Yogurt