Not wasting food is a virtue. To avoid leftover waste, many people save their evening leftovers for the next day. However, not all foods can be kept overnight.
1. Can overnight eggs not be eaten?
Overnight eggs, can you eat them?
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! Because if the egg is not fully cooked, the uncooked yolk, after being left overnight, can easily breed bacteria under improper storage conditions, which can be harmful to 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 refrigerated temperature), it can generally be safely stored for 48 hours.
From the scientist's advice, we know that whether overnight eggs can be eaten depends not just on whether they are reheated, but on whether they were fully cooked the first time they were boiled. Only after the egg is fully cooked the first time is it safe to eat it again after being left overnight. This is the principle behind tea eggs. Perhaps many people don't know that tea eggs are boiled twice: the first time to cook them through, and the second time to crack the shells and add tea and other ingredients to simmer again. So tea eggs are definitely cooked. Now some people like to eat half-cooked eggs (with the yolk in a semi-liquid state). Those eggs cannot be eaten overnight, even if they are cooked a second time.
2. Overnight tea cannot be drunk
Overnight tea has been left for too long, most of its vitamins have been lost, and the proteins, sugars, etc., in the tea infusion become nutrients for bacteria and mold to grow. Therefore, people usually believe that overnight tea cannot be drunk.
3. Can't even drink overnight boiled water?
Boiling tap water for 3-5 minutes minimizes the content of harmful substances such as nitrates and chlorides, making it most suitable for people to drink.
Drink less overnight boiled water:
Nitrates can form carcinogenic nitrosamines in the human body. Experts have found that the nitrate content in boiled water is higher than in raw water. Moreover, for boiled water that has been repeatedly boiled for too long or left for more than 24 hours, the nitrate content is significantly increased. After being left for 24 hours, the nitrate content in boiled water is 1.3 times higher than when it was first boiled. Chinese people have the habit of drinking boiled water. It is best to boil and drink it fresh or only drink the boiled water of the same day. Do not drink boiled water that has been boiled for too long.
Not wasting food is a virtue. To avoid leftover waste, many people save their evening leftovers for the next day. However, not all foods can be kept overnight.
4. Can overnight tremella be eaten?
Tremella soup is a high-nutritional tonic, but after being left overnight, its nutritional value decreases and harmful components are produced. This is because both indoor-cultivated and wood-cultivated tremella contain relatively high levels of nitrates. After being cooked, if left for a long time, nitrates are reduced to nitrites by the action of bacteria.
When a person drinks this soup, nitrites naturally enter the bloodstream. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which can carry large amounts of oxygen for 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!
5. Don't eat overnight leafy greens!
Because some leafy vegetables contain relatively high levels of nitrates, if cooked and then left for too long, nitrates will be reduced to nitrites by the action of bacteria, which are carcinogenic and cannot be removed by reheating.
Healthy eating method: Generally, stem and leaf vegetables have the highest nitrate content, followed by gourds, with root vegetables and cauliflower in the middle. Therefore, if you buy different types of vegetables at the same time, you should eat stem and leaf vegetables first, such as cabbage, spinach, etc. If you plan to cook extra food to eat reheated the next day, you should try to make less stem and leaf vegetables and choose gourds instead.
6. 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? (Sweat.. I often do this). Healthy eating method: The best way to store soup is not to 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 crock pot in the refrigerator. Because soup stored in aluminum or stainless steel pots for a long time can easily cause chemical reactions. It should be stored in glass or ceramic containers.
Not wasting food is a virtue. To avoid leftover waste, many people save their evening leftovers for the next day. However, not all foods can be kept overnight.
7. Seafood cannot be kept overnight
Foods that should not be eaten overnight include fish, seafood, leafy vegetables, and cold salads.
Fish and seafood, after being left overnight, can easily produce protein degradation products that can damage liver and kidney function.
Leafy vegetables contain varying amounts of nitrates. If cooked improperly or left for too long, not only will the vegetables turn yellow and taste bad, but the nitrates will also be reduced by bacteria into toxic nitrites, which are carcinogenic.
Cold salads are subject to more contamination during processing. Even if refrigerated, they are very likely to have spoiled overnight and should be made and eaten fresh.
8. Don't eat overnight family braised and pickled foods
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's best not to eat overnight pickled foods. Food experts remind that even food stored in the refrigerator is not absolutely "safe." Molds and psychrophilic bacteria can easily grow in the refrigerator.