Please reassure me??

[hwwynd]

Ok so I've always been 'funny' about food storage ie defrosting, heating leftovers etc and it's causing a lot of waste, which needs to stop!!

So my questions to those who do this often -

Can you really defrost meat in the microwave if you forgot to take it out the night before?? Is it safe??

Rice. Can you reheat rice and how to make sure it's absolutely safe if you do??

I know the answers to these are on Google, but I just wanted reassurance from 'real people' who do these things often, that it's really ok!!

[violetscone]

Following as I’d like to know too!

[ErrolTheDragon]

Meat - yes, it's fine so long as you do it thoroughly- though IME it's quite hard to judge it so you don't partially cook and toughen it.

Rice - no. While it should be ok if you've cooled it quickly, as I understood it, the problem is that if it's not cooled and stored correctly a toxin can develop which isn't destroyed by cooking. Rice is cheap, and white rice takes 10 mins to cook ... weigh what you need so you don't have a huge excess. The dog gets our small amount of leftover rice.

[SnaccidentsHappen]

I defrost my meat in a bowl of cold water if I forget to take it out. IMO no meat is good after being defrosted in a microwave. I don't think you are supposed to reheat rice, I'm sure I have and been fine, not something I do very often though

[ErrolTheDragon]

I freeze or reheat many other types of leftover but not rice, to be clear

[ErrolTheDragon]

Yes - Defrosting meat in a bowl of cold water is much better than microwave, it may take a little longer but not much. Put it in a covered metal container in the water to maximise heat conduction.

[andyoldlabour]

Rice is probably our staple carbohydrate, we have it two or three times a week. We take the first portions to eat, cool down place in plastic tupperware box and place in fridge. We reheat it thoroughly in a pyrex bowl until it is scorching hot. We have done that for nearly thirty years.
Really don't like defrosting meat in a microwave, the texture changes.

[Knotaknitter]

There are people who only use their microwave for defrosting food. There is a setting for defrost for this very reason. Why do you think it's not safe?

I batch cook rice, freeze it in a shallow layer on a baking tray and cook it straight from frozen. Google will tell you what to do and why it is important that you get it right. Cool it quickly, don't leave it standing at room temperature. If you are really anxious about food I'd suggest cooking just the amount you need and not having leftovers.

[ItsJustTheOneSwanActually]

When I cook rice I immediately run cold water through it. Then heat what I need. Never been an issue, done it for years.

[cherrypiepie]

I cool leftover rice strait away in the fridge or freezer (as soon as it stops steaming). Then heat in microwave from frozen. Don't leave it hanging about warm as this is when it can go dodgy ( deliberately leaving our pseudo food science as I am not 1oo% sure if it's weird toxins or microbes. I haven't been ill.

Meat I find difficult to defrost in a microwave as one part starts to cook and another is still frozen but I have done it. Only fillets tho not in the bone stuff.

[ErrolTheDragon]

It's microbes that make weird toxins.
Ok, here's what the NHS says... roughly, do it properly or it might give you a not too serious bout of food poisoning.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning/

[cherrypiepie]

@ErrolTheDragon

Brilliant link too!