Tips for Warming Up Santan Dishes for Eid to Avoid Damaging Health

JAKARTA - Dietitian Yesi Herawati S.Gz M.Kes shares tips for handling and reheating leftover Lebaran soup dishes so as not to pose a risk to health.

To ANTARA on Tuesday, he said that savory dishes such as chicken opor or beef rendang can still be consumed until the third day of Lebaran as long as they are stored properly and heated again in the right way.

"Make sure the heat is evenly distributed to the inside of the food, not just on the surface," said the dietitian from the Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung.

"It is recommended to heat it to a temperature of at least 70 degrees Celsius for two minutes, 75 degrees Celsius for 30 seconds, or 80 degrees Celsius for 6 seconds," he explained.

He said, the remaining broth can be boiled again until it boils if you want to serve it again.

Meanwhile, leftover food without gravy can be reheated by sautéing or steaming, or heated using a microwave, microwave, and air fryer.

However, Yesi reminded that reheating the food can cause damage to the texture and affect the nutritional content and taste of the food, it can also pose a risk to health.

"Food with cream when heated many times will produce free radicals and trans fats that are harmful to health," he said.

"In addition, it can also cause food poisoning if the temperature and heating duration are not right. Bacteria can develop quickly at temperatures between 4 to 60 degrees Celsius," he added.

Yesi also reminded that cooking with green vegetables should not be reheated repeatedly, because it can trigger health risks.

He explained that green vegetables contain nitrates, which when heated repeatedly will produce carcinogenic substances, cancer triggers.​​​​​​​

Yesim said that food leftovers that will be consumed at another time should be divided into small portions and then stored in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator so that it does not go bad quickly.

According to him, food waste that has been put into a closed container can be stored in a chiller for 3-4 days or frozen in a freezer for 3-4 months.

However, he said, food can lose moisture and change its taste if it is stored in the refrigerator for a long time.