How long should one steam food to reheat safely?
One of the big problems with reheating food in a microwave or an oven is that it dries out the dish. To safely eat reheated food, it requires to be brought up to 165F or 75C.
How long on average, would a dish take to come up to this temperature when steamed in a domestic steamer? I'm thinking of something like mixed fried rice or meat biryani etc.,something where the steam can penetrate easily. I'd also be interested to hear if this would be a suitable method of heating frozen food, e.g. lasagne.
My theory is that this method would keep the contents moist, but at the same time not dry the dish out excessively.
I'd be particularly interested to hear of those with exposure to commercial steam ovens, as I believe these are frequently used for reheating food in hospitals etc.
Best Answer
Steaming is an excellent method for re-heating. Your theory is correct, and can also work with frozen food. Most sources on the webs suggest steaming thawed leftovers for 5 - 8 minutes. However, a lot will depend on the density your product, or thickness of your pile of leftovers, and whether or not the product is frozen. This will be true regardless of whether you are steaming at home on the stove, or in a commercial steam oven. I don't think it's possible to be much more specific than that on time. The only way to be sure is to measure the temperature. This is, of course, one of the reasons why cooks who work in professional kitchens carry thermometers.
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Quick Answer about "How long should one steam food to reheat safely?"
Reheat leftovers until steaming hot throughout — they should reach and maintain 165°F (70°C) for two minutes. Stir food while reheating to ensure even heating, especially when using a microwave. Do not reheat leftovers more than once.Can I reheat food by steaming?
Steaming is excellent for reheating frozen foods, foods that stick together, and meat that can easily dry out (like chicken breast) because it's a gentle cooking method that uses moisture (it's known as a \u201cmoist-heat\u201d or \u201cwet\u201d cooking method) to reheat the food.How long should I steam my food?
Once the water is boiling, most vegetables can be steamed in five minutes or less. Don't steam vegetables for longer than seven or eight minutes, or they will lose their vibrant color. Meat and fish steam in 3-10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the food.How long does it take to reheat food in a steam oven?
Reheating in the Steam Oven is absolutely fantastic! You don't get that terrible 're-cooked' taste that you get with reheating in the Microwave. The time is a bit longer, however it's worth the wait. A plate of food, about 5 minutes plus the time it takes to reach 100% steam which is about 3 min so total 8 minutes.How long should you reheat your food?
Reheat food rapidly. The recommended maximum time to reheat food is 2 hours. The Food Safety Standards require you to reheat potentially hazardous food that you are going to hold hot e.g. in a bain-marie, rapidly to 60\xbaC or hotter and display or store it at that temperature or hotter.Quick Tip: How To \u0026 How Often To Properly Reheat Food
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