I've been wondering about different things I've been told about food
safety, and figured that someone in here is bound to know, and be able
to give me a proper answer.

1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
just some?

2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?
--
Nikitta a.a. #1759 Apatriot(No, not apricot)#18
ICQ# 251532856
Unreferenced footnotes: http://www.nut.house.cx/cgi-bin/nemwiki.pl?ISFN
"If you think of a pink dancing elephant, and it thinks you are deranged,
is that blasphemy? Or does it just mean you're deranged?"
Arcum Dagsson (afdaniain)

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 13:00:46 +0100, MEow >
wrote:

>1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
>re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
>just some?

Microbes grow quickly in room temperature or hot afternoon
temperature. There are many, many recommendations about how long
various foods are "safe" at room temperature. If you thaw meat and
then refreeze, you've used up some of its 'safe' time. Thawing and
freezing also affects taste and quality. Meats, fish, preparations
with eggs and dairy (and meats) are some of the foods that should be
kept either hot or cold, but not in-between for long. A Google on
"food safety" will give you more information than you can digest.
>
>2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach

Say, what? You're making this up, right?

Frogleg wrote:

>>2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach
>
>
> Say, what? You're making this up, right?


It is obvious you've never tasted reheated spinach or you'd understand
immediately. Bleah.

--Lia

While frolicking around in rec.food.cooking, Frogleg of EarthLink Inc.
-- http://www.EarthLink.net said:

>>1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
>>re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
>>just some?
>
>Microbes grow quickly in room temperature or hot afternoon
>temperature. There are many, many recommendations about how long
>various foods are "safe" at room temperature. If you thaw meat and
>then refreeze, you've used up some of its 'safe' time.

Ah. *That* explains it. Thank you.

>Thawing and
>freezing also affects taste and quality. Meats, fish, preparations
>with eggs and dairy (and meats) are some of the foods that should be
>kept either hot or cold, but not in-between for long. A Google on
>"food safety" will give you more information than you can digest.

Okay.
>>
>>2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach
>
>Say, what? You're making this up, right?

No. I've been told that it causes the spinach to produce some sort of
toxin or something. I don't recall the details, but I've always wondered
about it. I'll take your reaction to mean that it's just an old wive's
tale, then.
--
Nikitta a.a. #1759 Apatriot(No, not apricot)#18
ICQ# 251532856
Unreferenced footnotes: http://www.nut.house.cx/cgi-bin/nemwiki.pl?ISFN
"There's nothin like swimmin with bow legged wimmin!" Dave W (a.a.)

"MEow" > wrote in message
...
> I've been wondering about different things I've been told about food
> safety, and figured that someone in here is bound to know, and be able
> to give me a proper answer.
>
> 1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
> re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
> just some?
>
The problems with re-freezing is the breakdown of the cellular
structure of the food. It also degrades the flavor.
There is the possibility if you thaw the food at room temperature,
instead of in the refrigerator, that bacteria may proliferate and that
the bacteria will proliferate further when the food is thawed again
rendering the food unsafe to consume regardless of how
thorough the cooking process.
Freezing will not kill the bacteria.

> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?
>
If it is cooked in stainless or glass and as long as the remainder is
refrigerated COVERED in the same vessel soon after serving
it is it is usually quite good if re-heated within three days.
If it was cooked in aluminum or cast iron toss the remainder.

HTH
Buddy

>It is obvious you've never tasted reheated spinach or you'd understand
>immediately. Bleah.
>

I've reheated spinach lasagna without any bleah.

In article <s%qVb.119263$U%5.597506@attbi_s03>,
Julia Altshuler > wrote:

> Frogleg wrote:
>
> >>2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach
> >
> >
> > Say, what? You're making this up, right?
>
>
> It is obvious you've never tasted reheated spinach or you'd understand
> immediately. Bleah.
>
> --Lia
>

Hmmmmmm I use baby spinach in stir fry and it re-heats just fine when
refrigerated, but I sure won't freeze it.

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby >,,<
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

Julia Altshuler > wrote in
news:s%qVb.119263$U%5.597506@attbi_s03:

> Frogleg wrote:
>
>>>2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach
>>
>>
>> Say, what? You're making this up, right?
>
>
> It is obvious you've never tasted reheated spinach or you'd understand
> immediately. Bleah.
>
> --Lia
>
>

So that explains canned spinach.


--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food
and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

While frolicking around in rec.food.cooking, Bud Holly of SBC
http://yahoo.sbc.com said:

>> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
>> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
>> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?
>>
>If it is cooked in stainless or glass and as long as the remainder is
>refrigerated COVERED in the same vessel soon after serving
>it is it is usually quite good if re-heated within three days.
>If it was cooked in aluminum or cast iron toss the remainder.
>
Is that for taste-reasons, or for safety-reasons?
--
Nikitta a.a. #1759 Apatriot(No, not apricot)#18
ICQ# 251532856
Unreferenced footnotes: http://www.nut.house.cx/cgi-bin/nemwiki.pl?ISFN
"There is scarcely a business or industry left that could
understand the concept of shame even if they looked it up in a
dictionary." Eric Walker (AUE)

MEow wrote:

> I've been wondering about different things I've been told about food
> safety, and figured that someone in here is bound to know, and be able
> to give me a proper answer.
>
> 1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
> re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
> just some?

You don't want do refreeze it because of quality concerns. When you freeze
something, all of the moisture in it crystallizes. When it thaws, moisture
in the air will condense on it and add new moisture. If you then refreeze
it, that additional moisture will seed even more crystals.

This is bad because crystals, by their shape, have sharp edges which will
damage whatever is surrounding them. In meats it will puncture the cell
walls of the meat and make for a less-than-fresh flavor that will just get
worse with refreezing.

> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?

Never heard that one...

--
Darryl L. Pierce >
Visit the Infobahn Offramp - <http://mypage.org/mcpierce>
"What do you care what other people think, Mr. Feynman?"

"MEow" > wrote in message
...
> While frolicking around in rec.food.cooking, Bud Holly of SBC
> http://yahoo.sbc.com said:
>
> >> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
> >> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
> >> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?
> >>
> >If it is cooked in stainless or glass and as long as the remainder is
> >refrigerated COVERED in the same vessel soon after serving
> >it is it is usually quite good if re-heated within three days.
> >If it was cooked in aluminum or cast iron toss the remainder.
> >
> Is that for taste-reasons, or for safety-reasons?
>
Taste. The iron in the spinach starts to break down
and although it is still safe to eat, it tastes awful.

MEow wrote:
> I've been wondering about different things I've been told about food
> safety, and figured that someone in here is bound to know, and be able
> to give me a proper answer.
>
> 1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you
> shouldn't re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds
> of food, or just some?

As long as the packaging is good and the food remained cold (refrigerated),
I've re-frozen meats without any harm. Think of the case where you've
thawed out some chicken or chops and then gotten a call and wound up going
out to dinner instead. Granted, if you've a mind you could just keep them
in the fridge to cook the next day. But what if you already had plans for
the next day? Then, refreeze the meat. The texture might suffer a bit,
particularly if you're talking about fish.

> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is
> there any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?

Never heard that one before. What would be the logic behind the old wives
tale, I wonder?

Jill

While frolicking around in rec.food.cooking, jmcquown of said:

>> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
>> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is
>> there any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?
>
>Never heard that one before. What would be the logic behind the old wives
>tale, I wonder?
>
I don't know, but then I won't worry about that anymore. Thanks to all
who have responded with explanations.
--
Nikitta a.a. #1759 Apatriot(No, not apricot)#18
ICQ# 251532856
Unreferenced footnotes: http://www.nut.house.cx/cgi-bin/nemwiki.pl?ISFN
"The market isn't reality, it is a social construction." Dark Angel (a.a.)

MEow wrote:
> While frolicking around in rec.food.cooking, jmcquown of said:
>
>>> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach

>> Never heard that one before. What would be the logic behind the old
>> wives tale, I wonder?
>>
> I don't know, but then I won't worry about that anymore. Thanks to all
> who have responded with explanations.

I can tell you this, I'm a spinach fanatic. I can't imagine not being able
to reheat a spinach-feta quiche. In fact I often take leftover spinach
(quiche or even just steamed) to work with me for lunch.

Jill

>
> 1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
> re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
> just some?
>

I think that is more a quality issue, than safety one. The thawing changes
the texture or substance of the product and refreezing it won't yield the
best results on subsequent thawing.
Goomba

MEow wrote:

> I've been wondering about different things I've been told about food
> safety, and figured that someone in here is bound to know, and be able
> to give me a proper answer.

> 1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
> re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
> just some?

It's not about safety, it's about mouthfeel and flavor. Freezing and
thawing almost all meats and veggies will result in cell wall
destruction. The protoplasm leaks out of the damaged ones. Refreezing
damages still more cells and reduces still more the juices and,
therefore, flavors. Texture is damaged because empty cells are tough
and tasteless.

> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?

No good reason and not true.

Bob P

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 19:22:43 -0500, Bob > wrote:

>> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
>> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
>> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?
>
>No good reason and not true.
>
>Bob P

i think i may be because most old wives' spinach is pretty cruddy the
first time 'round.

your pal,
blake