Goodbye, Microwave–3 Superior Ways to Reheat Leftovers

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The Cross family’s kitchen remodel left no room for their microwave, so they moved it into the pantry.

With the microwave out of sight, it was also out of mind, and their leftovers began tasting better.

“When we moved into our new 1940s home, we loved the idea of not bringing a microwave back in,” Amy Cross—whose online business, The Cross Legacy, is aimed at reducing food waste and helping families save money on groceries—told The Epoch Times.

“I don’t like clutter on my countertops and definitely don’t want one with harmful chemicals being released.”

“If you think about something that’s designed to eat steamy, like a stir fry—[with] a lot of the aromatics like garlic and ginger, maybe onions—you’re going to smell that more through the steam rising from the food,” she told The Epoch Times.

Of note, water bath reheating differs from steaming in that it’s faster and less gentle. Food is placed in a heat-safe metal or glass dish such as a canning jar and set in a pan of very hot water.

The authors of the study noted that high-temperature air in the air-frying method retained the chicken’s inner moisture while creating a gel network structure in the outer layer. When it cooled, the gel formed a crispy exterior shell.

Flavor and quality also improved when the dish was rewarmed on an open flame, although steaming was rated best for the beef’s acceptability and coloring.

Unless you have a gas stove in your house, cooking over a flame may not be something you’re used to, but it can be handy when there’s no electricity.

Steaming can also be done in a steamer basket. You can make one using a metal colander that fits in your pan and holds the food above the water, with the lid securing it in place.

Waffle irons and panini presses can be great for heating up sandwiches, pancakes, and burritos. Rider once found herself making grilled cheese with an iron and parchment paper in a hotel room that didn’t have a microwave. She had been living there for a month for work and had grown tired of eating out.

“There’s no reason to follow strict requirements about how you have to reheat food,” she said. “Anything that can transfer heat to food—you can find a way to make it work. Get creative and have fun with it. As long as you use common sense, you’re not going to burn your food.”

“If there is enough for a complete lunch or dinner, I will often freeze it in a glass container with a snap-on lid so it can be easily reheated,” she said.

Cross uses silicone trays specifically designed for leftovers to freeze individual portions. They pop out of the tray easily to use with any reheating method.

She stores stews and soups in wide-mouth pint jars, leaving an inch or so of headspace so the jar won’t crack if the food expands as it freezes or thaws. The key is to put containers in the refrigerator to thaw overnight or place them in cold water.

The holidays can be a time of excess leftovers, which Cross said can be an opportunity to create meals with ease in the coming days and weeks.

You can cut up ham or turkey and freeze in 1-cup servings to add to egg dishes, salads, pizza, and fried rice, she said. Whole pieces of meat can even become a meal or a sandwich.

When she prepares mashed potatoes during the holidays, her adult children are often helping in the kitchen, so she makes extras since mashed potatoes freeze and reheat well.

“Being able to portion food into usable quantities is really important, as is making it a habit to use the food you have already prepared instead of ordering takeout,” Cross said, noting that refrigerated leftovers are often forgotten and then thrown out.

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