Can i reheat HEATED ready meals ?

[Dave7]

Situation is......
I bought a ready meal of curry and rice.
Its been in the freezer.
I am about to micro it (as per instructions).
I doubt I can eat it all.
Can I reheat what is left tomorrow ?

Mr Google is not clear but seems to indicate it's ok.

 

[Slick]

I wouldn't heat it the first time but if you must, eat it all.

 

[Chris S]

Are there any heating instructions on the side of the packet?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

The instructions on ready meals usually say once cooked, do not reheat a second time. I think in theory there's no safety reason why you can't, so long as it's fully reheated to a safe temperature. (Families in Africa and India routinely keep huge curries etc at room temperature and reheat them multiple times over several days by bringing them back to boiling point for 5 minutes).
But I'm not sure a ready meal will be all that palatable a second time round. I'd probably bin it and treat yourself to a fresh one.

 

[MontyVeda]

it should be fine. Let us know tomorrow, if we don't hear anything, we'll assume the worst and learn from it

 

[cougie uk]

No. I did it once and gave myself food poisoning.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

The biggest problem is getting such a small amount up to a safe temperature for long enough. If you nuke it thoroughly it'll be safe but it'll be all dried out and nasty. Hence why people get ill, the temptation is to only heat it just enough, and that can leave dangerous bacteria alive.

 

[MontyVeda]

I reheat food a lot and don't get ill from it. I don't always refrigerate it between heatings and reheatings,. but would advise bunging the half you want to save in the fridge.

 

[slowmotion]

If you went to school in the early 1960's, you'll be fine.

 

[neil_merseyside]

I used to cut frozen meals in half to nuke just the bit I could eat, I've more recently just eaten the lot...
I'd not be bothered in the slightest by rewarming (well) anything other than rice.

 

[Sittingduck]

Heat all and eat what you can. If you really can’t manage it all, is it really worth saving for a second day?

 

[stephec]

Without googling I'll have to go with a memory that I have, I'm sure I read something once that said it's a bit dodgy to heat rice a second time, there's only one way to find out though.

 

[MichaelW2]

Rice is potentially a food poisoning danger. Boiling does not kill spores of Bacillus cereus. If the rice is kept warm for long enough the bacteria grow and produce a toxin. Reheating will kill the bacteria but not the toxin.
If you want to put cooked rice in the fridge, rinse in cold water to cool down.

Sushi rice is made with vinegar which ensures a pH that is not conducive to bacterial growth.

 

[Dave7]

Update.
The curry was excellent and I managed to eat most of it.
What was left was not worth saving tbh.
BUT I am no wiser as there are so many different opinions

 

[markemark]

My understanding is that there rules for reheating and refreezing are no longer true. You can reheat multiple times as long as the cooling down period is quick and the reheating is thorough.