How do you warm up refrigerated cold food?

[F+V]

I've been defrosting frozen food in the fridge and right before serving putting the jar in a bowl of hot water for about 3 minutes to warm it up.
How do you warm it up? I hear heating it up in microwave is not good. What about steaming?

 

[daftcat75]

I don't recommend the microwave because it destroys nutrients. I'm not sure I like steaming either because that's hot enough to cook food. It might also destroy some of the nutrients they add after cooking precisely because they get cooked away.

The way you're doing it is the way I prefer to do it. If you wanted to speed it up a little, you can transfer the portion into a baggie and press it as flat as you can before either a hot water soak or running it under hot water. Pressing it flat increases the surface area and also decreases the thickness the heat has to traverse to warm it all up. If you let it soak, the cold of the food is going to cool down the hot of the water and it's going to be increasingly less efficient at warming the food until the water and the food reach an equilibrium and there is no more heat to transfer. If you want to speed up the defrost, use running hot water so that you aren't losing the heat the longer it soaks.

One caveat I would say about using hot water to warm food is that if the food is raw food, you'll want to use warm water (slightly cooler than you like your shower water) instead of hot water to prevent cooking your raw food. This is where pressing the food flat before freezing and using running warm water are indispensable shortcuts.

It took me about 1 minute (from 2:00 to 3:00) to warm up a fridge defrosted raw portion for Krista here. Thankfully I had a (mostly) patient supurrvisor. Starting from frozen didn't take us that much longer when the food was frozen flat.

 

[Caspers Human]

The reason to be cautious about microwave ovens is because they can quickly overheat foods and, if you're not careful, burns can result when somebody eats food that's been microwaved. How many times have you noticed that the bowl of leftovers you are trying to reheat comes out ice cold in the center but burning hot on the outsides? If you did that to a bowl of cat food, your cat might get burned!

I would avoid using the microwave to heat cat food just for that reason.

I think your idea of using hot water is perfect because the food being heated can never get hotter than the water you're heating it in... Just like the way we used to heat jars of baby food!

 

[Caspers Human]

I don't recommend the microwave because it destroys nutrients.

Sorry, but it's the other way around. Cooking on the stove often destroys MORE nutrition because it takes longer to heat the food. Furthermore, when foods such as vegetables are cooked on the stove, they are often submerged in water which soaks out a lot of nutrition. Then most of the vitamins in your veggies go down the drain in your kitchen sink.

Cooking a batch of broccoli in the microwave only takes three to four minutes. The food comes out nice and crunchy and green and it tastes better, too. The same batch of veggies cooked on the stove takes twice as long, is often soggy, looks and tastes icky, plus it has had most of the vitamins and flavor washed out.

That's the reason why so many kids don't like broccoli! Who would want to eat a pile of dark green mush that tastes and smells like sulfur?

 

[daftcat75]

Sorry, but it's the other way around. Cooking on the stove often destroys MORE nutrition because it takes longer to heat the food. Furthermore, when foods such as vegetables are cooked on the stove, they are often submerged in water which soaks out a lot of nutrition. Then most of the vitamins in your veggies go down the drain in your kitchen sink.

Cooking a batch of broccoli in the microwave only takes three to four minutes. The food comes out nice and crunchy and green and it tastes better, too. The same batch of veggies cooked on the stove takes twice as long, is often soggy, looks and tastes icky, plus it has had most of the vitamins and flavor washed out.

That's the reason why so many kids don't like broccoli! Who would want to eat a pile of dark green mush that tastes and smells like sulfur?

I sit corrected. I looked it up and the Googles agree with you. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Caspers Human]

It's okay. My mother used to rant about microwaves and how the "radiation" poisons food. That's a bunch of bunk.

Microwave ovens use radio frequency energy to heat food, similar to the frequency that your Wi-Fi hub uses. The only difference is the power. A Wi-Fi hub puts out less than five watts where the microwave can put out in excess of 1,000 watts.

Theoretically, (VERY theoretically...for humorous purpose, only) if you could make your Wi-Fi hub put out 1,000 watts it might be possible to cook food via Wi-Fi!

 

[daftcat75]

It's okay. My mother used to rant about microwaves and how the "radiation" poisons food. That's a bunch of bunk.

Microwave ovens use radio frequency energy to heat food, similar to the frequency that your Wi-Fi hub uses. The only difference is the power. A Wi-Fi hub puts out less than five watts where the microwave can put out in excess of 1,000 watts.

Theoretically, (VERY theoretically...for humorous purpose, only) if you could make your Wi-Fi hub put out 1,000 watts it might be possible to cook food via Wi-Fi!

I think if I could increase my WiFi router to 1000 watts, I would be cooking more than my food.

 

[Caspers Human]

You'd be cooking, all right!

That's why microwave ovens have so many safeties built in. That metal screen that covers the window is meant to stop the microwave energy from coming through the glass.

If you want to learn some fun facts, look up "Faraday Cage."

 

[F+V]

I don't recommend the microwave because it destroys nutrients. I'm not sure I like steaming either because that's hot enough to cook food. It might also destroy some of the nutrients they add after cooking precisely because they get cooked away.

The way you're doing it is the way I prefer to do it. If you wanted to speed it up a little, you can transfer the portion into a baggie and press it as flat as you can before either a hot water soak or running it under hot water. Pressing it flat increases the surface area and also decreases the thickness the heat has to traverse to warm it all up. If you let it soak, the cold of the food is going to cool down the hot of the water and it's going to be increasingly less efficient at warming the food until the water and the food reach an equilibrium and there is no more heat to transfer. If you want to speed up the defrost, use running hot water so that you aren't losing the heat the longer it soaks.

One caveat I would say about using hot water to warm food is that if the food is raw food, you'll want to use warm water (slightly cooler than you like your shower water) instead of hot water to prevent cooking your raw food. This is where pressing the food flat before freezing and using running warm water are indispensable shortcuts.

It took me about 1 minute (from 2:00 to 3:00) to warm up a fridge defrosted raw portion for Krista here. Thankfully I had a (mostly) patient supurrvisor. Starting from frozen didn't take us that much longer when the food was frozen flat.

That'd be extra work for me but I might try your method! I'm sorry Krista passed

 

[F+V]

The reason to be cautious about microwave ovens is because they can quickly overheat foods and, if you're not careful, burns can result when somebody eats food that's been microwaved. How many times have you noticed that the bowl of leftovers you are trying to reheat comes out ice cold in the center but burning hot on the outsides? If you did that to a bowl of cat food, your cat might get burned!

I would avoid using the microwave to heat cat food just for that reason.

I think your idea of using hot water is perfect because the food being heated can never get hotter than the water you're heating it in... Just like the way we used to heat jars of baby food!

Yes, burning was another concern I had about microwave heating. Looks like hot water is the way to go

 

[danteshuman]

I nuke his half a fancy feast can on a paper plate for 5 seconds, stir & serve.

 

[Caspers Human]

Yes, burning was another concern I had about microwave heating. Looks like hot water is the way to go

The thing I don't like about microwave ovens is that they are hard to control. Either ON or OFF. No in between. All you can do is control the amount of time. Microwave your food for the wrong amount of time and it will either be too cold or so hot you can't eat it. Then there is the real chance that a cup of water for your tea could erupt explosively into a boil. The microwaves heat the water so fast that it becomes super heated. That means that its temperature is above the boiling point but hasn't physically boiled due to atmospheric pressure. However, the slightest disturbance can cause a nucleation effect which instantly erupts into a boil sending hot water all over the place. This is actually pretty rare but it can and does still happen. It has happened to me on a couple of occasions. Lucky I didn't get scalded! There is an easy way to prevent it. Just put a bamboo skewer into the water before you put it into the microwave. It will give any bubbles a chance to form gradually, preventing eruptions.

Don't get me wrong. I love my microwave. People just need to understand how they work so that they know whether it's appropriate to use them for certain foods or not. e.g: reheating bread in a microwave!

Personally, I reheat my leftovers and cook veggies and things in the microwave but I'd rather boil my water for tea on the stove.

So... Well, yeah. You can warm your cat's food in the microwave if you want to but be careful. Don't accidentally burn your cat.

If it was me, I'd just heat it on the stove in a pot of warm water like you say.

Even something as basic as heating a can of Campbell's Soup... I think using a pot on the stove makes it taste better. Don't you?

I bet your cat will!

 

[F+V]

The thing I don't like about microwave ovens is that they are hard to control. Either ON or OFF. No in between. All you can do is control the amount of time.

What if I can adjust the microwave temps between 60 and 100 F? You said microwave wouldn't destroy nutrients, and if I can use that, it will be the best option for me.

 

[Caspers Human]

Use it if you like. Just make sure that the food is at the right temperature before you give it to the cat.

 

[danteshuman]

Before you figure out the time/amount I suggest you stick your clean finger in the food to make sure it is safe. I am just shooting for not super cold food, not to make it hot food! If the food pops in the microwave you have cooked it way to long. Start with just a few seconds. It really doesn’t take long at all.

my boys food has extra water added to it. I add the water before it goes in the fridge. I’m not sure how much this changes the time. So maybe try 3 seconds and see how warm it gets?

 

[F+V]

Before you figure out the time/amount I suggest you stick your clean finger in the food to make sure it is safe. I am just shooting for not super cold food, not to make it hot food! If the food pops in the microwave you have cooked it way to long. Start with just a few seconds. It really doesn’t take long at all.

my boys food has extra water added to it. I add the water before it goes in the fridge. I’m not sure how much this changes the time. So maybe try 3 seconds and see how warm it gets?

Yes, I made sure it was not too hot after nuking it at 95 degrees. There were a few cooked bits, so I will lower the temperature next time. Their food already has plenty of liquid and if I add anything more, it will be like soup

 

[DeesCats]

I have always used the microwave to heat up portions of refrigerated canned cat food but it is a bit of a trial and error depending on the microwave oven.

I always add some water to the food first, mix it well and spread it out flat on the plate so it more uniformly heats evenly.

I've always heard to try and achieve about 98.6F or about the temperature of a mouse. You don't want the food too hot (burns) or too cold (cat won't eat it) and using an instant read thermometer may help until you figure out what works for the amount of food on the plate and your microwave.