According to a survey conducted by the Food Marketing Institute in 2008, there were more than a half of total numbers of American admitted consuming more leftovers compared to past years. This situation occurred as many households had so tight finance. Commonly, they would save the leftover food in kitchen scraps and reheat it or recycle in new dishes when they want to eat it.

Actually, there is another way but storing the leftover in kitchen scraps which is by making use of plastic coffee cans. Thus, here are given to you some easy steps to store the leftovers more safely and to reheat. As preparation, you should get the plastic coffee cans which are smaller and the cans with tight-fitting lids. Wash the coffee cans by using detergent or dishwashing liquid carefully, rinse, and dry the cans with towel or clean cloth.

After the preparation is done, you must do the careful storage process. You can start storing the leftovers in the dried and clean coffee cans and place the cover tightly. Plastic coffee cans can be a good preference to store leftover foods because it has airtight seal. Then, it is suggested for you to place the leftovers in small portion to let for the swift and even cooling.

Unpreserved foods are not allowed to be stored at room temperature for more than two hours and if the food had been heated over 90 degrees, you must not keep it more than one hour at the same temperature. As recommended by American Dietetic Association, it is important to store the leftovers in the refrigerator immediately. The Partnership for Food Safety Education also added that putting hot food directly into the refrigerator is safe to do.

Afterward, ADA stated that before placing the foods into the refrigerator, you should set the refrigerator at proper temperature for foods, the temperature should be below 40 degrees. The purpose of the correct setting is because it prevents the fast growth of harmful bacteria contained in the food. Leftovers food will be consumable within 4 days, if you keep it longer than 4 days, you should throw it to the trash because it is no longer safe to consume.

Furthermore, if you are about to reheat the leftovers, you must check the foods condition previously. To make sure whether the foods are proper to eat or not you can check the clear signs of decay like foul smell or spots of mold. Thereafter, you can use a food thermometer, it is a tool to check whether the leftover foods have been fully reheated or not. The internal temperature that indicates the foods are consumable is 165 degrees. Finally, to heat the food completely, you should stir the leftovers inside the microwave carefully. Indeed, you should do every step consistently before you eat the leftovers.