Leftovers
Warmed-Over Flavor At the same time that
cooking develops the characteristic flavors of
meat, it also promotes chemical changes that
lead to characteristic, stale, cardboard-like
“warmed-over flavors” when the meat is
stored and reheated. (Complex or strongly
flavored dishes may actually improve with
time and reheating; warmed-over flavor
develops within the meat itself.) The principal
source of off-flavors is unsaturated fatty
acids, which are damaged by oxygen and iron
from myoglobin. This damage occurs slowly
in the refrigerator and more rapidly during
reheating. Meats with a greater proportion of
unsaturated fat in their fat tissue — poultry
and pork — are more susceptible to warmed-
over flavor than beef and lamb. Cured meats
suffer less because their nitrite acts as an
antioxidant.
There are several ways to minimize the
development of off-flavors in leftovers.