Have you heard of Warmed Over Flavour?

[taxlady]

Have you ever noticed that sometimes reheated meat has a bit of a funky flavour, even though it's only been in the fridge a day or two? Well, that's called "Warmed Over Flavour" (WOF). There are chemical reactions that happen inside the meat after it's cooked and chilled and then reheated. Here's an article that explains the science and ways to help prevent or limit it.

Meet Warmed-Over Flavor, the Phenomenon That Turns Leftovers Funky

 

[dragnlaw]

interesting article taxy, thanks.

All I can say is 'thank goodness I'm not one that is able to detect WOF!' Have I ever detected it? maybe, but have usually called it 'fridge-taste' and honestly? don't think it was ever chicken!

I often poach several chicken breasts to eat during the week, salad, hot chicken sandwich, etc. I also often cook a bunch of drumsticks and/or thighs to be eaten during the week. Luckily I've never had it happen to taste the WOF - and I hope I'm not jinxed now!

 

[GotGarlic]

Interesting. Leftovers are often my favorite things to eat. Lots of foods get better after they've "aged" for a day or two. I always make my lasagna sauce a day before assembling and baking it because it improves the flavor.

 

[Andy M.]

It's nice to have a name for what I've been tasting for all these years. Yeah, it's there, but I don't care. Cold chicken becomes chicken salad or a quesadilla, etc. so there are other flavors to take your consciousness off the WOF.

 

[pepperhead212]

I think this was somebody's way of making an excuse for not eating leftovers! Sometimes leftovers taste better, and it would be interesting to see a blind taste test with several people, with some of those things, like chili, tasting the one just finished, or the reheated leftovers.

One thing that can cause this problem is leftovers being left on the counter for hours, before refrigerating. A common holiday food problem.

 

[taxlady]

I think that a lot of us have been preventing WOF by having the stuff in the fridge either in a sauce or soup or tightly packaged, so it doesn't get exposed to much oxygen. I have often found that chicken that wasn't in a sauce gets that flavour when reheated. I tend to reheat in the microwave, so I always blamed it on the MW. I usually use leftover chicken for chicken salad, where it won't be reheated, or hot chicken sandwich, where it gets reheated by the gravy I pour over it. Sometimes I just snack on a cold from the fridge, left over, chicken leg or wing. I don't notice any WOF with those items.

 

[dragnlaw]

plus, for those that mentioned chili and other foods that are mixed together, I think the article was focusing on solid meats - as in chicken, and in particular for their tests, it was chicken breasts.

I for one, like most others here have mentioned, chili's, stew's, etc actually benefit from an overnight stay.

 

[cookiecrafter]

I think the overnight stay really helps the flavor when the steam has enough time to return to liquid. I keep food in the fridge overnight before putting in the freezer.