Ordering in is one of life’s greatest gifts. That you have your favourite dishes delivered at the click of a button is a modern wonder – yet, sometimes, you have to deal with the unfortunate experience of food arriving less than piping hot. When this happens, all is not lost, and your dinner certainly isn’t ruined – these are our tips for restoring takeaways to their steaming former glory.
Burgers and fries
Ordering a burger is always a gamble, but if it’s one you’re prepared to take, then you need to know what to do if it arrives in a less-than-perfect state. As with pizza, preheat your oven to the highest setting it can go. When your burger arrives, take it apart and place the burger patty directly onto the grill (with a roasting tray underneath it to catch any juices) for a few minutes. You can also place your buns in the oven – just try and pry off as many of the toppings as possible, and leave it for a minute or two. For fries, you can place them under a hot grill to reheat and crisp up again.
Curries
Curry is easily the most forgiving of all food deliveries. All you really need to do here is pop it into a microwaveable container and give it a good blast to heat it through. Any rice can also be reheated, provided you do it carefully. Ideally, rice shouldn’t be reheated more than once, so if you really need to reheat it, do so in batches, so that you’re not warming up too much of it at once. This means that you’ll still be able to reheat any leftovers the next day, as you’ve only reheated it once. When warming rice, add a little splash of water to keep it from drying out and make sure it’s very hot when it comes out of the microwave, as this will kill off any potential bacteria.
Pastas
There’s no messing around with this one: the best and quickest way to reheat pastas is to pop it into the microwave until piping hot again. Give it a final flourish once with a good drizzle of olive oil, a fresh grating of parmesan and a crack of black pepper.
Pizza
The first thing you want to do after placing your order is turn your oven on. Even the speediest of deliveries can be delayed, and you’ll need to reheat your pizza as quickly and efficiently as possible. Crank your oven up to the highest possible setting it can go, and about 15 minutes before you expect your delivery to arrive, pop a baking sheet in to heat up. When your pizza arrives, check the state of its temperature, and if you think it needs a proper reheat, then slide it onto the heated baking tray and leave to warm up.
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