Foods that are Best Served Cold

When it comes to foods, most people take their meals hot or reheated, rather than cold. But some foods are not meant to be eaten warm or re-heated at all! Reheating these foods could change their texture and the taste! In today’s post, we are listing down foods that are best served cold or at room temperature:

Table of Contents

Sushi and Sashimi

Sushi is a traditional Japanese delicacy comprised of fresh slices of fish, seafood, or vegetable on a bed of Japanese rice. This dish is meant to be eaten cold to preserve the freshness of the fish. Of course, since sushi is made from uncooked seafood, it has to be eaten right away. For leftovers, you have to chill the sushi in the fridge to preserve freshness and prevent contamination.

Sashimi is also a traditional Japanese dish. But unlike sushi, which is served with rolled rice, sashimi is just fresh slivers of fish or seafood served with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi. Again, since sashimi is made from uncooked fish or seafood, it should be eaten right away. Traditional Japanese sushi restaurants serve sushi and sashimi slightly chilled.

Cucumber Soup

Although most soups are best served piping hot, cold soups like cucumber soup must be served cold or slightly chilled. Perfect for hot summer days, cucumber soup is meant to refresh and rehydrate the body. Cucumber is a vegetable with very high water content and fiber. This vegetable works well with other cooling herbs, including mint, to create a delicious and satisfying cold soup.

Cured Meats

While some people enjoy cured meats slightly warm, these products are best served cold. Cured meats are often sliced very thinly and paired with different cheeses and dried fruits. You can also use cured meats to create finger foods and sandwiches. Types of cured meats that should be served cold include prosciutto, cacciatore, salami, and soppressata.

Salads

Any type of salad should be served fresh and cold, not cooked or warm. These foods are made with fresh produce, such as lettuce, kale, carrots, and cucumbers, which are best eaten cold. Even potato salad, chicken salad, and egg salads are best eaten cold but for entirely different reasons. The ingredients of these salads are prone to contamination and bacterial growth so they should be kept in the fridge.

Left Over Pizza

Surprisingly, leftover pizza should be left eaten cold or at room temperature rather than warmed up in the microwave. Why? The pizza dough gets too tough when it is exposed to heat. Eating the pizza cold helps preserve the chewiness of the pizza dough!

Bagels

Just like pizza dough, bagel’s dough gets unbelievably tough when it is reheated. That’s why bagels are often served at room temperature or toasted instead of warmed in a microwave.

Fruit Platters

Essentially, fruit platters are sliced fruits, arranged on a platter for presentation. Fruit platters are best served cold because fruits are best eaten slightly chilled or at room temperature. Exposing fruits to high heat could also destroy certain types of vitamins and antioxidants found in fruits.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for general informational purposes only. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet or health routine.

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The Benefits of Freeze Drying Foods

Freeze-drying is a food preparation method that preserves perishable material. It works by freezing the item, reducing the surrounding pressure and allowing frozen water to sublimate from solid to gas. When the water freezes the item, it dehydrates the product. If you are curious what the benefits of freeze-drying are, continue reading below:

Faster, Easier than Canning

Compared to canning, freeze-drying is faster, easier, and more efficient. Freeze dried foods have longer shelf life than canned foods. Canned foods only keep for a couple of months to a year. But freeze dried foods can keep up to 20 years! You can freeze dry just about any food, including vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy. In just 20 to 36 hours, you can pack your foods and keep it up to whopping 25 years or so!

Maintains Nutrient Value

Certain types of vitamins and minerals are sensitive to high heat. Exposing foods to be preserved in high heat could affect the nutritional value of these foods. All types of water-soluble vitamins – such as vitamin B and C – get lost in high heat. Certain types of antioxidants are lost from high heat too! Because freeze-drying does not expose foods to high heat, the nutritional value of the items remains the same once they are ready to eat. In fact, the nutritional content of freeze-dried foods is equal to that of their fresh counterpart!

Retains Natural Color and Taste

Unlike other methods of food preservation, freeze-drying does not cause damage to the food being preserved. Why? Unlike canning or dehydrating, freeze-drying does not expose foods to high heat that could affect the color, taste, and nutritional value of the foods being preserved. Freeze-dried apples, berries, ice cream, avocados, and other foods will look and taste the same once they thaw.

Preserves Larger Pieces of Foods

Canning and dehydrating are only limited to smaller pieces of food. You have to cut a large food into smaller, manageable size to fit the canning machine or dehydrator. But with freeze drying, you can preserve larger and more varieties of foods including slabs of steaks, whole shrimps, tubs of ice cream, uncut vegetables of all kinds, etc. You never have to settle for diced, sliced, or shaved fruits or meats to preserve.

Reduces Food Waste

Overripe fruits and vegetables are typically thrown away rather than be eaten. Leftover meals, certain types of cheese, and herbs are also left in the fridge, uneaten and unused. According to studies, an average family of four throws away 40% of the food they purchase per year. That’s about $2,250 worth of food being thrown away each year!

With freeze-drying, you can maximize your budget because no food is wasted. You can preserve large quantities of food and retain their quality for two decades. You can choose what food to eat and what to keep, minimizing food wastage.

Healthy Foods

Let’s face it, preserved foods from your supermarket are teeming with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives to make the product look appealing. Canned foods are teeming with MSG, sodium nitrate, food dyes, and trans-fat. Sugar preserved foods contain high-fructose corn syrup, excessive sugars, and other compounds that cause sickness. Commercially bought preserved foods may or may contain GMO too!

Freeze-drying your own foods is the best way to avoid unhealthy foods from your local grocery. Because you preserve your own food, you can choose what ingredients to use, what foods to get, and enjoy healthy, nutritious, chemical-free foods.