Takeaway leftovers: how to store and reheat pizza, pasta, rice and chips safely

Food Standards Scotland advises cooling leftover takeaway food quickly, keeping it in the fridge and eating it within 2 days, or within 24 hours for cooked rice, and reheating it only once, until it's steaming hot all the way through. This guide from Ivano's Italiano, the Italian takeaway at 11 Whitesands in Dumfries, explains what that means for pizza, pasta, rice and chips.

A 12-inch pizza for one, a pasta dish that turned out bigger than you thought, a box of chips nobody finished: leftovers happen. The safety advice here is general, not special to us, and it applies to any takeaway in Dumfries or anywhere else. The tips on keeping each dish tasting good are our own.

The advice, from Food Standards Scotland

From Food Standards Scotland's advice on cooking and leftovers:

• Cool it as quickly as possible. If you're not going to eat cooked food straight away, cool it, ideally within 1 to 2 hours, then put it in the fridge.
• Keep your fridge between 0°C and 5°C.
• Don't keep leftovers for longer than 2 days.
• When you reheat food, make sure it's steaming hot all the way through.
• Don't reheat food more than once.

So the usual pattern after a takeaway night is simple: when you've finished eating, let what's left cool, put it in a covered container in the fridge, and have it for lunch or dinner the next day.

Rice is different

Rice needs more care than anything else in a takeaway. Food Standards Scotland's advice on cooked rice explains that uncooked rice can contain spores of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning, and that the spores can survive cooking. For cooked rice:

• Chill it as quickly as possible, ideally within 1 hour, and once it's at room temperature, put it straight into the fridge.
• Don't store it for longer than 24 hours before eating.
• When you reheat it, make sure it's steaming hot all the way through, and never reheat it more than once.

On our menu, that covers the boiled rice, the rice with our Chilli Con Carne, and our risottos, which are rice dishes too.

Pizza

Put leftover slices in a covered container or wrap them, and keep them in the fridge. To reheat, our thin, Romana-style bases do best with dry heat:

• A frying pan

  On a medium heat, with no oil, to crisp the base again. A lid for the last minute or two melts the cheese

• An oven or air fryer

  Works well too, especially for several slices

• A microwave

  Quickest, but it softens the base

Whichever you use, the topping should be steaming hot before you eat it. Some people like their pizza cold, straight from the fridge: if that's you, the same rules apply about cooling it quickly and eating it within 2 days.

Pasta and lasagne

• In a microwave: never put foil in a microwave. Tip the pasta into a microwave-safe bowl, add a splash of water, cover it, and stir halfway through so it heats evenly.
• In the oven: cover the dish with foil and heat it until it's steaming hot in the middle.
• Creamy sauces, such as a Carbonara or a Boscaiola, can thicken or separate a little in the fridge. A splash of water or milk and a stir as it heats brings them back.
• Lasagne reheats best in the oven, covered, until it's steaming hot right through the centre, which takes longer than you might think.

Chips and fried food

Chips, onion rings and battered fish go soft in a microwave. For the best result, spread them out on a tray in a hot oven or in an air fryer, and heat them until they're steaming hot and crisp again. Small portions heat through faster.

Chicken dishes

Our chicken dishes reheat like the pasta sauces: in a covered bowl in the microwave, or a covered dish in the oven, stirred halfway, until steaming hot throughout. If there's rice with it, follow the rice rules above for that part.

What not to keep

Following that advice, don't keep or reheat:

• leftovers that weren't cooled and put in the fridge within a couple of hours, such as the box left on the table overnight;
• anything you've already reheated once;
• leftovers more than 2 days old, or rice more than 24 hours old.

Order the right amount

The easiest leftovers are the ones you don't have. If you're ordering for a group, our guide to feeding a family or a crowd helps you pick the right mix. If someone has a food allergy, check our allergen information and tell us before you order: add it in the notes box at checkout, ring the shop, or tell us at the counter.

Once we reopen, Thursday to Sunday, 4pm to 10pm, you can order at ivanos.uk for collection from 11 Whitesands, Dumfries DG1 2RR, or delivery across most of the town. The full menu is there now.

Have an allergy? Please read our allergen information and tell us before you order.

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