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Foodies Fetishize Their Own
When you put a pot of soup in the fridge and then eat it the next day, it tastes better. That’s because the molecules that produce flavor have had time to spread around the dish, becoming more pronounced and integrated, says Shirley Corriher, author of CookWise and BakeWise.
Time also allows enzymes that may be present in the food to convert starch to sugars, so potatoes or legumes may become sweeter, says Corriher. And flavors may also intensify when you reheat your food simply because more liquid has evaporated, creating a more concentrated end product.
It might also be you. The longer you smell something (and we all know how smell helps you taste), the less you notice the aromas; this is called olfactory adaptation. Dr. Marcia Pelchat, a sensory psychologist at the nonprofit research institute Monell, says: “If you are the chef and you are bending over a pot in the kitchen all day, you won’t be as sensitive to those aromatics as you might be the next day.”
I eat pizza and pasta cold the next day, and prefer them that way. My husband will eat cold pizza, but prefers it reheated, and he thinks cold pasta is yucky. Go figure.
chicken cacciatore just gets better and better the more days go by.
I think it's also because when you make something from scratch, and enjoy it the first time, you have all that anticipation of eating it again the next. I always make enough for leftovers, but we still fight over 'em in my house.
Wow! Even though I don't think that's the reason, it makes a whole lotta sense. Thanks!
My theory is it's also psychological, and the degree to which foods taste better the next day is directly proportionate to how long it took to prepare them and clean up afterward. Isn't it harder to appreciate a dish when you've been slaving over a hot stove for hours to produce it (and maybe didn't time it right so dinner's running late, and/or you've taken the edge off your hunger by having to...+READ
My theory is it's also psychological, and the degree to which foods taste better the next day is directly proportionate to how long it took to prepare them and clean up afterward. Isn't it harder to appreciate a dish when you've been slaving over a hot stove for hours to produce it (and maybe didn't time it right so dinner's running late, and/or you've taken the edge off your hunger by having to taste it as it's been prepared)? But the next day, you've got a free pass to enjoy your own cooking, without waiting.
That's why you should make enough to have leftovers!-COLLAPSE
Any sort of curried Indian food is always better the next day!
Every time I make hummos I taste it right away and think it is a miserable failure. Then I put it in the refrigerator anyway and tomorrow it's delicious. Thanks for the scientific breakdown of this mystery.
Also most chinese noodle dishes (Lo mein, Chow Fun. Mai Fun etc). It's gotten to the point where If I order noodles with my Chinese takeout, I do so KNOWING that I will put them into the fridge untasted (at least by me) to sit and mellow, and be consumed by me the next day.
Agreed: lasagna, eggplant parmesan, and most things stew-ish--braised meats, bean soup.
Like miss clare said I always make my chili a day before I serve it. Also salad dressings like thousand island and Ranch. Also tuna and egg salad.
Guess we'll just hafta put Alton on the quest for that answer! :)
Won't any enzymes in the food have been denatured by the heat of cooking?
Lasagna, no question about it!!
In cooking school, the chef's called the blending of flavour as it sat overnight 'letting the flavours marry'.
I find saucy things improve significantly after they sit a day--chili, enchiladas, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, certain soups (pea soup or stew, good, clear soups, not good). Chili in particular really blossoms after a night in the fridge.
When I make Marinara sauce, I make it at least a day in advance of when I'll be serving it. Of all the foods that're best the day after, it seems that tomato-based foods are the best. Anyone else find that to be true?
Is this why pizza is so much better cold and solidified for breakfast the next morning?