Why does reheated food cool down faster than freshly cooked food, even when it’s piping hot?

Question

Why does reheated food cool down faster than freshly cooked food, even when it’s piping hot?

In: Physics

Answer 1

Microwaves (and ovens too, but those to a lesser extent) cook food from the *outside in*. This means that if you don’t have a good way to get all the heat to the center, it will all be on the surface, and will cool down quickly. When cooking the first time, you make sure that everything is actually cooked, so by definition of being cooked, you’ve heated it all the way through.