Have you been microwaving your leftovers wrong? Viral image shows the correct way to reheat food

Leftovers are always a good next day meal, but have you been reheating them correctly? Photo / Getty Images

Leftovers are a great way to save money on lunch and reduce food waste.

But having yesterday's dinner the next day never usually tastes quite as good as when the meal was fresh. Some parts of the dish will be hotter than others, and the intense heat will have likely dried the meal out.

But according to the Daily Mail, there is a way to make sure your leftovers heat up evenly - so if you've just been bunging your meal in the microwave and hitting start, you've been doing it wrong.

A viral image on Imgur reveals a secret hack that will make sure all of your food is the same temperature next time you reheat leftovers.

Above a picture of spaghetti bolognese teased into a doughnut shape, the caption claims that if you make a circle in the middle of your leftover meal, the dish will reheat much more evenly.

The very quick trick works because microwaves send radio waves from all sides, rather than heating from above or below like conventional ovens.

Is this the correct way to reheat leftovers? Photo / Imgur, omgpolly

Therefore the outer edges will cook first and the most quickly.

Most people tend to pile their food on their plate so that the densest part of their meal is the centre - which means the middle of their dish often ends up colder than the other parts of the meal.

But making a well in the middle of your food will ensure the meal heats up more evenly. Flattening out your leftovers to create a larger surface area with no dense parts will also help.

It's not the only food we've been making wrong, according to stories this week.

Earlier in the week, the Daily Mail's FEMAIL reported that many of us are apparently making mashed potato wrong. For the perfect side dish, Food Network chef Tyler Florence said we should cook potatoes in cream and butter rather than add the ingredients to our mash after the vegetable has cooked.

Then, chef Anthony Bourdain revealed that anyone adding milk, cream or water to their scrambled eggs was also preparing them in the wrong way.

And yesterday, the best method for the perfect crispy fried egg was revealed - which involves using a very hot pan, plenty of oil, and not flipping the eggs over.