Cooling foods before putting in frig?????????


 

Erik G

TVWBB Pro
Growing up, I have always been told (by my mom) that after I cook or heat up anything, I must make sure it gets close to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator. Hot foods should never go directly into the refrigerator. Why is this? Would this increase the temp. in the refrigerator or possibly increase the likliness of the hot food spoiling at a faster rate?

Erik
 
Erik,
The problem comes in when a large amount of hot food, say a pot of soup or stew or a large piece of meat, is refrigerated. It might not cool fast enough and might end up being in the danger zone too long.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Would this increase the temp. in the refrigerator or possibly increase the likliness of the hot food spoiling at a faster rate? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
It can increase the temp in the fridge if it is a large quantity and/or especially hot. Dave is also correct. Furthermore, when hot food is placed in a closed container and then in the fridge, it is quite a simple matter for the food to end up too warm for too long as the container insulates the food trapping heat and disallowing quick cooling.

Furthermore still, thick liquids in quantity--a cream soup or a thick sauce, say--can sour if not thoroughly cooled, especially if they contain dairy products, and is best done by stirring during cooling. If one of these items is partially cooled (without stirring) or placed in the fridge directly, the center of the soup or sauce can stay hot too long. Not only is this a cause for concern in terms of food safety, but even if the food ends up cooling enough in a short enough time so that safety is not a problem, the soup or sauce can sour from the center, ruining the whole pot.

Large pots of liquids can be placed in a sink, surrounded with cold water, preferably with ice added, and stirred as it cool, water and ice being replaced as it warms/melts. Liquids or solid foods can be placed into a Zip-loc shallowly, leaving the bag open, then, holding the bag upright so as not to let water in, dipped and held in a pot of ice water to speed cooling.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Liquids or solid foods can be placed into a Zip-loc shallowly, leaving the bag open, then, holding the bag upright so as not to let water in, dipped and held in a pot of ice water to speed cooling. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

FWIW I think it is a good idea to double bag when you do that, though. I did this with a pastrami a few weeks ago and there was a little tiny leak in the bag (I had ice water in the sink, and got sink water on my pastrami...not good!). So, either make sure your bag is leak free or use 2. My .02
icon_smile.gif
 
I put something that wasn't cool enough in the frig on the second shelf under the milk. The next day I had cottage cheese in the gallon milk bottle.
 

 

Back
Top