Letting food cool before putting it in the fridge

[Renia 60]

My MIL is driving me nuts. We have been having the same argument for the last 14 years. She believes that hot food must be left to completely get to room temperature before it is put in the fridge/ preferably left on the bench all night. I had a big fight with her last night because she didn´t want me to put the roast chicken in the fridge, after dinner! I stuck it in the fridge anyway.

 

She told me that a) it makes the fridge work too hard to put warm food in there- I don´t give a stuff and b ) when I told her that bacteria would breed if the chicken/ mince/ steak etc is left to sit for hours, she said the warmth of the food would stop the bacteria from breeding... Its a wonder she hasn´t killed everyone.

 

Now am I the sane one... or not?

[eurovol 126]

You are sane. Food above 50°C wait, below 50°C fridge.

[Renia 60]

So, it should be a little bit cooled? I am not sure what 50C feels like... I know! I can compare it to the feel on sand on your bare feet on a scorching day in Oz!

[eurovol 126]

Below 50°C you can hold it, above that you can't. Its like a magical number for scientists and chefs.

[Renia 60]

Thanks for that! I will blonde blind her with science :)

[brokenm 37]

strange, I thought the TRPV1 receptor was gated at 42-43 C, not 50 C

[eurovol 126]

In the biz, believe me you get used to it. Scientists less so than chefs. It is actually closer to 48°C for scientists and upwards of 60-65° for chefs.

Since I no longer work as a chef, my tolerance has gone way down to about 55ish. A lot of it has to do with how you actually hold it.

[DanHessen 2,964]

Well a hot pot in the fridge will warm up everything around it...including other foods. I have an extra fridge in the basement where I keep beer, and condiments, and...beer. When I have hot food to be cooled I stick it down there.

 

Of course if you can't bring your MIL to her senses, you can always cook some shellfish of some sort, make sure a couple of pieces are slightly under-done. Then leave those pieces out overnight "to cool properly" and feed her the leftovers the next day. That should teach her.

[eurovol 126]

Bioterrorism!

You going down with the flour people you know that don't ya? :P

[Renia 60]

Hmmm, not sure I actually want to go to jail for this... I imagine this thread would be subpeonaed as evidence. But thanks for the laugh!

[one51 29]

Restaurants with food sitting (buffets, Subway sandwich shops, etc) can get cited if the food is not kept at a certain minimum temperature. I am guessing that temp is significantly >50C. Bacteria will grow fastest incubated at a nice temperature between room temp and 50, I s'pose.

 

I wouldn't worry about the fridge warming up from 40F to 43F for 20 minutes until the food starts to chill down. Haha.

[Renia 60]

I got accused of not caring about the environment (me???!!!) re the fridge issue...

[Darkknight 2,305]

Yes, it makes the fridge work harder, it can also warm the stuff in the frig. its near and cause it to go bad. (Mostly Dairy products)

 

50c (122f) is still to warm to put stuff in the fridge. Leaving it out a bit longer won't cause it to magically become a bacteria farm.

Now if you left it out overnight, thats a different story. However back in the old days they used to make fried chicken and

keep it covered without Refrig. for 1-2 Days depending on the room temp. Remember there were no Refriges back then and

they still survived.

 

FoodSafety site

 

 

Bacteria need warmth, moisture and usually light in order to grow and also an ideal temperature of approximately 40°C, although increasingly more bacteria can replicate rapidly between the temperatures of 5°C and 63°C. It is therefore essential to ensure that the correct conditions are maintained whilst storing food, in order to prevent the growth of microorganisms and bacteria. Refrigeration conditions should be between 0°C and 4°C and a freezer should have a temperature no higher than -18°C. It is a good idea to have a fridge thermometer to help you keep your fridge at the right temperature.

But

 

 

DO throw away any food that is usually stored in the fridge if it has been stored at room temperature for over 2 hours. Aka: Left out Milk

Lots of other good info at the above link. and heres another

This is the 2nd site I've found that says wait until the food is at 40F or lower before putting in the Fridge.

(but don't let it sit at room temperature for too long = 2Hrs)

[Renia 60]

That is a good point about putting too hot things away, which I would never do anyway. I am not even sure why I am so obsessed with food poisoning, its not as if I have ever had it (touch wood). My sister and I used to go into our grandmother´s cupboards every few months and throw out all the expired stuff behind her back (probably wasn´t anything wrong with it though!).

 

I think I just heard her sneaking into the kitchen to take things out of the fridge, better go check...

[Bipa 5,814]

I have a simple answer to people who accuse me of not caring about the environment... or anything else for that matter. I simply nod my head and tell them that they are absolutely right. They usually shut up and can't think of anything further to say. If they do keep on, then I add that I'm a typical North American Princess used to a luxurious lifestyle that I'm not about to give up, and then they stop. Works like a charm every time.

 

I love confusing Germans by simply agreeing with them, regardless, and then going ahead and doing things my own way. Kill 'em with kindness.

[eurovol 126]

 

I am guessing that temp is significantly >50C. Bacteria will grow fastest incubated at a nice temperature between room temp and 50, I s'pose.

It is 160°F (roughly 88°C) for food that is suppose to be hot. Most bacteria will grow well between 25°C and 41°C, but optimally around 37°C (at least the ones you should worry about). Salmonella is the biggest culprit to home food poisonings and it only needs 3-4 hours of room temp to do its dirty work. That means there is enough to make you sick, but not enough that you can taste it or even smell it. Some radical group went around spraying it on salad bars in the NorthWest some years ago way prior to 911 and the anthrax ordeal. Total bioterrorism. Made a lot of people sick.

ETEC (enterotoxic E. coli) is more dangerous really, but less likely to be a problem at home. This is more likely to come from an infected person who decides to go to work anyway and they happen to work in food processing.

 

BTW, Salmonella isn't just a problem with chicken and eggs. A student of mine showed that it actually grows well and invades the cells of plants too. Um, raw salmonella from bio gardens. Yummy.

[Darkknight 2,305]

MMMMMM. Biomonella ;)

[eurovol 126]

 

it can also warm the stuff in the frig. its near and cause it to go bad. (Mostly Dairy products)

Dude, lets not go overboard. That would have to be some powerfully hot stuff you are talking about and not something you can hold.

 

 

I am not even sure why I am so obsessed with food poisoning, its not as if I have ever had it (touch wood).

Actually, you probably have and just didn't know it because it was a mild upset stomach with light diarrhea. This means that you ate enough toxins to get mild symptoms, but not enough bad bacteria to set up shop. Without noticing it, you are probably exposed every several months to something. Sometimes it will be more and sometimes it will be less. Most people blame it on something else or say something like I shouldn't have eaten that because it never agrees with me forgetting about all the times that it actually did agree with them. As DK suggested, it takes a lot to make one really sick, but it doesn't take a lot to make you have the shits for the next day or two. I should also tell you that the accompanying farts don't do the people around you any good either. More people fart here than I have ever encountered in my life and I haven't decided if it is a difference in the preservatives or the fact that people are constantly battling the toxins because it really is a German thing to leave shit sitting on the stove overnight.

[zemonkey 445]

Hmmm, TRPV1 can act as a thermoreceptor well above 43° and are important in modulating for pain, mostly considered as nociceptors. Just saying.

[Darkknight 2,305]

@Eurovol

So 122F (80C) isn't enough to cause problems with Dairy products placed near said hot item in the Frig? It that what your saying?

Cause last I checked 122F was a but "warm"...