To stop bacteria from growing, food that has just been cooked or taken out of the oven should be allowed to cool as soon as possible. After cooking, hot food cannot be stored in the refrigerator.
The temperature of a refrigerator may rise above 5 °C when hot food is placed inside it. All other food kept in the refrigerator runs the danger of developing bacteria if the temperature rises above 5 °C. Once food has been prepared, you must know when to store it.
It's crucial to understand why and how to swiftly lower the temperature of your food in light of these numerous issues.
Some Rules To Keep In Mind
- To guarantee that food cools down promptly, you ought to:
- Cooked dishes should be stirred often to facilitate cooling.
- Carefully transfer cooked food from the bigger container into smaller ones to ensure that food cools more quickly.
- Make sure to use a sanitised thermometer to check the temperature and to let cool air circulate the food containers that need to be cooled.
- Food needs to chill down to 21 °C in two hours.
Tricks For Lowering The Food's Temperature
Don't keep food out on the counter for extended periods. To bring your meal down to a temperature that is safe to eat, you need to properly store it. It should not be left out for longer than two hours. If you wish to cool your meal so it may be stored in the refrigerator or freezer or if you believe it will take longer than two hours to cool. Simply try these hacks instead:
Small Portions
Portion out the meal more sparingly. Food that is smaller in volume will chill more quickly than larger food. Try chopping up any solid you're trying to cool into tiny pieces, like a potato or a piece of steak. Try pouring a beverage into two smaller or larger, shallower containers if you're trying to chill it down.
Fan
Place the dish in front of the fan. The air movement will assist in removing heat from your food. To ensure that the meal cools evenly, stir it frequently. If you don't have a fan, try fanning it with a stiff sheet of paper or folder. You can even blow on your food.
Stir
In the bowl, mix or toss the food. Nearest food, the surface will cool down most quickly. You may help your meal cool down by stirring it and bringing the hot food to the top. The food that has already cooled down will drop to the bottom and aid in the overall cooling of your meal.
Ice Cubes
Put a cube of ice into the heated soup. Stir the soup periodically to aid in distributing the chill. The soup's flavour may be somewhat muted due to the ice melting. An alternative would be to use reusable plastic ice cubes. They are not going to melt and seep into your soup.
Shallow Pans
Use shallow pans to cool food, especially thick ones like refried beans. The maximum height of the pan should be 4 inches, and the maximum depth of the food should be 2 inches. If it's safe, leave food uncovered or cover it loosely to let heat escape throughout the cool-down period. Pans should not be stacked on top of one another. In addition to adding bulk, stacking makes it more difficult for air to circulate the pans, allowing heat to be swiftly extracted from the food item.