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Toliver

Toliver


edited to add Anna's reply

1 hour ago, lindag said:

Okay, I’ve never understood the rule that you cool down cooked foods before refrigeration.

I do it all the time so I don’t forget and leave it on the counter overnight.

‘Why is this a rule?

It's a food safety issue. The maximum amount of time you should leave food out of the fridge is 2 hours. They say after 2 hours, the "bugs/bacteria" start contaminating the food.

If you put warm food into the fridge, it takes longer for it to cool down to proper safe temperature as opposed to putting room temperature food into the fridge. Plus, putting warm food into the fridge warms up the interior of fridge (and the other foods in there) (like @Anna N said) which can also lead to food contamination.

The high end of the safe temperature zone for refrigerating food is 40°F. Anything higher than that allows possible bacteria in your food to multiply.

Toliver

Toliver

1 hour ago, lindag said:

Okay, I’ve never understood the rule that you cool down cooked foods before refrigeration.

I do it all the time so I don’t forget and leave it on the counter overnight.

‘Why is this a rule?

It's a food safety issue. The maximum amount of time you should leave food out of the fridge is 2 hours. They say after 2 hours, the "bugs/bacteria" start contaminating the food.

If you put warm food into the fridge, it takes longer for it to cool down to proper safe temperature as opposed to putting room temperature food into the fridge. Plus, putting warm food into the fridge warms up the interior of fridge (and the other foods in there) which can also lead to food contamination.

The high end of the safe temperature zone for refrigerating food is 40°F. Anything higher than that allows possible bacteria in your food to multiply.

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