Value to "resting" foods after cooking them?

[lindag]

Other than meats is it necessary to rest foods such as lasagna or other casserole dishes?

Edited August 2, 2018 by Smithy
Adjusted title for clarity (log)

[kayb]

I don't know that it's necessary but I always like to rest lasagna and any casserole that has a good deal of liquid in it. Seems to "set up" and hold its shape a bit better when you serve it out in squares, etc.

 

 

[BeeZee]

Lasagne for sure. The molten cheese needs to congeal a little. And I do believe the noodles continue to absorb excess moisture. Think about how so many baked dishes/casseroles are better reheated when they seem to become more "solid"!

[pastrygirl]

Yes, cheesy things need to rest if only for safety!

 

Some baked goods need PCT - proper cooling time   If you cut into a loaf of bread straight out of the oven it will let the steam out and affect the crumb, and fruit pies need to cool and gel if you want a neat slice. 

[Tri2Cook]

I wouldn't say it's necessary to rest any food... but some things certainly benefit from it.

[Darienne]

Oh boy.  I remember my first Moussaka.  I didn't know about letting dishes like that and lasagne rest for a few minutes.  That was an embarrassing learning lesson.  

[Lisa Shock]

Basically, some starches form gels as they cool after being heated. That gelling process will give you a better-looking slice.

 

And molten cheese will start to firm up as it cools, also giving a more unified product which slices better.

 

Essentially, ask yourself "does the casserole have starch or cheese, or both?" And if so, allow it to cool a little before cutting and serving.

[gfweb]

I find that lasagna and au gratin potatoes benefit from 20 minutes rest/cooling. The starches set up a bit and they serve better. 

 

Eta @Lisa Shock just said that. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by gfweb (log)

[SLB]

Agreed on the casserole/lasagna need.

 

That said, the truth is that I rest everything, because I don't like my food to be super hot when I eat it.  I feel that mostly everything tastes better closer to warm than hot.  Soup can go in the bowl hot, and eggs of course come out of the pan; but most of my stuff sits out awhile.  

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I know what everyone is saying and it is so true! You will get a much, much better-looking slice of pie, lasagna or whatever. I'm a lover of piping hot food though, to the point that I regularly slightly burn my mouth a little. When I'm cooking something, I'm already hungry, and the aromas of something baking just enhance this. So many times, I will serve lasagna or pie very hot for the first small serving, which of course serves out like slop, but it is SO GOOD. Then after eating the initial small serving, the dish will have a little time to set up and serve better. After refrigeration, you can get cookbook food stylist slices for reheating. I have even developed a technique for slicing hot bread after a few minutes rest that involves a long serrated knife being drawn upwards and backwards towards me to avoid squishing the slices. This was before I lost my mojo with bread. (I can't believe I used to make all the bread we ate, and now, with the same recipe, can't get it to turn out decently!) 

 

The exception I make is with meat. Even I, with my love of screaming hot foods, can see the life juices running out of meat cut too soon after cooking. I try to time everything so I will be busy with final prep and plating of side dishes and garnishes to distract me from wanting to cut into the meat too early, because that is just a degradation that cannot be tolerated in my world.

 

I have always liked hot foods served very hot. I burned myself when I was a wee tyke by pulling the cheese off a homemade pizza my mom made off the pizza and down onto my chin, taking a bite of it. I still love hot, HOT! pizza. I think my obsession with hot foods served hot became even worse though after my month in the the hospital and rehab/nursing home. In there everything that is supposed to be hot is served lukewarm if you are lucky and room temp if you are not. Most of the stuff served would not have been much good even if it were served hot, though there were some mysterious few exceptions where they actually made things that I liked better than my own version of them.

[FeChef]

I hate when cheese starts to get firm. I like the Mozz stringy on my lasagna, and especially a slice a pizza. 

[Auspicious]

I rest meat. It has never occurred to me to rest a casserole. I don't have any trouble cutting and serving lasagna right out of the oven.

[FeChef]

On 8/5/2018 at 1:10 AM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I know what everyone is saying and it is so true! You will get a much, much better-looking slice of pie, lasagna or whatever. I'm a lover of piping hot food though, to the point that I regularly slightly burn my mouth a little. When I'm cooking something, I'm already hungry, and the aromas of something baking just enhance this. So many times, I will serve lasagna or pie very hot for the first small serving, which of course serves out like slop, but it is SO GOOD. Then after eating the initial small serving, the dish will have a little time to set up and serve better. After refrigeration, you can get cookbook food stylist slices for reheating. I have even developed a technique for slicing hot bread after a few minutes rest that involves a long serrated knife being drawn upwards and backwards towards me to avoid squishing the slices. This was before I lost my mojo with bread. (I can't believe I used to make all the bread we ate, and now, with the same recipe, can't get it to turn out decently!) 

 

The exception I make is with meat. Even I, with my love of screaming hot foods, can see the life juices running out of meat cut too soon after cooking. I try to time everything so I will be busy with final prep and plating of side dishes and garnishes to distract me from wanting to cut into the meat too early, because that is just a degradation that cannot be tolerated in my world.

 

I have always liked hot foods served very hot. I burned myself when I was a wee tyke by pulling the cheese off a homemade pizza my mom made off the pizza and down onto my chin, taking a bite of it. I still love hot, HOT! pizza. I think my obsession with hot foods served hot became even worse though after my month in the the hospital and rehab/nursing home. In there everything that is supposed to be hot is served lukewarm if you are lucky and room temp if you are not. Most of the stuff served would not have been much good even if it were served hot, though there were some mysterious few exceptions where they actually made things that I liked better than my own version of them.

Regarding Meat, if you cook Sous Vide, you don't have to worry about resting meat. To be honest, this topic really has no place in Today's cooking.

[liuzhou]

43 minutes ago, FeChef said:

Regarding Meat, if you cook Sous Vide, you don't have to worry about resting meat. To be honest, this topic really has no place in Today's cooking.

 

What tiny percentage of the population use sous vide? The topic has every relevance to today and tomorrow.

[Lisa Shock]

5 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

What tiny percentage of the population use sous vide? The topic has every relevance to today and tomorrow.

 

Not to mention the fact that even those who do have a sous vide setup don't use it for every meat all the time.

 

I tend to find it useful to know about as many aspects of cooking an ingredient as possible and not limit myself to just one technique.

 

The beauty of cooking for most of us today is that we have access to a vast variety of ingredients and many types of cooking equipment, unlike in the past where most people were lucky to have the catch of the day, an herb or two, a couple of pans and an indoor fireplace.

[liuzhou]

59 minutes ago, Lisa Shock said:

Not to mention the fact that even those who do have a sous vide setup don't use it for every meat all the time.

 

 

Exactly.

[thatothercook]

that's a good question and in my experience, resting food, any food before serving it is always better than not doing it. Of course, you could argue that resting pizza would be counter-intuitive but although I love melting stringy cheese in slow motion, I've burned the roof of my mouth countless times for not waiting for a pizza to cool down a bit. Anything that comes out of an oven should get some rest. It's been exposed to incredible heat over a long period of time so give it a rest. When cooking sous vide, things change a bit. Most food cooked sous vide is already at the perfect serving temperature thus not requiring additional rest time but even this is sometimes debatable. Some SV recipes require cooking things above 60C, and I would definitely allow some resting time. I think my temperature target for serving is around 50C.  

 

 

[TicTac]

On 8/11/2018 at 11:53 PM, FeChef said:

Regarding Meat, if you cook Sous Vide, you don't have to worry about resting meat. To be honest, this topic really has no place in Today's cooking.

 

This made me laugh.

 

Thanks - I needed that! 

 

 

[FeChef]

On 9/28/2018 at 1:43 PM, TicTac said:

 

This made me laugh.

 

Thanks - I needed that! 

 

 

You're welcome. Glad to educate when i can.

[heidih]

OK first I  will say So DO  NOT put titles in quotes cuz google does not like to pick them up in search mode. I thought of this topic as I did my holiday baking.The pumpkin bread (with miso and hot Hungarian paprika) was tasty on day one. 2 days later it is amazing! More moist and settled into its flavors. I already knew the baklava had to sit at least a day. Packing all up for distribution tomorrow with an old lesson reinforced.