Eli5: why is it safer to let food cool down before putting it in fridge, instead of putting it in hot?
In: Biology
The hot food will continue to put off heat as the fridge cools it, this heat will raise the temperature of the other food items in the fridge and possibly lead to the other food going bad.
It’s not. Not at all. If it has a space in your freezer, the fastest you will put in in the fridge the longer it will last, and will be more sanitary.
In room temp, germs multiple on your food in a rate of doubling every 20 min (exponential growth)
In fridge its at least 8 hours I believe, for every doubling themselves, and freezer its a day and a half
You should always cool food in the refrigerator. You want to cool it down as fast as possible. I think where this misconception comes from is that you shouldn’t put covered hot food in the fridge to cool, as it will create condensation and excess moisture. That along with the still warm yet cooling food creates a better environment for nasties to grow in. At least that’s what I was taught back when I got my food handling certificate for working in a commercial setting. That said I wouldn’t take piping hot food and stick it right in a small home refrigerator as it can increase the temp of the fridge. You can let it cool some, stick it in the fridge uncovered and then cover once fully cool. You wanna avoid the “danger zone” between 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit.
From what I’ve read, it’s not really unsafe anymore. The problem was more about the hot food warming up the other items in the fridge and putting them in the danger zone(above 4 deg C). Fridges nowadays are more than capable of maintaining the fridge temps. However having said that, I wouldn’t put anything in the fridge immediately after cooking.
It’s actually less safe for the food you’re letting cool. However, it can temporarily raise the temperature of the fridge enough that other food may be at risk of spoiling.
Extra steak you cooked that you aren’t going to finish? Safer to put straight into the fridge because it doesn’t have a whole lot of heat. Large pot of stew that’s still piping hot? That has a *ton* of heat that will work your fridge harder and has higher potential to heat up other foods.
Most modern fridges are fairly safe unless you’re putting a lot of hot food in them. Industrial fridges are even safer because they have such a large amount of cold air within.
[deleted]
When the food is hot, the heat has to go somewhere. Over time, as the food cools down that heat leaves the food and goes into the air around it. That’s not a problem for your kitchen counter. But, if you put hot food in the fridge, the heat has to go somewhere and before it leaves the fridge it will heat up all the food around it. If you have something very sensitive in the fridge that might spoil if exposed to even a little heat, that could cause a problem.
People don’t like to do it because if your container is glass or brittle the extreme temperature difference will crack/ break it.
Latest Answers