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Curly Sue

On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:38:19 -0600, Alan wrote:

>
>Whatever the rationale, the claim is wrong. According to the
>Food and Drug Administration, leftover food (particularly
>meat) should be refrigerated immediately after serving, and
>certainly within two hours of cooking.
>Food bacteria can double every 30 or 40 minutes, and several
>outbreaks of food poisoning have been linked to meat cooked
>and left to cool at room temperature for too long.
>
>Generally, the bacteria that contaminate food thrive at
>temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, so
>leftovers should always be stored in a refrigerator set at
>40 degrees or below.
> When the quantity of food is large, it should be separated
>into small containers for quicker cooling, and reheated no
>more than once.
>THE BOTTOM LINE It’s a bad idea to let food sit at room
>temperature before refrigerating.

I'm not going to put hot food in my refrigerator; a bit warm, yes.
Hot, no. But most (all?) of the meats and other items I cook are cool
enough by the time we're done eating and certainly within two hours.
So that's within the guidelines.

The only items with mass large enough to be hot for a long time are
tomato sauce and broth-based soups. Considering that they've been
simmering for a while and the pathogens are dead, I don't worry about
4-5 hr covered cooling at room temp as necessary. When I don't have
room in the fridge, the pan might set in the foyer (in cold weather)
for rapid cooling.

Generally I get things into the refrigerator as soon as they are
cooled to lukewarm. Nothing stays out overnight.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

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