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steved

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 15, 2006
Messages
2
Frequently my wife prepares a meal to suit her timing which leaves the meal to sit for 1-3hrs.Is it best to leave it in a warm oven or put hot into the refer and nuke it when time to eat?
 
Your objective would be to keep the cooked food's temperature out of the danger zone. Between the temperatures of 40F-140F food acts as a perfect place for bacteria to grow and multiply.

Whether you keep it above 140 F of chill it to below 40 F is up to you. If you keep it warm (over 140F) for 1-3 hours, you run the risk of it's drying out.
 
I would and do leave it out on the counter and then serve and nuke it in the microwave to heat to temp.
 
Thank you Andy M. Gretchen,sounds like you're growing bugs and then cooking them.More protein?What are the pros and cons of putting hot foods in the refridgerator?
 
Well I think it all depends on what the meal is. Something like soup or stew can be kept hot for quite a while without and harm in flavor or texture. Something like chicken would run the very real risk of drying out.

It is actually not a good idea to put hot food into the fridge. The reason is that the heat from the food will warm up everything else in the fridge and potentially bring everything into that danger zone Andy was talking about. You want to cool things down first before stashing them in the fridge.
 
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