Comment on "Batch cooking" how do you store meal for the second half of the week ?
altima_neo@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Prepared food typically lasts seven days before it can start to go bad in the fridge.
I usually just cook a batch of something on my days off and it lasts me all week till I can cook again. As long as you cool it properly and stick it in the fridge immediately, youre pretty much set.
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Define cool properly, please.
RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Like don’t leave it out at room temperature for hours - bacteria die above 60C and go dormant below 4C, so you need to minimise the amount of time the food spends in the “danger zone”
altima_neo@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
As the others have said, dont put hot food in the fridge. If you got something big and heavy, like a casserole dish, put the container in an ice bath to speed the cooling. If its a liquid, like a pot of soup, spreading it thinly cools it quicker and more evenly. Like pouring it out into a casserole dish or high baking pan and putting the dish in an ice bath. The even cooling is the important part, as what happens if you put something dense like these kinds of foods in the fridge, the outside will cool while the inside reaches temperatures between 40F-140F. That temperature range also known as the “danger zone”, where bacteria can thrive and multiply very quickly.
Alternately, you don’t want to leave stuff out of refrigeration for too long. Cooked rice is a big one, as it can very quickly go bad and get you sick if left out for longer than a couple hours.
The thing to bear in mind is that the bacteria in the food isnt the issue. You can kill bacteria very easily just by cooking/heating food. The problem comes from the waste the bacteria makes, which is what gives you food poisoning. The waste cant be cooked off. When food is allowed to linger in the “danger zone”, the bacteria can easily multiply exponentially, producing more waste. So long as youre careful when cooking and chilling food, it can last a good week in the fridge.
eyeon@lemmy.world 2 months ago
the other reply covered the actual ranges and why it’s important, but in case it’s not obvious:
You should never put hot food in the fridge. Particularly food with a lot of thermal mass like a bowl of soup or thick lasagna. While that would cool the food quicker than just leaving it out, the heat you’re adding is going to heat up the other items in your fridge and risk their safety. And since it will all eventually cool back down it will not be obvious what food was at unsafe temps or how long.