What happens if you put hot food in the fridge

Or should you let foods cool before refrigerating them?

There are two kinds of people: those who like to pack up leftovers as soon as dinner is over, and those who let leftovers sit out for a few hours so they can cool down.

If this dynamic exists in your household, then you're all too familiar with the anxiety it causes. The longer food sits out, the higher its risk of growing harmful bacteria.

However, adding hot foods straight to the refrigerator might raise the appliance's ambient temperature, putting the foods inside square in the "danger zone" for bacterial growth.

It turns out that these fears are valid — both leaving leftovers out for an extended period of time and adding hot items to the fridge can pose problems for food safety. But there is a way to put hot foods into a cold fridge safely. Read on to learn how to properly store hot food and how to cool foods rapidly for quicker storage.

How Long Should You Let Food Cool Before Refrigerating?

Whether you should immediately stash food in the fridge or let it sit out to cool depends on its temperature. Dangerous bacterial growth occurs between 41 and 135 degrees F. This spectrum is known as the danger zone for foods. Potentially harmful bacteria grows most rapidly at these temperatures.

Placing large batches of hot foods in the fridge can raise the temperature of the fridge into this danger zone. (Fridge temperatures should always be set below 40 degrees F.) This may prevent the rapid cooling that is needed to get food below the danger zone as fast as possible.

However, there's no harm in putting hot food directly into the fridge if you need to. If you are a forgetful person, or if you won't be around to store the food after it has cooled some, go ahead and stash it in the fridge. Your fridge can handle the heat and get the food cooled quickly. (Food should never stay out at room temperature more than two hours. If it does, exercise food safety caution, and toss the food.)

"You would be able to place a slightly cooled hot dish into the refrigerator long before you hit the two-hour mark," says Serena Poon, celebrity chef, nutritionist, and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu's Grand Diplome training program. "Most food safety experts would say the sooner you can get your leftovers in the fridge, the better."

How to Cool Foods Quickly

A refrigerator can rapidly cool foods, even hot ones, but you can speed up the process of getting below the temperature danger zone with these tips.

Divide large batches of food. For large amounts of food, like roasts and stockpots full of soup, FoodSafety.gov recommends you divide the dishes into smaller or shallow storage containers. This will allow the food to cool down more quickly once in the fridge.

Give the food an ice bath. If you need to cool foods more rapidly before storing them in the refrigerator, you can place the smaller containers of food into an ice bath, or run them under cold water.

Don't use a cooler. Never try to cool large amounts of hot food in a cooler. "Most coolers are not designed to cool large amounts of hot food quickly," says Teresa Baczkowski, RDN. "Also, placing hot food in a cooler may not move the food through the temperature danger zone quickly enough."

How Long Can Food Stay Outside the Fridge?

The general rule of thumb is that cooked food can sit at room temperature for no more than 2 hours.

Furthermore, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), if food is left out at a temperature that exceeds 90 degrees F, it shouldn't sit out for more than an hour. Leftovers can become breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria if they're left out too long and can make people sick.

The Bottom Line

It is OK to store hot foods in the fridge. You do not have to wait for the foods to cool before you put them away. In fact, it's better to store them right away, while they're still hot, than to forget them and leave them sitting at room temperature too long.

However, if you are storing a large amount of hot foods, it will help the food pass through the danger zone for bacterial growth faster if you divide the food into smaller, shallow containers. An ice bath or cold water shower can help foods cool more quickly, too.

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Loved your piping hot bowl of stew and now going towards the fridge to refrigerate the left over? Stop! You may want to wait for it to cool down to room temperature before putting it in the fridge. In our bid to wrap up all the kitchen work in a jiffy, we often end up keeping foods that are still hot in the fridge. Did you know this can actually be dangerous for you and your family? The purpose of freezing is essentially to prevent the food from losing its nutritive content and to keep it fresh and uncontaminated for a longer period of time. Whether it is freezing, reheating or refrigerating, its best to exercise caution.

Bangalore based nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood says, "If you immediately put hot food or hot liquids in refrigerator you may lose its nutritive values and might just make your Refrigerator work extra hard. It is okay to put mildly hot food in the refrigerator though. You should at least wait for it to come down to room temperature before refrigerating.

You should at least wait for the food to come down to room temperature before refrigerating.

Meher Rajput, Nutritionist at FITPASS explains, "Hot food should be brought down to room temperature-because if placed in the fridge(boiling hot) the salmonella bacteria can spoil the food very easily in the fridge.Also, by placing hot food in the fridge you are risking other perishable foods(eggs, vegetables and meat)- the chances of them getting contaminated increases."

However you should not wait more than a certain amount of time. Shalini Manglani, Nutrition expert from Bangalore says that "hot food should not be kept out for longer than two hours as bacteria starts to multiply post this. Refrigerate within two hours if you want to wait."

Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Dutta explains that it is always ideal to store all perishable food milk, vegetables, meat and cooked food to avoid spoilage."If you are storing cooked food do so within 2 hours of cooking. Cooling it faster also helps, divide the food into smaller portions so that it cools fast and can be frozen sooner to avoid contamination. Maintain the moisture content of food by wrapping them in air tight containers or foils. This also prevents the odour of different foods from mixing while keeping the bacteria out. Frozen food can be kept for up to almost 2-3 months, but check the colour, odour and taste of the food to see if it is edible," says Dr. Dutta.

Another common belief that is often attached to putting hot food in the fridge is that it would harm your appliance or affect the temperature of the foods around it. Well, with newer appliances you don't have to worry much, the thermostat of the refrigerator will ensure that there is no harm to your appliance by regulating temperature and moisture. However if you have an old model you can choose to take some precautions like storing the hot food in air tight containers, this helps you avoid condensation and icing.

Tips To Ensure Before Refrigerating Your Hot Food

1. If you must put hot food in the refrigerator, try not to put hot food in deep containers. They take longer to cool, put them in shallow containers so that the can chill easier. You can then place these very shallow containers in the refrigerator, this will also ensure faster cooling.

2. Divide you food in smaller portions. Place them in smaller containers

3. You can also quick-chill the food in an ice water bath before refrigerating it.

4. You can also cool it on the counter until the steam stops.

5. Cover the hot liquids that you are intending refrigerate. If left uncovered, they can release moisture which can make the compressor work harder than it should.

As a general rule of thumb, it is always advisable to place the containers (be it hot of mild) wisely, mind the spaces in between them, to ensure better air circulation and optimal cooling. Make sure you don't keep the food out for more than two hours, the bacteria can begin to grow soon after.

About Sushmita SenguptaSharing a strong penchant for food, Sushmita loves all things good, cheesy and greasy. Her other favourite pastime activities other than discussing food includes, reading, watching movies and binge-watching TV shows.

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