"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:51:20 +0000 (UTC), Steve Pope wrote:
>
>> Sqwertz > wrote:
>>
>>>Always put food in the refrigerator as soon as possible - no
>>>matter how hot it is. This is what all food safety
>>>courses/guidelines will tell you, and what health departments
>>>enforce at restaurants.
>>
>> Restaurant refrigerators have a lot more thermal mass than
>> a home refrigerator so the answer may not be the same in both
>> cases.
>>
>> I've read that food which has been cooked in a pot (soup,
>> stew, chili) should be uncovered for a short while, then
>> covered and placed in the refrigerator. To me, this makes
>> sense -- you don't want uncovered food in your refrigerator,
>> nor do you want to place something so hot in there it
>> will warm up everything. A typical pot of food will cool
>> substantially if left uncovered for 30 minutes, and this is
>> considerably less time than the 2 hour limit for leaving
>> something at room temp.
>
> From The USDA:
>
> Leftovers
> * Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than
> 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature was above 90 °F).


Based on that rule, I should've died a thousand deaths by now. :-)