"Bobo Bonobo®" > wrote in message
...
> On Feb 11, 12:51 pm, (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.
>>
>> The worst thing to do, I think, is to take it off the heat
>> and just leave it covered. Then it spends a lot of time
>> ramping through near-room-temperature.
>
> But if you have it at the boiling point, which kills all the bacteria,
> then turn the heat off and leave it covered, how the heck are bacteria
> going to get into the covered pot to set up a breeding program? If I
> make a big pot of soup, I return it to boiling, cover it and simmer a
> few minutes, then turn it off and leave it out all night to cool,
> putting it into the fridge in the morning. Again, how are bacteria
> going to even get in?
>>
>> Steve
>
> --Bryan
> np: Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes

How about between boiling and covering it?