In five easy steps, you can cool food quickly so that it will be safe to eat later. Show Improper cooling of foods can be a major cause of food borne illness. Michigan State University Extension receives many consumer calls asking how to safely cool prepared foods. One of the questions in a recent email I received asked, “Is this soup safe to eat?” The consumer had prepared four quarts of soup the night before and put it in the refrigerator, before refrigerating, two quarts of frozen zucchini was added. After being refrigerated overnight, the soup was still warm. Is this soup safe to bring to a family whose mother is sick? The answer to this question is NO. This soup is definitely not safe for anyone to eat. It must be thrown out. Michigan State University Extension offers these suggestions for cooling food quickly and safely:
If you are cooling soup, or stew, you can add frozen food, water or ice or any other liquid that would be part of the soup or stew and that will help it cool more quickly too. But as you can see from the question above, the person had added two quarts of frozen zucchini and it wasn’t enough to cool it adequately. Food often needs help cooling down fast enough to be safe. Take the time to cool food within two hours and get it into the refrigerator or freezer so that you have a high quality safe food to eat later. This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464). Did you find this article useful?You Might Also Be Interested InHow can you cool foods rapidly?Place a pan of food in an ice-water bath and stir the food. Stirring allows warm air to escape and cool food faster. Use chilling equipment if available, such as an ice wand or blast chiller.
What are the 4 methods for rapidly cooling food?Approved and efficient ways to cool food include:. Ice-water bath and frequently stirring the food. ... . Ice paddles (plastic container filled with water and frozen) used to stir food in an ice-water bath.. Adding ice as an ingredient (if water is an ingredient).. Blast or tumble chiller.. |