“Let food cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator” is a controversial idea that has never stopped being “hot” on social networking forums. According to food preservation habits, most people will wait for food to cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator. However, there are opinions that it is not necessary to let food cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator.

So which is the correct opinion? Is it right or wrong to let food cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator?

Is it right or wrong to let food cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator?

Until now, almost everyone has the habit of letting food cool completely before storing it in the refrigerator. But do you know that this actually affects your health to some extent ? Don’t risk your health just because you’re afraid of your “inanimate” refrigerator breaking down.

According to medical experts from the University of Birmingham (UK), freshly cooked food will reach a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius and is almost safe for users’ health . However, when the temperature slowly decreased to 60 degrees Celsius, bacteria began to grow and penetrate back into the food.

The ideal temperature for bacteria to thrive is when it drops to 30-40 degrees Celsius (the food is almost completely cool). They only truly hibernate below 7 degrees Celsius .

This means that letting food cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator for storage is no longer effective. On the contrary, it is harmful to your health because bacteria have grown massively while you waited for the food to cool.

Moreover, don’t worry that putting food that hasn’t cooled down yet in the refrigerator will “burden” it, making it work harder and spoil more easily. For example, you put food that is about 70 – 80 degrees Celsius in a 5 degree Celsius refrigerator. That means the refrigerator has to work to take away 65 – 75 degrees Celsius from the hot food. This is only equivalent to the amount of heat it has to take away when you put 3 portions of cold food in the refrigerator.

Therefore, letting food cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator is wrong

Notes when storing food in the refrigerator

• The best way to preserve is to wait for the food to cool to 70 – 80 degrees Celsius (about 10 – 15 minutes), then put it in the refrigerator. At this time, nutrients will be retained and minimize the growth of bacteria entering the food.
• You should put food in a sealed container with a lid, preferably a glass container, before putting it in the refrigerator . The lid will limit the heat radiating throughout the refrigerator, not only harming the refrigerator, but also damaging other foods as well as causing cross-contamination from other foods.
• If there is a lot of food, you can  divide it into several small boxes to help the refrigerator cool faster .
• Just like cold food, you  should not put hot food in the refrigerator . This will make the refrigerator work too hard, leading to more electricity consumption and shorter lifespan.