Food Preparation

Proper Ways To Thaw Foods

• In the refrigerator. Be sure to allow 2 or 3 days to give the frozen food time to thaw before you cook it.
• Under potable running water
• In the microwave oven if the food will be cooked right away.
• As part of the cooking process.

Never Thaw Foods At Room Temperature!

Cooking Foods

Foods should be cooked fully to the proper temperature to reduce the chance of illness-causing bacteria. Cook foods higher than their minimum temperature to make sure the internal temperatures are at least:

Once food is heated to these temperatures, it must be held at a minimum temperature of 140ºF during service.
Using a thermometer is the only way to know for sure what the internal food temperature is.

Cool Foods Quickly

All cooked foods should be cooled down from 140°F - 70°F within 2 hours and from 70°F - 45°F within a total of 4 hours after they are cooked.  There are several proper ways to cool foods:

• Divide large batches of food into smaller containers for quick cooling.
• Remove stuffing, refrigerate separately.
• Refrigerate leftovers right away.
• Put containers of food in an ice-water bath to cool foods quickly.
• Use ice as part of the cooling process in the recipe.

Do Not Allow Foods To Cool At Room Temperature!

Reheating Foods

• Reheated foods must be brought to an internal temperature to 165°F within two hours. The faster the better.
• Hot holding equipment can only be used to hold hot food, and is not to be used to reheat cold food.
• Do not mix the new reheated food with the old food. Use up each batch before starting the next one.
• If you think your food has been "temperature abused", or held in the DANGER ZONE for too long, remember that illness causing bacteria grow quickly on food in the DANGER ZONE of 45°F to 140°F.

If In Doubt, Throw It Out!