Please clear this up for me, Hot meat Straight in the fridge or..............

[Mum2OneAndBump]

Right everytime we see FIL he says that once you have cooked meat & have some left over you should wrap it & put it stright in the fridge, But i say you should let is cool down first & then put it in the fridge?

Please can you clear this up for me is there a right way & if so which one is it?

TIA

I always let it cool first then put it in the fridge.

let it cool first - otherwise it raises the temperature in the fridge which could cause all your food to become contaminated!

yuou shouldn't put it in the fridge too hot, because it will make the entire ambient temperature in the fridge too warm, fridge will have to work much harder to get it down to temp

however, you should cool it down as quick as possible to stop bacteria multiplying.... especially if you are going to eat it cold, rather than reheat it!

Cool it down first - don't have a scientific explanation though!

Well this is what he says, he says for every second it is out of the fridge it is gathering Bacteria, but i thought you were ment to cool meat before putting it in the fridge, he always swears blind once you have cut what you want off it should be wrapped & straight in the fridge??

It needs to cool down before it goes in the fridge.

no he is wrong - cool the meat as quickly as possible outside the fridge before refrigerating it

not strictly true... any bacteria in the meat shouldh ave been killed by cooking. but of course it can become contaminated AND all bacteria on it may not have been killed.
but wihle it is still very hot the bacteria won't be multiplying anyway... or not very fast.
ideal temp for multiplying is body temp... so you should ideally put it in the frdge once it is a little bit above that

if you can leave it somewhere cool while it cools down then all the better.
the quicker it cools the less chance there is for bacteria to multiply

We always cool it otherwise the fridge temperature will rise.

You need martianbishop!

Food Standards Angency says cool quickly, then refrigerate.

. One bacteria can turn into ONE MILLION bacteria in less than SEVEN HOURS at warm temperatures (anything that is warmer than a fridge). So if you leave your food out on the worktop or don't cook it thoroughly, you could be heading for trouble. Remember, some food poisoning diseases such as salmonella can cause severe illness and sometimes death.

Cooked foods which need to be chilled should be cooled as quickly as possible. But don't put them in the fridge until they are cool as this will just push the temperature of the fridge up. To cool hot food quickly, place it in the coolest place you can find - often not the kitchen! Another way is to put the food in a clean, sealable contained, and put it under a running cold water tap or in a basin of cold water. Also, make full use of ice packs in cool bags. Where practical, reduce cooling times by limiting size of meat joints or dividing products into smaller amounts.

Someone call?

Cool quickly , then put in the fridge. Make sure cook food is always above uncooked as well.

Putting warm food in the fridge will warm everything up for a bit, not a good idea. Cover while still warm (stops bacteria getting in) cook as quikly as possible then whap in the fridge

Thanks all