The cleanup after a delicious home cooked meal or even satisfying takeout order is the kind of thing you just hurry up and get done. However, placing piping hot leftovers straight into the freezer won't guarantee you an enjoyable meal the second time around. .
To avoid any unnecessary bouts of food poisoning, you should avoid like not allowing food to cool down before putting it away. Whether you want to instead of eating them all in one sitting, or you want to make sure your meal prep is still good by Friday, storing hot food isn't as complicated as it might sound. Grab a few shallow storage containers, and let's get started.
How to properly freeze and store hot foods Shallow storage containers are a great way to cool down hot food and make it safer to put away. Smaller containers mean the food will cool down faster, leaving less time for bacteria to form. When you put hot food into a freezer immediately, it can also negatively affect the food around it as well as the food in the container.
. The United States Department of Agriculture does not recommend letting hot food sit outside the refrigerator for more than two hours. If it's an extra hot, humid day above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the food shouldn't be left out more than an hour.
Of course, you could always opt to . People can gasp and judge all they want, but this author says there's nothing wrong with enjoying a cold slice of sausage pizza while you stand in front of an open refrigerator contemplating your own life choi.