Does storing Hi temp food in the fridge " Harming" the fridge  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:33:20 pm
content: HeySo Me and some guy were talking about something and the subject rose up , so I hope to hear some real feedback here is possible .P.s : I haven't Google it , I want to hear from you What you thought about the subject first , then what have you learned or discovered by your experience perhapsThank you in advance

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:35:14 pm
content: Um, what? Does putting hot food in the fridge hurt it? No. If you put in a hot, large thermal mass, though, you run the risk of warming perishable foods before they can be cooled.

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:50:25 pm
content: Shouldn't harm the fridge, no.But it's not a good idea. Think about it, you put a pot of hot stew into the chilled fridge. What happens?Yes, the hot pot heats up the air inside the fridge, the temp switch in the fridge detects that and switches on the compressor trying to cool the fridge down to the set level again. This might take quite some time as the pot continues to give off heat for a long time. So at least it's a waste of energy. Also condensation will build up inside the fridge that may pool somewhere and potentially some nasty stuff could grow in that, contaminating food, generating bad smells, etc.Just let the pot cool down to room temperature before putting it in the fridge. Ask your mum, she will know.

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:07:09 pm
content: HeyThe pot is like 3~7 Liters of water ( 1~2.4MJ )I don't know the efficiency of usual fridge , but I guess it will take some time to reach 10 Degrees ( few Hrs up to 24 or so ... )since I put the food in new container(s) and pore the hot high energy water , I am guessing 1~2 Hrs tops till the food reach 10 degrees , besides , I tend not allow Air to meet the food , so condensation shouldn't occur inside the fridge ( the day after I open the container(s) to breath and store then again )I may use some Peltier plates at 300W or so , In order to accelerate the heat out of the food , as 2 staged processfor now , I understood the only concern I got in my head is perhaps condensing inside the fridge , that may be some long time maintenance day in order to clean the fridge if it occurs ,Is storing the food inside thermoplastic(?) plastic containers ( so far seem to be hermetic ) risk free in the long run ?thank you in advance

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:11:33 pm
content: Why the hell do you need to put 3-7 L of hot water into your fridge??

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:16:19 pm
content: Quote from: eevblogfan on October 17, 2013, 07:07:09 pmI mentioned it , I do pore the water out , they are MJ's loaded material,the only hot food enter the fridge is perhaps in the order of Kilo Jules maybe ....

author: vsq
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:19:22 pm
content: Just don't put a hot pot or pan on a glass shelf in the fridge. The shelf will explode! I learned this the hard way...

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:23:08 pm
content: Quote from: vsq on October 17, 2013, 07:19:22 pmSorry to hear that ,thanks for sharing thoughleeds me to think of the process behind braking glass with hot temp then low temp or perhaps vice versa , But I'll leave that for another thread/daythank you

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 03:59:54 am
content: You won't harm the refrigerator but you sure may have some food safety issues. If it takes hours to cool down to a safe temperature, it's going to spend a long time where it's warm enough for nastiness to grow and multiply.

author: Dago
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 07:59:52 am
content: I usually leave big pots to cool down on the stove for a couple of hours before putting in the fridge. To avoid cracking the shelf and to avoid warming up other stuff in the fridge. And I eat from the pot for up to two weeks or so (don't keep track), seems to work fine for me!

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 05:25:06 pm
content: I do a lot of cooking and cool the food as fast as possible.I take it off the element and if it's really warm transfer it to smaller containers (ceramic trays with lids are great for this).I also move the food about to release excess heat which helps with cooling.After 15 mins or after eating I'll stick if in the fridge with plenty of space around it, I leave the lid open.If it's really warm I'll place a cork mat under the container. I have a big fridge and it has a temp gauge and turbo cool buttons. This helps.When I'm next in the fridge I put the lids on.My fridge is set to 4C and my freezer is at -18CWill putting something in hot hurt? No, not unless it's too large and you have a cheap fridge and it can't handle being on.The reason why you should never enclose really hot food in a container and put it straight away in the fridge or freezer, is it can take a long time to cool right through.You should help the cooling process along prior to sealing it.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2013, 10:30:48 am
content: Ask a cook from a restaurant. The main concern is to cool the food down in a way the growth of bacteria is the lowest. Putting food into different containers doesn't seem smart to me. The containers will have bacteria on them and putting food in there which isn't boiling hot may just offer an excellent feeding ground for those bacteria.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2013, 11:09:42 am
content: It might cause the compressor to wear out faster since it'll have to run much longer to extract all the heat. Domestic fridge compressors aren't designed for long duty cycles.

author: TMM
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2013, 11:54:10 am
content: Quote from: vsq on October 17, 2013, 07:19:22 pmJust put a towel underneath it, problem solved

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2013, 01:24:04 pm
content: Quote from: Jon Chandler on October 18, 2013, 03:59:54 amPeople often forget that. Of course putting hot food into a cold fridge will warm the other food up but leaving the hot food to cool down naturally isn't a good idea either.The safest way is to, bathe the pot containing the food, in cold water with ice cubes in, before transferring it to the fridge.

author: John Coloccia
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2013, 01:32:17 am
content: I don't usually but HOT food in the fridge, but I do put away the food after we're done eating and it's usually not hot anymore, unless it's soup. If it's soup, I let it cool for a bit first, just as a practical matter. I don't worry too much about bacteria...I mean, I just boiled the thing and it's been sitting hot for a long time. I've practically sterilized it.I've been hearing this myth about warm food heating up the fridge for years and years and years. Even on the occasion that I mistakenly did put something truly hot in the fridge, I can tell you that I have NEVER opened up the fridge door and felt anything in there warm up. The fridge is cooled with sub-freezing air bled off from the freezer. Anyhow, maybe there is a refrigerator out there that can't handle a hot cup of coffee, or maybe a pot of warm stew, but it not one I've ever owned.YMMV.

author: perfect_disturbance
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2013, 02:42:12 am
content: Seems like if the food is still steaming hot you might run into some condensation issues.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2013, 05:12:48 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on October 21, 2013, 10:30:48 amAll those poor bacteria sitting around on empty ceramic and plastic containers they must be starving.You're not preserving the food you're cooling it as fast as you can so the bacteria cannot multiply in sufficient quantity within a few days.Cooling hot food and dividing it into smaller containers is food safety 101. No need to ask some dirty cook.