How long do YOU keep food warm before serving. "Food safety" stuff.

Or tossing? No one else in my household seems to care how long food sits out, but I’m curious.

I’ve read 60 celsius/140 Fahrenheit for 2 hours, but I’ve also read many food safety recommendations are based on the lowest common denominator.

In my home I make a “taco filling”/ground beef pork “mince” almost every week, and never know exactly when it will be eaten. I don’t eat it, so whatever, but I still want to know.

Assuming fresh meat, clean veg, good hygiene, reliable thermometer, etc, what are your thoughts? What happens in your home?

I’ll save the dreaded cooked rice question for another day.

I usually serve as soon as it is done, but with Mexican… rice, beans, and proteins can be out for a while, but rarely more than an hour.

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Since there are only 2 of us, we serve as soon as it’s done as well. We don’t leave things sit out for long because we have two Australian Shepherds who could medal in the Olympics counter surfing event.

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I am imagining such an event! :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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It’s my thought that few of our foremothers had refrigeration nor could afford to waste food. They cooked up stuff and family scarfed it up, but nothing went to waste. In many hot weather societies there is a culture of hot peppers which, AFAIK, help destroy spoilage bacteria in the stomach and intestines. I HAVE NO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THIS!!!

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Thank you! That would be amazing! My family loves hot peppers!

Unfortunately many hot weather societies I can think of have bigger public health concerns than the typical self limiting GI disturbances.

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I don’t worry about it.

Couple of hours at room temp, no problem.

Overnight? Yeah, it becomes an issue.

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Time isn’t as important as temperature. Food that tests between 40-140 degrees F. is considered to be in the “danger zone” and should be eaten or refrigerated right away, Generally 2 hours is a safe limit.

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4 posts were split to a new topic: Food Safety Discussions