Food Prep

FREE

Thawing, Cooling & Reheating

One of the most important and delicate acts of your day is thawing and cooling food.

The way you do this will affect how the food looks, tastes, and ultimately how safe it is to consume.

Doing this incorrectly cannot only ruin the integrity of the food, it can make someone very sick if it's not done correctly.

Thaw food under running water. This is ideal for a quick thaw of a smaller quantity of food.

First, make sure the sink you are using is fully sanitized and the water you are using is drinkable. This is important to make sure our food is not contaminated by outside toxins or pathogens.

Next, ensure the water temperature is at most 21°C or 70°F. Make sure the food is fully submerged in a receptacle. Finally, ensure that the water is a continuous stream and change the water every 30 minutes as needed.

Some food is thawed as part of the cooking itself. These are typically meats that go directly from the freezer into the pan.

Thawing Fish Thawing fish is another very delicate process that can have dire consequences if not done correctly. If you are thawing fish under running water, keep it in its packaging and only remove it once the fish has been thawed. If you are thawing fish in the refrigerator, make sure it is first removed from its packaging.

Cooling food that has already been cooked is an important process to get right.

When cooling food, it MUST be cooled to 41˚F (or 5˚C) within six hours. Try to check the food after six hours to make sure that it is frozen.

Within that six hours, It must be cooled to at least 70˚F (or 21˚C) during the first two hours. If you need to, make sure to check and make sure this process has happened with a thermometer, especially if this is a food you haven't worked with before.

If the food has not reached the 70˚F (or 21˚C) benchmark by two hours, the food will need to be reheated and cooled again or discarded completely. Remember, this is a health issue. And it's always better to err on the side of caution.

Cooking Compliance

Food must be prepared and cooked at the right temperature to be deemed edible and safe for all those without allergies.

Use this lesson as a reference, and regularly check your food to make sure it meets compliance. As this lesson will be taken by those all over the globe, we will alternate between Celsius and Fahrenheit (but we'll always give you both numbers).

Though cooking food can reduce some pathogens that are naturally present, it doesn't affect some other dangerous elements. That's why it's important to follow these guidelines when preparing cooked meats, grain and produce. This is not only a matter of taste, it's a matter of health and safety.

For example, high risk populations, or those who are high risk for infectious diseases, should never be served raw meat, especially food that is "cooked-to-order."

If a dish contains raw fish, meat or eggs, our customers will know with a clear advisory on our menu. If a dish is not meant to contain these raw elements, it's even more important for us to meet minimally required temperatures.

Many of the more rare meats have to meet a required temperature of 145°F or 62.5°C, but for only 15 seconds. This includes: Steaks Game meat Seafood Beef and veal (if not a roast) Pork chops

If cooking in a microwave: Cover the food to prevent dryness. Stir the food at halfway through its cook time to make sure it's evenly cooked throughout. Let the food stand after cooking. This will allow the heat to evenly cook throughout, as well as prevent you from serving it too hot.

Parcooking When we partially cook food during the preparation stages, we must follow strict guidelines.

The reason for this is we have submitted forms to regulatory bodies that outline how they will be stored and prepped for consumption.

When parcooking, make sure not to cook any food for over an hour, and make sure to store it immediately after it's done cooking.

Produce & Eggs!

Non-meats such as produce and eggs should be considered when prepping food for taste, health and safety.

Storing Fruits and Vegetables When storing produce, do not mix different kinds in submerged water. This could cause cross-contamination and affect taste. If produce is already cut, do not submerge in ice water, but make sure it is stored in temperature colder than 41°F or 5°C.

Storing salads can be tricky, as there are usually many ingredients.

Any food in a salad that is temperature controlled for safety (TCS) should be monitored by the day it was cooked.

Holding Food (and Food Prep Course Review)

Sometimes between shifts and when we are finished prepping, we have to hold food before it is cooked or served. While doing this we have to follow these protocols to keep our customers safe and healthy.

There are differences how we hold hot and cold foods; we'll go over these differences in this lesson.

Holding hot food is a similar process to holding cold food, with a few differences. Hot food needs to be served within four hours of removing it from heat. Food needs to have been cooked at 135°F or 57°C before holding it. Label the food as soon as it's removed from heat.