The cold, hard facts about how cold food is kept in restaurants: 10 things you need to know

Have you ever thought about why we put food in the fridge?

If you want to open a restaurant, you should know how to run one at the very least. For instance, you should have at least all the basic tools that a restaurant needs.

The refrigerator is one of these basic needs, but have you ever wondered why it's so important?

Well, that's because it's important to keep food at the right temperature when you're cooking. 

This is because the temperature of the food affects it in a lot of different ways.

Temperature can change the consistency of food or cause it to grow different kinds of bacteria. Restaurant refrigeration stops all of these things from happening.

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Why don't you keep reading to find out more about how the temperature of your food affects it? Here are 10 interesting things about the food you keep in the fridge. Read on to find out why and how you should cook and serve the food you want to make.

1. Making sure food is not in the danger zone

It's important to keep food cool because it keeps it from getting to the dangerous zone. Temperatures where bacteria grow best are in the danger zone. Between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, these are the temperatures.

Bacteria love these dangerous temperatures because they make it easy for them to grow and multiply. In fact, in these conditions, bacteria in the danger zone can double their number in as little as 20 minutes. So, you should try to keep the temperature either below or above that number.

2. At a certain low temperature, bacteria stop growing.

Why is it important to keep food cold even when you're moving it? This is because bacteria stop doing anything above a certain temperature. Any temperature below 5 degrees Celsius is perfect for that (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit and below).

Bacteria can't eat anything at these temperatures. 

This means they can't make enough energy to make more of themselves. So, you should always do this when you ship or receive items that go bad quickly.

This is one of the easy ways to check food to make it safer. You must do this if you want your restaurant to do well and grow.

3. Bacteria don't die in cold temperatures

Bacteria never die, even when you put them in the fridge. In fact, they don't die in very cold weather. The only sure way to get rid of them is to heat them up, which is why, with a few exceptions, we have to cook our food.

In reality, bacteria only go to sleep when their food gets cold. 

This is a kind of hibernation stage where they wait out the cold. When the weather gets warmer and better, they start moving around again.

4. Some bacteria can still live in cold places

Even though it's cold, some bacteria can still grow and spread. Salmonella is one of these kinds of bacteria. Even though it's cold in the fridge, they can still spread germs to other foods.

Salmonella and other germs are easy to wash away.

 Before putting things in the fridge that could get Salmonella, you might also want to put them in separate containers. Before, over 12 million pounds of beef had to be recalled because these safety steps were not followed.

5. Just because food is in the fridge doesn't mean it won't go bad.

Even if your food is kept at a safe temperature, there is still a chance that it will go bad. Even though most bacteria don't spread when it's cold, some are still on your food. Even though it's slow, it can still ruin your food if you leave it for too long.

This is because the bacteria can still break down the food, even if it happens more slowly than normal. Gases and new bacteria are made when something breaks down. These are the things that will make your food in the fridge go bad.

6. Before food goes bad, you can only put it in the fridge and heat it up a certain number of times.

Most people believe that if they keep food in the fridge, it won't go bad. Only the first few times they take it out to reheat it is this true. When they reheat food more than three times, it starts to go bad, even if it's in the fridge.

This is because, as we talked about above, when you reheat food, the bacteria start to grow again. 

This happens because putting food in the fridge and then heating it up again traps moisture inside the food. By staying warmer than its cold surroundings, the water speeds up the process of decay.

7. Before you put something in the fridge, it needs time to rest.

People often put their food in the fridge as soon as they are done cooking it. This is wrong because most foods need to rest before they can be put in the fridge. Before you do anything with them, you let them sit out for a while to cool down.

If you’re leaving them out to cool, why not cool them in the fridge already then?

This is because it will cause the process of cooling to be uneven. Since they are still very hot on the inside, only the outside will freeze. This leads to a lot of trouble down the road.

For instance, it can ruin food from the inside out. It can also make it hard to reheat without cooking the inside too much.

8. It's easier to handle dry foods.

Most foods don't last as long as dried goods. Also, they are easier to store in the fridge than any other kind of food. 

Dry food doesn't need as much special care as cooked or wet food.

Their safe zones are bigger than those of most foods (50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit). Also, they don't get bigger like canned foods do.

9. There are special ways to keep some foods cold.

Meat from pork, chicken, beef, lamb, and any other land animal is cooked the same way. Keep below 39 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent spoilage. But other foods are made in a different way.

For example, you can put fish in the fridge by putting them on a bed of ice. 

This keeps them from freezing, so they can be cooked as soon as possible. Fruits and vegetables also need it to be a little bit warmer.

Most of them won't be good to eat after being frozen. You can't warm up frozen fruits without cooking them or making them go bad. So, you'll need to keep them at a different temperature than meats.

Before putting food in the fridge, it must be wrapped.

A great way to keep your food fresh is to keep it out of the danger zone. You can also wrap them up to make sure they stay fresh.

When food is at or below 39 degrees Fahrenheit, it's easy for it to get on other food. 

This is also why you should always use a clean towel to wipe down tools before you use them.

This is because bacteria tend to gather in places that are colder. So, when you handle refrigerated goods, there is a big risk of cross-contamination.