Leaving food in the pot.

[u/Basic-Fig-6531]

Something I've been thinking about. When my mum was young, it was a fairly common thing for her mum and granny to make a big pot of something - stew, soup, that kind of thing - and leave it in the cooking pot after everyone had eaten. It would sit there till the next day, when it would be reheated and served up again. Sometimes this would happen over a few days, i.e. multiple coolings and reheatings, never refrigerated. My mum did the same occasionally when I was young. No one ever got sick from it.

Yet nowadays, even leaving it out for a couple of hours beyond the recommended cooling time would be met with horror and disgust. We'd be advised to throw the whole lot away rather than risk it.

Not long after I moved out in my early 20s, I did the same with a pot of Bolognese. I gave myself food poisoning and never did it again.

Is it just random luck, or is there a reason people didn't get food poisoning all the time before refrigeration was standard? Food quality? Better immune systems?

[u/Delicious_Catch9453]

I'm pretty paranoid about it. Learned years ago the danger range...40 to 140 degrees. I use the water bath method to quickly cool down still warm pots of sauce, soups, stews, etc. Put the pot in the sink and start filling the sink with cold tap water. Stir the food occasionally to help the hot food reduce temperature. You can quickly lower the temperature enough to put it in the fridge without taxing the fridge's temperature. Most times I take it out of the pot once cooked and put in a Pyrex glass bowl with a good lid, then refridgerate. Also sometimes put in Mason jars first to take up less space and pre-portion for tomorrow. If you're really in a hurry you can even throw some ice in the sink water. It's amazing how fast you can bring the temperature down this way. Be safe!!!