Making Food Early, Dos and Don’ts
Posted by Emilee | Posted in Food Safety, Foodborne Illness, For Fun, FYI, Seasonal | Posted on 28-11-2011
Tags: Bacteria, Christmas, Cooking Tips, Food Borne Illness, Food Safety, Hand Washing, Holidays, Home, Make Ahead, New Year's, Refrigerator, Temperature, Thanksgiving, Thermometer, Time & Temperature Abuse, Turkey

We’re completely aware that Thanksgiving has come and gone, but the blissful gluttony of delicious holiday delights has only just begun. If anything, Thanksgiving is a but a bookend to a smorgasbord that doesn’t end until after New Year’s. For some, however (namely the cooks), the holidays mean months of dreaded epicurean agony. Naturally, those in the kitchen lean towards preparing as much food as they can before big events. Though not all food stores well, there are a handful of dishes that do–even to the point of tasting better if prepared in advance: turkey gravy, pie, unbaked rolls, baked casseroles, stuffing, vegetable platters, salad dressings, and dips, just to name a few. But before jumping in and getting too excited about all the time you’ll save by preparing your food ahead of time, consider this list of Dos and Don’ts to keep your meal safe:
DOs:
- Thoroughly clean your refrigerator and freezer. This not only gives you the room you will need to store your delicious morsels, but it will also keep them from absorbing the smells and bacteria of a dirty cooling device. If you’re extra worried about smells, let a partially opened box of baking soda accompany your food just to be safe (the sodium bicarbonate in baking soda absorbs odors like a champ).
- After preparing hot food, allow it to cool before placing it in the refrigerator or freezer. Also, refrigerate or freeze food in shallow containers.
- Defrost the turkey in the refrigerator—or, if you’re running low on time, in cold water. Follow the USDA’s chart for turkey’s defrosting times.
- Reheat all hot foods to a minimum of 165 degrees, including the center of the dish.
- Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold (140 degrees or above for hot foods; 40 degrees or below for cold foods).
DON’Ts:
- Interrupt cooking. Partially cooked foods cool to temperatures that bacteria thrive in. Be safe by cooking foods completely the first time.
- Overstuff your refrigerator or freezer. Doing so will not only put your food at risk by heating up appliances’ internal temperature, which allows bacteria to grow, but it will waste energy by making your appliances work harder to maintain a cooler temperature.
- Thaw food anywhere except in the refrigerator, cold water, or the microwave.
- Let food sit out. Bacteria starts growing in food only two hours after it is prepared.
- Stress. Following these basic rules will save you time and energy, which will in turn allow you to enjoy, with your guests, a day of blissful gluttony.
–Aubrey Pontious
Sources: thekitchn.com, dummies.com, FSIS.usda.gov, renewalblesathome.com




