The first rule to eat well, is to eat healthy, this includes the food handling process.  Unfortunately, sometimes, in some restaurants, bars, etc.., food is stored incorrectly.

Too often the importance of temperature to reduce the growth of bacteria is underestimated.

Let’s clarify.

Ideal storage temperature of common foods.

Temperature Abatement (positive)

When we cook a product that is to be eaten cold, or stored and served subsequently, (roastbeef, a sauce, or soup…), it is fundamental to bring the temperature of the food in the range from 10 to 0ºC as quickly as possible. This is because from 65 to 10ºC is the temperature which bacteria reproduce quickly.

Restaurants are now equipt with blast-chillers, basically a very powerful ventilated refrigerator with a compressor.  Cooked food is brought to refrigeration temperature (0 to 10ºC) very quickly. This machine is powerful, but it does not do miracles, so if you want a cool sauce, it is better if you pour it in a stainless steel tray, or a large stainless saucepan, (never cool a product in aluminum containers).  Once introduced in the blast-chiller, stir occasionally.

By cooling down food quickly we minimize bacterial contamination, and therefore, prolong preservation.

Temperature Abatement (Negative)

The blast-chiller can operate at temperatures below 0ºC Celsius, usually at -20 / -24ºC already much lower than the average freezer.

When we put food in the freezer at home, we block the reproduction of bacteria, but when we defrost the food it will lose many of it’s properties.  This is because FREEZING forms large ice crystals that split the cell walls.

In the food industry,  equipment is used that brings the product to temperatures below -18ºC in a very short time.

This system is called DEEP-FREEZING, and being so quick, much smaller crystals are formed.  The thawed product will have maintained almost all of it’s flavors and nutritional values.

At home, the best way that we can reproduce this method is to place food in the appropriate bags, forming sheets a few centimeters thick.  This way the cold penetrates quickly sand storage in the freezer will be more orderly.

You can defrost food and then freeze it again!