Some foods require time and temperature control to maintain safety (TCS foods), also known as potentially hazardous foods (PHF). These foods require time/temperature control to limit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms or the production of toxins.

Food safety when cooking

1. Cook food properly – to at least 75 °C or hotter.
2. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of cooked foods.
3. If you use a microwave, check that the food is cooked evenly throughout.
4. Cook foods made from eggs thoroughly.
5. Cool and store cooked food as soon as possible.
6. Reheat food until steaming hot.

Foods that need time and temperature control for safety—known as TCS foods—include milk and dairy products, eggs, meat (beef, pork, and lamb), poultry, fish, shellfish and crustaceans, baked potatoes, tofu or other soy protein, sprouts and sprout seeds, sliced melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens, untreated garlic- …

The 2 Hour/ 4 Hour Rule tells you how long freshly potentially hazardous foods*, foods like cooked meat and foods containing meat, dairy products, prepared fruits and vegetables, cooked rice and pasta, and cooked or processed foods containing eggs, can be safely held at temperatures in the danger zone; that is between …

Leaving food out too long at room temperature can cause bacteria (such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Campylobacter) to grow to dangerous levels that can cause illness. If the temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour.

High risk foods include:

• chicken, duck and other poultry.
• fish and shellfish.
• raw meat products.
• dairy products (milk, cheese, cream)
• unpasteurized cow or goats milk.
• eggs and egg products.
• gravies.

Here are a few foods you should never reheat for safety reasons.

• You should think twice before warming up leftover potatoes.
• Reheating mushrooms can give you an upset stomach.
• You probably shouldn’t reheat your chicken.
• Eggs can quickly become unsafe to reheat.
• Reheating cooked rice can lead to bacterial poisoning.

Potentially hazardous foods

• raw and cooked meat, or foods containing meat such as casseroles, curries and lasagne.
• dairy products such as milk, custard and dairy‐based desserts.
• seafood (excluding live seafood)
• processed or cut fruits and vegetables, such as salads.
• cooked rice and pasta.

Tips for cooling food quickly

• divide food into smaller portions in shallow containers to cool, being careful not to contaminate the food as you do this.
• use rapid-cooling equipment (e.g. a blast chiller)
• stir liquid foods such as gravy often, using a clean and sanitised utensil.
• use water or ice water baths.

To make your fridge cool down faster:

1. Keep it a few inches from the wall.
2. Put ice in the freezer.
3. Don’t open the doors.
4. Keep the kitchen cool.
5. Cool food down before putting it in the fridge.

Cover pans of hot food and move them to a colder area e.g. a storage room, or stand them in cold water. You can also use ice to speed up chilling. This will make the contents of the pans chill more quickly. Stir food regularly while it is chilling down.

If you have a hot liquid—soup, stew or stock—that needs to be refrigerated after coming out of the oven, let it sit for two hours on a cooling rack before placing in the refrigerator. It will cool down at about the same rate and will not raise the temperature of the fridge.

5-6 minutes

10 to 30 minutes

Pour the hot coffee over a cup that’s filled with lots and lots of ice. You’ll notice a few iced cubes starting to melt which will help dilute and bring it to room temperature. After a few minutes and when there’s ice floating, not melting, transfer into a new cup filled with ice. Add creamer and sugar if desired.

And by introducing hot coffee to ice drop by drop, the coffee cools faster and doesn’t melt as much ice. Contrast this with pouring an entire cup of hot coffee over ice at once: the ice melts quickly, along with the dreams of the poor sap who’s staring at a watery brew.

When restaurants first started serving iced coffee,they simply poured hot coffee over ice. To make your brew taste even stronger, you can take a pot of cool coffee and pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. The next day, pour hot coffee over your coffee ice cubes and voila!

Making iced coffee takes only a minute when you brew the coffee ahead of time. Just pour the morning’s leftovers into a pitcher and keep it in the fridge. All you need is 1-1/2 cups of brewed coffee at room temperature. Pour the coffee into a clean ice cube tray and freeze.

When you’re brewing hot coffee, make more than you’ll drink and make it stronger (You can dilute the morning cup with hot water, but you’ll have prepared for a better iced coffee). Leave the pot at room temperature, or refrigerate. This remains true when the coffee is iced.

Experts say you can refrigerate coffee for up to a week. You can even reheat it from the fridge, but that won’t taste as good as a freshly brewed cup. Pro tip: Use a glass carafe or jar to store your coffee.

Weigh out 50 grams of coffee and grind it medium-fine — about the consistency of kosher salt. Add 367 grams of water to the coffee maker’s water reservoir. Add 183 grams of ice to the carafe. Place a filter inside the drip cone or drip coffee filter basket and rinse it with hot water.

If you prefer, a French press works well, though any medium-sized glass container will do. To make the best cold brew, start with a quality coffee bean. A coarse grind works best and makes filtering easier. Skip the standard pre-ground coffee; buy whole beans then grind it yourself.

There are plenty of ways to jazz it up, so get creative! Adding almond or cashew milk gives your coffee a sweet, nutty flavor. The creamy nut milk will also cover up any remaining bitterness. If you’re a coconut fan, try coconut milk for a smooth finish.

A ratio of 1:8 of coffee to water will produce a nice coffee ready to drink after around 24 hours at a coarse grind. Another option is to create a much stronger cold brew (named cold brew concentrate), by using a ratio anywhere from 1 part coffee to 4 parts water, up to around 1 part coffee to 2 parts water.

The standard ratio for brewing coffee is 1-2 tablespoons of ground coffee per 6 ounces of water – 1 tablespoon for lighter coffee and 2 for stronger coffee. That 6-ounce measure is equivalent to one “cup” in a standard coffeemaker, but keep in mind that the standard mug size is closer to 12 ounces or larger.

If you want to prepare four cups of coffee you will need exactly 4 scoops of ground beans, or, if you prefer, 8 tablespoons. If you want stronger coffee, you can go for 10 tablespoons and you will get four delicious cups of coffee.

A coarse grind is the best choice for making cold brew coffee. If you’re getting pre-ground coffee, make sure to ask for a coarse grind. A finer grind can tend to clump together, and the cold water needs to circulate freely through the ground coffee for optimal extraction.