"Tony" wrote

It's still a circulating old wives tale to not only let it cool to room
temperature, but to leave it UNCOVERED during that time! My ex with a
masters in culinary was taught that way only 15 years ago thanks to the
highly respected Johnson & Wales University.

Not really a tale as there was basis in fact. Go back to ice boxes where
hot food would cause the ice to melt. Things got better with mechanical
refrigeration, but it was far from perfect a a big mass of hot food would
bring up the temperature for everything in the fridge for a while until it
caught up. New units can take quite a load, but I still give at least a
short time for cooling. As for covering, that keeps in the heat so if you
do have a large quantity, it will take longer to cool down to a safe
temperature.