Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"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.


The worst part of it is leaving it uncovered while cooling. Much better
to leave it covered and let it cool slowly. Uncovered is just asking
for all kinds of airborne stuff to start growing in it.