Practice: Cooling and Reheating Food

A cook removes a pot of soup from the stove at 135°F at noon. At 2:00 PM the soup is at 68°F. Has the first stage of cooling been completed correctly?

• No, because soup must be cooled in a blast chiller only.

• No, because the soup needed to reach 41°F by 2:00 PM.

• Yes, because the soup reached below 70°F within two hours.

• Yes, because any temperature drop within two hours is acceptable.

After reaching 70°F at 2:00 PM, cooked chicken must reach 41°F by what time to meet the two-stage cooling requirement?

• 4:00 PM

• 10:00 PM

• 8:00 PM

• 6:00 PM

A manager checks a large pot of chili at the end of the cooling process and finds it is still at 48°F after six total hours. What should the manager do?

• Move the chili to a refrigerator set to a lower temperature.

• Reheat the chili to 165°F and serve it right away.

• Discard the chili immediately.

• Continue cooling the chili until it reaches 41°F.

A foodservice worker is cooling a large batch of rice. Which method will help the rice cool most rapidly?

• Covering it tightly with plastic wrap before refrigerating

• Setting it on the counter at room temperature

• Storing it in a single deep container with a lid

• Placing it in shallow pans spread out on a rack

A kitchen needs to cool a large batch of beef stew quickly. Select TWO methods that are appropriate for rapid cooling.

• Leaving the stew covered on the stovetop to cool naturally

• Storing the stew in one large sealed container in the walk-in

• Placing the stew in an ice-water bath while stirring

• Dividing the stew into smaller portions before refrigerating

A cook prepares a large tray of lasagna in-house and needs to reheat it for hot holding. What internal temperature must it reach, and within what time frame?

• 165°F within two hours

• 135°F within one hour

• 165°F within four hours

• 155°F within two hours

A food worker reheats a tray of in-house cooked mashed potatoes. After two hours, the internal temperature is only 150°F. What is the correct action?

• Cool the potatoes and begin the reheating process again.

• Continue reheating until the potatoes reach 165°F.

• Place the potatoes in a hot holding unit at 135°F.

• Discard the potatoes because the time limit has passed.

A soup cools from 135°F to 70°F in exactly two hours. The kitchen then experiences a power outage and the soup sits at 65°F for three more hours before power is restored. Is the second stage of cooling still within the safe window?

• No, because the total cooling time has exceeded six hours.

• No, because power outages require restarting the cooling process.

• Yes, because the soup never exceeded 70°F during the outage.

• Yes, because the soup was already below 70°F before the outage.

A commercially processed, ready-to-eat soup is being reheated for hot holding. What is the minimum internal temperature it must reach?

• 155°F

• 135°F

• 145°F

• 165°F

Which TWO statements correctly describe the two-stage cooling method?

• Food must drop from 135°F to 41°F within the first two hours.

• Food must drop from 70°F to 41°F within four additional hours.

• Food must drop from 135°F to 70°F within the first two hours.

• Food must drop from 70°F to 41°F within two additional hours.