THE SCIENCE OF TIME AND TEMPERATURE Flashcards
Why is time unreliable when cooking?
Variations in equipment and ingredients; oven temp and meat temperature.
ROOM TEMPERATURE
70ºF
CHILLED (as in refrigerated)
35º-40ºF; 32 or below food is freezing, greater than 40 spoiling.
FROZEN
0º-10ºF. The temperature in your freezer should be 0ºF.
FLOURS AND GRAINED (storage temp)
Assumed to be at room temperature. Whole-grain flours and cornmeal can be frozen to prevent rancidity - room temp only lasts a few months.
What will cold flour do to baked goods?
Inhibit rise and yield dense baked goods.
EGGS (storage temp)
Assumed to be chilled unless stated otherwise; French don’t chill their eggs.
How to warms eggs.
Place in warm water for 5 minutes.
BUTTER (storage temp)
Chilled unless otherwise noted.
Temperature of softened butter.
60º-68ºF
Melted butter
Should still be fluid and just warm to the touch, ideally 85º-90ºF
MEAT, CHICKEN AND FISH (storage temp)
Chilled unless otherwise noted.
Bacteria starts to grow on perishable foods after what temperature?
40ºF
How to check an instant read thermometer’s calibration.
Make an ice slushy: mix ice and cold water in glass; allow mixture to sit for 2 minutes. Put the probe in slush. If it doesn’t register 32ºF recalibrate it.
Does carryover cooking apply with fish?
Not really, they don’t retain heat as well as the dense muscle structure in meat.
