Why you can’t put hot in the freezer

reasons not to put hot food in the refrigerator

We decided to put hot soup in the refrigerator? Find out why this cannot be done.

Since childhood, we heard from mom: “Do not put hot soup in the refrigerator!””. But why can hot dishes be put in the refrigerator? Just think, it will cool quickly! We deal with such a simple everyday question.

reasons why you can’t put hot food in the refrigerator

The refrigerator does not produce cold, but selects heat. If exactly, then the cooled internal space draws thermal energy, and then gives it through the radiator on the back wall.

Hot food sharply increases the amount of heat in the refrigerator, and, therefore, the load on it. In refrigerators with an inverter.type compressor, the speed of the compressor increases. For ordinary ones. he begins to work in constant mode. Due to this, the energy consumption increases. Therefore, putting the newly boiled refrigerator soup is at least economically not profitable.

Of course, you will not lose hundreds of thousands of thousands of thousands, but the “communal” can be significantly growing. In order not to be unfounded, I will give an example. Suppose you put a three.liter pan of hot soup in the refrigerator. To cool it from 90 degrees to 5, you need to “take” about 255 kilocalories of thermal energy. It is approximately 0.296 kW.

The coefficient of energy efficiency COP of modern climatic technology is 3-4 units. That is, the refrigerator will consume 74-99 WATT electricity more. And this is only at a time, but if you do it every day and several times a day, then the numbers will be different.

Reference: The City Sea expresses the amount of energy required by the air conditioner to produce heat in heating mode. The higher the energy consumption class, the less electricity the air conditioner needs to perform the heating function.

Additional disadvantages of hot food storage in the refrigerator

Problems with the work of the refrigerator and expensive repairs. these are not all the reasons why you can’t put the hotter in a refrigerator or freezer. A sharp temperature drop is poorly affected by the taste of food.

Good housewives know the rule that it is impossible to re.freeze meat and other products. Frozen products lose taste. About the same thing happens with food, which is subjected to a sharp temperature difference.

Some products, for example, chicken, are not recommended to be heated again after cooking. An unappetizing film is formed on milk soups. Sauces are relaxed, which is why their taste and consistency worsen. Other examples can be given when products only suffer due to a sharp temperature difference.

Troubles happen with dishes. Glass and ceramic very poorly tolerates temperature difference. If you put a cup with boiling water in the refrigerator, then after a few such “attempts” there will be cracks. It will become fragile and will break at the first fall from a small height. The anti.stick coating of the pan, which cracks and ceases to perform its functions, can also be sensitive.

What temperature in the refrigerator is considered optimal

A different temperature regime is required to store different products, however, the range from 2 to 5 ºC is considered optimal. At the same time, inside the camera, the temperature can be different depending on many factors: how high is the regiment, how often you open the door and how hot products you put in the refrigerator.

The coldest zones in classic refrigerators are the areas of the back wall and shelves located closest to the freezer. If we consider the unit with a freezer in the lower part of the case, then the lowest temperature will be on the lower shelf, and the highest in the upper zone. Therefore, products that need coolness more need, in such refrigerators, it is worth stored below, and on the upper shelves. food that is better not to rewind (fruits, sauces).

At what temperature should you store different products in the refrigerator:

• Fresh fruits: 5-8
• Fresh vegetables: 4–7
• Bukhanka and pastries: 5-6
• Sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup): 3-7
• Sausages: 0-8 (depending on the variety)
• Cheeses: 0-4 (depending on the variety)
• Dairy products: 4
• Ready dishes and drinks: 2-5
• Confectionery, cakes: 1-3
• Eggs: 2-5
• Cool meat: 1-3
• Cool fish and seafood: 0–2

Despite the fact that in fact there may be not one, but a whole temperature range, many manufacturers offer to set only one value. it will be average for the entire camera. We advise you to configure this parameter by 3 or 4 ºC. Then on the lower shelf (closer to the freezer) it will be possible to store meat and cheese, in the middle zone. dairy products and finished dishes, and at the top. fresh fruits.

Another thing is modern devices with a function of uniform distribution of cold air inside the chamber. It can be called Multiflow or All-Around Cooling, like Samsung models. For example, in the Samsung RB5000A refrigerator, which we recently tested, a whole system of ducts is used, thanks to which the same temperature remains on the upper and lower shelves.

Also, advanced models may have separate “freshness zones”, like the same Samsung RB5000A. This is a separate shelf (box) for storing vegetables, fruits, chilled meat and fish, which has its own temperature controller for installing a separate mode that is optimally suitable for products.

Cool the products quickly and correctly

Each housewife needs to be able to correctly and quickly cool the heated food, if there is a need to place the not yet cooled food in the refrigerator.

Several simple ways will allow you to quickly cool any dish and maintain the performance of household appliances:

• Fire milk can be quickly cooled directly in the jar if you are closed with a lid and put under a stream of running cold water for a few minutes. After that, you can safely put it in the refrigerator and be sure that it will not deteriorate and will not acquire a musty smell. So you can cool the compote or any other warm drink.
• The just prepared soup in winter is easy to cool on the balcony or loggia, as well as on the windowsill under the open window. Cold air will quickly lower the temperature of the dishes and food. Just do not forget to put the stand under the hot. This is especially true if the window sill is plastic.
• In summer, the fastest cooling will be if the pan is placed in a shallow basin with cold water. To accelerate the process, you can put an additional stream of cold water into the basin, which will displace the warming water and thereby accelerate cooling.
• You can throw a towel with cold water onto a warm dishes several times.
• In some apartments in the kitchen there is a niche-skip under the window, where in the winter a container with a hot dish for quick cooling is placed in winter.
• Pans and fries are made of thick.walled metal, for a long time they retain the dish with warm. At the end of cooking, it is recommended to put the finished product in a thin.walled pan, and the cooling process will be noticeably accelerated.

Advice! You can not cool the dish, but, on the contrary, place it hot in a thermal container, thermos or thermal drummer. Then it will remain warm until the owners return, and there will be no need to heat it.

Why is it impossible and what will happen

The operating instructions say that you cannot put hot food in the refrigerator. The manufacturer warns of a decrease in the service life of the device in case of violations of the rules of use. First you need to cool the product to room temperature. Then the food will be better preserved and the technique will last many years. To answer the question of why it is impossible to place hot products in the cooling device chamber, several aspects must be considered.

Wear of technology

What if you put hot? True, the technique can break? In order to understand matters, you should study the principle of operation of the cooling device. Of the two most common freezing systems (drip and “No Frost”), know Frost more persistent to such loads. But over time, if you often practice cooling hot soup, the technique will first cool worse and at the end will refuse to perform its functions. With an increase in temperature in the device, the motor receives a signal that you need to work in excess of the norm and fails premature.

Bad influence

The second question is about the freshness of products that are already in the refrigerator. If you put a hot pan in the department, it will immediately begin to secrete heat and steam. This adversely affect stored food. She heats up again, then begins to cool again. This is especially harmful to perishable products, for example, dairy, chilled meat, etc. D. In some food, under such conditions, harmful bacteria may appear, the use of which can cause diseases.

Change in taste

Does the taste of the hottest dish are changed in the refrigerator? Yes. Housewives know secrets prohibiting to quickly cool the dishes. For example, unheated milk will curl up, and pastries will settle. These are the most common knowledge, but not all. Some housewives claim that the dish should cool at room temperature, otherwise it will not infuse, and its aroma will disappear. Therefore, before putting hot products in the refrigerator, you should remember the possible change in their taste and aroma.

I am education

When the hostess decides to put the disguised dishes in the refrigerator, they begin to intensively release heat and steam, as a result of which condensation appears. It adversely affects the operation of the device, especially with the drip system. At first, hooks form on the back wall, a crust of ice appears in the future, which can lead to overheating of the motor and breakdown of the technique. At best, you will have to carry out an unscheduled defrosting of the device. The situation is better with the No Frost system: ice is not formed there, but there is an additional load if you constantly put hot dishes in the refrigerator.

Damage of dishes and shelves

In addition to the main reasons, there are also others that not everyone pays attention to. Each buyer chooses household appliances not only in terms of technical characteristics, but also for internal filling: someone is convenient for some glass shelves, someone-metal lattices. But they can deteriorate if you put a hot pot. The upper layer of the grilles can mourn and become unsuitable. Shelves, even if they are made of hardened glass, can fly up. Favorite cup and other dishes can also deteriorate. Due to sharp temperatures, the enamel cracks, the paint breaks off.

At what temperature you need to store products

All requirements for the expiration date and storage conditions are indicated in SanPino. Separately, the storage of various seafood is said by GOSTs.

• Bukhankobuka products-5-6 ° C
• Sauces-3-7 ° C
• Fruits-5-8 ° C
• Vegetables-4-7 ° C
• Dairy products. 4 ° C
• Cooked dishes. 2-5 ° C
• Confectionery. 1-3 ° C
• Eggs. 2–5 ° C
• Sausage products-0-8 ° C
• Chilled meat. 1-3 ° C
• Cool fish and seafood. 0–2 ° C
• Cheeses-0-4 ° C
• Frozen meat. from.14 to.18 ° C
• Frozen fish18 ° C
• Frozen vegetable and fruit crops18 ° C

Spoiled food

The question is about the quality of the products themselves in the refrigerator in hot form. Powerful equipment will cope with the problem without spoiling food, but the unit with low technical characteristics, food, most likely, will at least acquire an unpleasant extraneous smell.

• Hot foods have fast heat transfer, and low.power equipment does not have time to quickly cool.
• In this case, warm air is transmitted to another food. When there are many foods, the problem will not manifest itself, increasing the degree will not be so significant, no more than 2.
• And in the half-empty refrigerator compartment, where there are few other dishes, the increase in the temperature of each will be more significant, they will become “hot” by 5-10 degrees. In this case, the risk of their damage is great.

Soups and other food that is placed in the chamber without preliminary natural cooling, lose their taste. This is most relevant for powerful equipment and models with fast frost.

Also, do not forget about plastic dishes not designed for food products. Some types of plastic distinguish harmful substances that have a negative effect on the taste of food and on the human body.

How to quickly and correctly cool products

Former situations when hot products or boiling water, it is urgent to cool. In this case, it is desirable to have 2-3 kg in stock. ice in the freezer. To cool the container with the soup, you need to do it as shown below:

It is advisable to cool the products to the room temperature. The recommended range can be around 35-40 degrees. So that the dishes do not become unusable and the foods do not deteriorate, before placing in the refrigerator, hot food needs to be cooled. Only after that can be placed in a camera.

If there is a special sealed department for hot products, then the owners of such refrigerators have nothing to worry about. For them, the question is whether it is possible to put warm food in the refrigerator so sharply. But to abuse such a profitable state of things, you still should not. Whatever the advanced refrigerator, the constant storage of hot dishes in it, will not lead to anything good.