is it really so bad to put food in the fridge, right when its done cooking?!

The reason behind the idea is that you don't want to put anything really hot in the refrigerator or freezer because it can raise the temperature of the interior and put other foods at risk for spoiling. This is mainly true with older refrigerators and those that are not energy efficient.

If you are placing a hot item in the refrigerator, make it isn't touching another item and, if possible, put it close to the bottom of the refrigerator where it is the coolest.

I have heard this before, but it makes no sense to me, I am not a food safety expert, but I am an engineer, and I try to apply logic.

Logic tells me that in order to avoid bacteria/germs what have you, it is best to get it cooled right away. It takes less time for the food to get to the safe range in the fridge than it does out on the counter.

The ONLY reason I can see for your mom's position is that it uses more electrical energy to put it into he fridge hot that it does to leave it on the counter until it cools.

Depending on how large the item is and how hot it is, it can increase the temperature of your fridge enough to lower it's cooling effectiveness. If you do this with a very large item that is very hot, you may find your fridge to be considerably warmer than usual for an hour or so.

While this doesn't have a profound effect, if you do it habitually, you may find some items in your fridge not lasting as long, such as milk, raw meat, etc.

It isn't because it is bad..well I don't think so....but there are 2 reasons.......one is..the fridge uses more power to get that item cool while the fridge struggles other food may be at risk.....and two..hot food should be brought to room temperature so that is cools evenly...so that microbes don't develop...

Personally on occasion I have put overly warm items in the fridge and had no problem...But usually I bring everything to room temp...


Hope this helps...

The steam from the hot food will cause condensation in the fridge and spoil other foods in there. You have to let it cool, and stop steaming before putting it in the fridge.

hot food in a cold place causes bacteria to grow faster in the food thus killing the shelf life and in some cases makes it dangerous to eat... its not a myth its an actual issue

yes because you mess up the chemicals in side the food from being hot to being real cold!
its like ur stomach you cant just drink cold water after drink hot warm soup it will mess you your system!