A cook must cool a deep hotel pan of refried beans. Why does the manager tell the cook to transfer the beans into several shallow pans first?
a.A thinner layer of food exposes more surface area, so heat escapes faster and the beans can meet the cooling time limits
b.Deep hotel pans are approved only for hot holding on the steam table, so cooling food always has to be moved into shallower ones
c.Date marking requires cooled food to be portioned into shallow pans before a 7-day discard date can be applied to the batch
d.Shallow pans can be stacked tightly on one speed rack, and that tight stack is what makes the batch cool faster than a deep pan
Explanation
Dividing food into shallow layers, generally 2 inches deep or less for thick products, dramatically increases surface area relative to volume. This speeds heat loss so the beans can pass from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours and reach 41°F within 6 hours total. Deep pans are not restricted to hot holding, date marking does not depend on pan depth, and stacking pans tightly blocks the airflow that cooling relies on.
Law Reference: FDA Food Code §3-501.15Practice all 500 questions free — no signup required.
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