A catering kitchen must cool a 15-pound cooked brisket for tomorrow's event. Which step will help it cool fastest?
a.Cut the brisket into smaller pieces before refrigerating so heat can escape from more surfaces
b.Let the whole brisket rest on the counter for an hour so it stops steaming before it goes into the cooler
c.Set the whole brisket on the walk-in cooler floor, where the air near the ground is coldest and driest
d.Wrap the whole brisket tightly in foil to hold in its moisture, then set it on a cooler shelf overnight
Explanation
Cutting large dense items into smaller portions is an approved way to speed cooling because heat escapes through the newly exposed surfaces. A whole wrapped brisket would hold heat in its core well beyond the 2-hour first-stage limit. An hour on the counter spends that limit in the danger zone, floor storage is prohibited because food must be kept up off the floor, and foil traps the heat it is meant to release.
Law Reference: FDA Food Code §3-501.15Practice all 500 questions free — no signup required.
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