A cook places cold leftover gravy directly into the steam table well at opening and lets it slowly climb to temperature over 3 hours. What did the cook do wrong?
a.The gravy should have been placed in the well while still frozen, so that it thaws and comes up to temperature evenly across the pan
b.Hot-holding equipment must not be used to reheat food; the gravy needed to reach 165°F within 2 hours using cooking equipment first
c.The gravy should have been reheated on the range to 145°F for 15 seconds, the standard for leftovers, before it went into the steam table well
d.Nothing was wrong; a steam table set on its highest setting carries the gravy through the danger zone up to 165°F on its own by lunch service
Explanation
Steam tables and other hot-holding units are designed to maintain temperature, not raise it quickly, so they may not be used for reheating and cannot be trusted to carry food through the danger zone. Thawing in the well is worse still, and 145°F is a cooking temperature for whole cuts, not the reheating standard. Leftover gravy must be reheated to 165°F within 2 hours on a stove, oven, or other cooking equipment before being transferred to hot holding.
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