Food Storage & Safety
Food Cooling & Refrigeration Guide
Get exact deadlines for cooling hot food safely, using the two-stage rule restaurants follow.
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Currently active across all 60 calculators: US Customary (cups, tbsp, oz, °F, in)
This is the two-stage cooling rule from the FDA Food Code, used by restaurants and recommended for big batches at home. To cool faster: split food into shallow containers under 2 inches (5 cm) deep, stir soups in an ice-water bath, cut roasts into smaller pieces, and leave containers loosely covered until cold. Check with a thermometer.
How to use this calculator
- 1Enter the time your food came off the heat. It defaults to now.
- 2Say whether the room is above 90°F (32°C).
- 3Follow the three deadlines to get it into the fridge and cooled safely.
Tip: Shallow containers and an ice bath are the fastest ways to cool a big pot of soup or stock.
How it's calculated
FDA Food Code: 135°F → 70°F within 2 hours, then 70°F → 41°F within 4 more hours (6 hours total)
We do the math at full precision and only round the final answer, so the numbers you see are as close as kitchen measurements allow. The assumptions and limits are listed alongside.
Worked example
Scenario: Cooling a 6-quart pot of chicken soup.
Inputs6 quarts of 180°F broth
CalculationDivide into three 2-quart shallow glass pans on wire racks.
ResultShallow pans reach 70°F well within the 2-hour limit
Common questions
Will hot food spoil my refrigerator?
No. It's fine to put hot food in the fridge, and better than leaving it out. A huge pot can warm the fridge, though, so divide it into smaller containers first.