Hot & Cold Food Safety

Keeping your food properly chilled at a get-together is important for the safety of yourself and your guests.

Hot & Cold Food Safety

__Keep Cold Foods Cold __

    From BBQ meat to mayonnaise-based salads, many foods must be kept cold until they're on the grill or table. If this isn't possible, adjust your menu. Otherwise, transport covered containers of food in [thermoses](https://kitcheninstitute.org/kitchen/best-thermos/) and coolers filled with ice cubes, ice packs, or frozen water bottles (which you can enjoy later). At meal time, set cold dishes on plastic ice packs covered with a napkin.

 

Keep Hot Dishes Hot

    Did you know that coolers can also be used for hot foods? To minimize air space, find the smallest cooler your dish (or dishes) will fit in. Bake the dish just before leaving your house, then immediately cover it with foil, wrap it in a heavy towel, and put it in the cooler.

 

Keep Beverages Separate

    Since you don't want to keep opening [a cooler](https://www.sailmagazine.com/review/cooler/) of temperature-sensitive food, that's not the place for drinks. Instead, use a separate cooler or ice buckets.

Tags: storage

Product Recommendations

Interested in cooking? Need some supplies?

Check out some of the tools we like. All products featured on Cuisine at Home are independently selected by our editors; we may earn an affiliate commission from qualifying purchases through our links.