# Leaving soup/stew on stove during day and re-heating every hour every half hour?!? Is this safe?



## bigtreegrow (Sep 12, 2012)

Hey all good afternoon well today a delicious soup was made, a Maori- style boil-up recipe! Basically it's a big pot of soup, and I am curious whether it's safe to leave a pot of soup on stove, never letting an hour go by without heating it back up to boiling . . Would this be safe? If I can make it clearer, basically the soup will be made, it will sit for around 1 - 1.5 hours while first meal is eaten, then thruout the day (let's say this soup was made at 10am) every hour someone is there to start the soup back up again, bring it to a boil, then turn it off for an hour to an hour and half!

In my opinion, with what I know of science and food safety, this would technically be perfectly fine since the temperature is never going below a "bacteria" point!

As many of you might know it's also part of the "culture" of the day, it's much more fun and easy to just walk up to the soup bowl and grab a bowl instead of washing out a new bowl, taking soup out of fridge, reheating!!!!!

I am simply curious . . . What I ended up doing today since I didn't know the answer and wanted to be safe was : soup was done at 10am, i ate my meal, started up the soup again around 11am just for a second til it got back to boiling, turned it off, and then let it sit for about 3 hours max for a final cool!

and then I put some away in freezer and some away in fridge for leftovers! Next time though, it would be nice to simply leave on stove because it's much easier that way! If you could let me know what you think I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you very much for your time  See ya


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Quetion  Since your opinion from what you know of science and food safety, What is the as you say bacteria point of having foods go up and down like this??  Please make sure for your sake that the stuff you refrigerated and froze you bring back to a full rolling boil , that is if it is still good. Even the bowl that you did not wash and left out with residue on it is subject to hi bacteria buildup. So be careful


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Transfer to a crock pot on low.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

+1 MaryB. Let the soup simmer gently the whole day and the next if you need. Add some boiling water whenever neccessary. There're some soups that last not a day but months, simmering.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

In most cases the soup is at its hottest point when your making the soup. If you need to hold the soup for a few hrs, just make sure temperature doesn't fall under 140 degrees. If you need to refrigerate the soup and then reheat, the soup needs to be reheated to 165 degrees, and held at, or over 140 degrees. When cooling the soup, break the soup down into smaller shallow pans so the soup cools down faster.

Be sure you have cooled the food from 140º F to 70º F in 2 hours and from 70º F to 41º F within 6 hours. When you cool thin soup, sauces and gravy, you can use shallow 2-inch metal pans, or you can use the ice and water method, called an "ice bath". Remember, you want the food to cool as fast as possible to below 41º.

Following these steps will also insure the quality of the soup you work so hard to prepare. Treat the foods you cook in a safe manner, you will be rewarded with a good.safe quality product in the end.

Bacteria, or other germs, need time, food and moisture (or wetness) to grow; but they won't grow when the temperature of the food is *colder than 41º F or hotter than 140º F.* The temperatures in between 41º and 140º are in the "Danger Zone." Keep potentially hazardous foods out of the "Danger Zone!" For example, when food is left in the "Danger Zone", bacteria can grow fast, and make poisons that can make your customers and family very sick.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

ChefBilly    You could tell some people this all day long and it is to no avail. Edb


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

One other point often overlooked: time in the _danger zone_ is *cumulative!* That is, the clock runs while initially heating until the internal temperature exceeds 141°F, at which point it stops *but does not reset! *As soon as the temperature drops below 141°F, the clock starts where it left off and does not stop until the temperature drops below 41°F. If, and when, the temperature later exceeds 41°F, the clock starts again from where it left off.

Now, there *is* a certain temperature that will kill the bacteria but that is bacteria and food dependent.


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