Leaving the food out to cool off after cooking

Some facts seem to be getting mixed up here.

Hot food is going to remain "warm" (i.e. in the danger zone) much longer if you leave it on the counter rather than in the fridge. That's basic physics. If the ambient temperature is colder, then the food will stay warm for less time, leaving less time for bacteria to grow.

There are reasons not to pop a huge boiling pot directly into the refrigerator, or more importantly the freezer, but they mostly revolve around the side effects - notably, that it will warm up other food, accelerating spoilage of everything else in there, and in some cases be very hard on your appliance (which needs to run at full tilt in order to handle all the heat).

Assuming you've got your food divided into small portions, you'll want to refrigerate them as soon as possible, or use an ice bath to cool them even faster as Jason mentions.

Based on the guidance my friendly local health department has given me, you need to get things to the right temperature as fast as possible to minimize bacterial growth, generally within four hours after it has been out, for "potentially hazardous food."

This means that you need to figure out a strategy to chill food within that timeframe. Items that are too big and too hot to cool below the "danger zone" within this time require a more complex approach than "leave it out until it cools" or "stick it in the refrigerator right away." The most practical option in such a case is to place the food in shallow containers or sealed plastic bags, then place that in an "ice bath". An ice bath is just ice and water. You may need to replace the ice bath a few times if the ice melts too quickly without reaching the target temperature.

Another reason not to put hot food in the fridge can be that, if there is no lid on the pan that closes it off well, huge amounts of water will likely condensate all over the interior of your fridge. Other foods will get wet, and stains may develop.

I leave my hot food (usually stews or soups) out (things like steaks and such go right in, covered), for a while, for a number of reasons:

1. A 'skin' forms over the top of the liquid, preventing evaporation via steaming, which creates a cooling effect.

2. I stir the pot frequently, bringing the hottest food out of the center, allowing it to cool faster.

3. I don't want to put hot food in the refrigerator, it will tend to warm up the other foods already in there.

4. I like to cover the food once it's in the refrigerator. If I put a pot in uncovered, the chances are fairly good that I'll forget about it and have dried glop the next day.