Should you put hot food directly into the refrigerator?

There is not much interest and a lot of controversy surrounding the question of whether to put hot food directly into the refrigerator.

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If food is placed in a low-temperature environment, it will help reduce spoilage and minimize bacterial growth. However, in a high-temperature environment, bacteria can be killed but is not suitable for food preservation. Therefore, people often use refrigerators to store daily food.

However, many people still do not know whether to put hot food in the refrigerator or not. People are afraid that different temperatures will cause the food to lose nutrients and possibly spoil quickly.


It is better to let the food cool down before putting it in the refrigerator for longer storage.

Bad effect on health

When hot food is suddenly put in the refrigerator, it can lead to the food being “thermal shock”. This action unintentionally creates many harmful bacteria, making the food easily contaminated and spoiled. At this point, you need to immediately remove this food, because if you accidentally eat it in the long run, it is very harmful to your health.

In addition, putting hot food in plastic utensils will create many chemical reactions that transform the food, posing a great threat to your health and your family’s health.

Loss of nutrients

Other food can also be eroded, lose nutritional value if placed next to the hot food in the refrigerator. In addition, leaving hot food in the refrigerator can also raise the temperature inside the cabinet higher than the required temperature. This affects the cold storage process, thereby causing food to spoil and deteriorate.


The food will lose its flavor and create an environment for bacteria to grow when it is still hot and put in the refrigerator.

Additional costs

The refrigerator will consume more energy than usual when cooling quickly to cool the food. This also means that the electricity bill will increase, and there will be additional household expenses.

In addition, you have to trade off between putting hot food in the refrigerator and spending more money on repairs. Because when operating at high capacity for a long time, the refrigerator will deteriorate and break down.

Reducing the life span of the refrigerator

If hot food is put into the refrigerator, the temperature inside the cabinet will increase faster. After the food cools, the refrigerator will start the motor to adjust the temperature in the cabinet back to the originally set temperature. Starting and cooling off quickly like that can quickly reduce the lifespan of the refrigerator.

At the same time, the hot steam from food can deform the refrigerator shelves, making the cabinet downgrade and lose its aesthetics.


The hot steam from food can reduce the life span of the refrigerator.

Some tips for properly storing food in the refrigerator

After the food has just finished boiling, you should wait about 10 – 15 minutes for the food to cool down to about 70-80 degrees Celsius before putting it in the refrigerator for storage. At the same time, to avoid harmful bacteria, you should put food in a sealed box with a lid. If possible, use glass containers and divide the food into smaller containers to help the refrigerator cool faster.

Absolutely do not put food that has just been boiled into the refrigerator, and it must be tightly closed, avoiding the hot steam spreading throughout the cabinet and helping the neighboring foods avoid cross-contamination of bacteria. In addition, you should not put too much hot food in the refrigerator at once. Because this action makes the food spoil very quickly.

According to VTC News

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