When using a bottom-to-top shelving order, what determines the best placement of food in a cooler

Storing cooked food safely

When you have cooked food and want to cool it:

• Put hot food into shallow dishes or separate into smaller portions to help cool the food as quickly as possible.
• Don't put very hot food into the refrigerator. Wait until steam has stopped rising from the food before putting it in the fridge.

Avoid refreezing thawed food

Food poisoning bacteria can grow in frozen food while it is thawing, so avoid thawing frozen food in the temperature danger zone. Keep defrosted food in the fridge until it is ready to be cooked. If using a microwave oven to defrost food, cook it immediately after defrosting.

As a general rule, avoid refreezing thawed food. Food that is frozen a second time is likely to have higher levels of food poisoning bacteria. The risk depends on the condition of the food when frozen, and how the food is handled between thawing and refreezing. Raw food should never be refrozen once thawed.

Store raw food separately from cooked food

Raw food and cooked food should be stored separately in the fridge. Bacteria from raw food can contaminate cold cooked food, and the bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels if the food is not cooked thoroughly again.

Always store raw food in sealed or covered containers at the bottom of the fridge. Keep raw foods below cooked foods, to avoid liquid such as meat juices dripping down and contaminating the cooked food.

Choose strong, non-toxic food storage containers

Make sure your food storage containers are clean and in good condition, and only use them for storing food. Cover them with tight-fitting lids, foil or plastic film to minimise potential contamination. Transfer the contents of opened cans into suitable containers.

If in doubt, throw it out!

Throw out high-risk food left in the temperature danger zone for more than 4 hours - don't put it in the fridge and don't keep it for later. Check the use-by dates on food products and discard out-of-date food. If you are uncertain of the use-by date, throw it out.

Where to get help

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You've nailed the perfect sheet-pan roasted potatoes, but when it comes to inserting a tray (or three) of chocolate chip cookies into the oven, you're suddenly unsure which rack height you should be using for the best results. Sound familiar?

No matter your culinary skill level, this is a question many cooks are confused about. Basically, there is a short and a long answer. The simple solution: When in doubt, keep the oven rack adjusted to the middle position; this works fine for most cooking and baking situations.

That said, certain situations benefit from varying the position. This is related to how ovens are engineered and how they source and distribute heat. Most have dual heating sources: one at the base of the oven and one at the top. Because hot air rises, the top of the oven tends to be consistently hotter. However, the lower heating element heats in bursts so it may swing hotter, then cooler as you cook. This is because (typically) both elements heat up when we preheat the oven, but once it has reached the desired temperature, the bottom source is the one that will periodically kick in to maintain the internal temperature.

Here are some basic guidelines for when to mix it up.

This position is ideal for using a broiler, as this heating element is situated at the top of the oven. Broil foods you want to char or crisp quickly, like garlic bread, casseroles, and anything covered in melted cheese. Just keep a close eye on them, because it's very easy to burn foods when broiling. The top rack is also handy when you're baking two sheets of cookies simultaneously; keep one sheet in the middle of the oven and the other at the top, then switch the sheets midway through cooking. (You may need to add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time to offset the crowded oven.)

The default position. It's ideal for most foods since it situates the item in the middle of the oven, allowing the hot air to circulate evenly around the food, resulting in even cooking. Use this for a single tray of cookies, sheet-pan dinners, fish, brownies, banana bread, and so on.

This position affords close proximity to the heat source that maintains heat as you cook, making it perfect for pizza or other flatbreads that require a short exposure to intense temperatures. It may lack the intensity of a wood-burning oven, but it comes closer than the middle rack. Don't forget to move your pizza to the top rack for a quick broil before serving (your A+ cheese pull will thank you).

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