Cooking Time and Temperature

Ingesting the wrong E. Coli bacteria can ruin your picnic. And your kidneys.

As the food we cook is generally meant to be fed to humans, making sure it is safe for consumption is important. Heating food to destroy harmful bacteria is a common way to reduce risk for foodborne illness. Controlling cooking time and temperature allow a cook to maintain acceptable safety while causing minimum damage to food texture and taste.

Background

There are two types of foodborne illness: infection and food poisoning.

Infection occurs when microorganisms directly penetrate the body and grow. Sometimes these organisms can also secrete toxins. Examples include salmonella, trichinella spiralis, E. coli (certain strands), Listeria monocytogenes, and prions like BSE (mad cow). Noninvasive infection primarily involve organisms such as the tapeworm that live inside humans and, while there, secrete toxins that do damage.

Food poisoning is caused by toxins already in the food. This causes the most rapid onset of symptoms (1-6 hours) as toxins are already present and no infection needs to happen. Examples include C. botulinum, Salmonella and Staphyloccus aureus.

The possibility of symptoms from both bacteria and their toxins is why we cannot leave meat sitting in our refrigerator for too long, cook it to a "recommended temperature", and then still eat it. We could kill the active microorganisms but their toxins wouldn't go away. Foodborne illness happens on many different foods, but most people don't cook things like vegetables to make them safe. As a result, this entire guide will focus on the other problem of killing bacteria before they have already contaminated meats.

Time and Temperature

Pasteurization depends on time and temperature. As temperature increases from freezing, bacteria thrive and multiply more rapidly up to a point where they start dying. For example, each 15.2 minutes at 130 degrees Fahrenheit kills 90% of intact Salmonella bacteria. At 140 degrees Fahrenheit, this happens every 2.76 minutes. Each time this 90% killing happens is called a decade reduction. So a 2D reduction is 99%, a 99.99% reduction is 4D, and so on. If that 15.2 minute reduction is 1D, then a 5D reduction would take 15.2x5 or 76 minutes, killing off 99.999% of bacteria.

General FDA recommendations for fresh food are to reach a reduction level of 6.5D, or 99.99997% of pathogens present. When we're cooking on the stovetop or in the oven, there is no way to have this level of control over keeping the food at a particular temperature throughout much less time its holding for pathogen reduction against the guidelines. When we cook sous vide, however, we can estimate the time it takes even the center of the food to reach a temperature, and hold it at a pasteurization temperature to achieve the recommended guidelines.

Cooking Charts and Tables

The tables below give a strategy for cooking and a guide for reducing the most common pathogens. To use them, select your food and source from the left column, then follow one of the guidelines. Use the color-coding to find the appropriate table to select your temperature-time combination.

Cooking Strategy

Guide to cooking time and temperature

Food	Cooking standard	Note
intact muscle (steaks or roasts) from: commerically farmed beef, pork, lamb, game duck or squab breasts ratites (ostrich, emu)	bring exterior to desired cooking temperature, hold for time specified in 6.5D reduction table. No time and temperature standard for interior	achieves a much higher pathogen reduction level than the FDA requires for beef steak. Not appropriate for wild game or other food that may harbor parasites. Not safe for mechnaically tenderized (impaled) food
wild game meat injected or marinated meats egg dishes (quiche, souffle) ground or minced fish, shellfish, or meats (including farmed game meat) pates, forcemeats, casseroles	cook core to the temperature provided in 6.5D reduction table	core temperature is appropriate for wild game or ground or mixed meats
tuna farmed salmon wahoo, dorado, mahi-mahi, marlin, swordfish, other blue-water fish that do not harbor anisakid nematodes freshwater fish	serve raw, or cook at any time-and-temperature combination	recommendation is valid only for fish species known not to contain parasitic nematodes
wild salmon cod, flounder, fluke, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, monkfihs, pollack, rockfish, sole, sea bass, turbot other inshore saltwater fish	prefreeze according to Simplified Fish freezing recommendations, then serve raw or cook at any temperature	the best temperature at which to cook fish for optimum taste and texture is generally less than that specified in food safety guidelines
	cook according to 6.5D reduction table
crab, lobster, shrimp	raw (if you started with a live crustacean)	raw crustaceans carry some contamination risk from seawater; this risk can be minimized or eliminated by hot-water blanching or by cooking the core to a temperature specified in the 6.5D table.
	blanch in hot water to cook exterior according to 6.5D reduction table, then cook at any temperature
	core temperature provided in 6.5 reduction table
poultry (whole)	core temperature provided in 6.5 reduction table
poultry (parts)	see [[ Simplified poultry table
clams, oysters, and other filter-feeding shellfish	raw (with some risk)	filter feeders can absorb pathogens from contaminated water
	core temperature according to 6.5 reduction table
eggs	raw (with some risk)	pasteurized eggs are the least risky and can be served in any style
	pasteurized
	core temperature provided in 6.5 reduction table
dairy pasteurization	for general dairy, refer to general dairy table in Modernist Cuisine	the recommendations given in the table are likely excessive but meet current standards
	for high-fat or sweet products (including ice cream), refer to the sweet/high-fat table in Modernist Cuisine

Time and Temperatures for Selected Foods

6.5D Salmonella Reduction Table

Extended and Simplified 6.5D Salmonella Reduction Table

°Celsius	°Fahrenheit	Time
52	125.6	5h 14m
52.2	126	4h 46m
52.8	127	3h 48m
53	127.4	3h 28m
53.3	128	3h 1m
53.9	129	2h 24m
54	129.2	2h 17m
54.4	130	1h 54m
55	131	1h 31m
55.6	132	1h 12m
56	132.8	1h
56.1	133	57m 31s
56.7	134	45m 44s
57	134.6	39m 51s
57.2	135	36m 22s
57.8	136	28m 55s
58	136.4	26m 23s
58.3	137	23m
58.9	138	18m 17s
59	138.2	17m 28s
59.4	139	14m 32s
60	140	11m 34s
60.6	141	9m 12s
61	141.8	7m 39s
61.1	142	7m 19s
61.7	143	5m 49s
62	143.6	5m 4s
62.2	144	4m 37s
62.8	145	3m 41s
63	145.4	3m 21s
63.3	146	2m 55s
63.9	147	2m 19s
64	147.2	2m 13s
64.4	148	1m 51s
65	149	1m 28s
65.6	150	1m 10s
66	150.8	58s
66.7	152	44s
67	152.6	39s
67.8	154	28s
68	154.4	26s
68.9	156	18s
70	158	11s
71.1	160	7.1s
72.2	162	4.5s
75	167	1.4s
76.7	170	0.7s
77	170.6	0.6s
79.4	175	0.23s
80	176	0.18s
82.2	180	0.07s
85	185	0.02s

Poultry

Poultry Breast °Celsius °Fahrenheit Time 55 131 39m 31s 55.6 132 36m 35s 56 132.8 34m 55s 56.1 133 34m 35s 56.7 134 33m 4s 57 134.6 32m 16s 57.2 135 31m 43s 57.8 136 30m 14s 58 136.4 29m 32s 58.3 137 28m 22s 58.9 138 25m 58s 59 138.2 25m 25s 59.4 139 22m 59s 60 140 19m 30s 60.6 141 15m 42s 61 141.8 12m 39s 61.1 142 11m 54s 61.7 143 8m 24s 62 143.6 6m 34s 62.2 144 5m 29s 62.8 145 3m 17s 63 145.6 2m 36s

Poultry Thigh °Celsius °Fahrenheit Time 55 131 1h 15m 55.6 132 57m 39s 56 132.8 48m 57s 56.1 133 47m 14s 56.7 134 40m 30s 57 134.6 37m 34s 57.2 135 35m 36s 57.8 136 32m 32s 58 136.4 31m 22s 58.3 137 29m 42s 58.9 138 27m 59 138.2 26m 27s 59.4 139 24m 8s 60 140 20m 56s 60.6 141 17m 24s 61 141.8 14m 27s 61.1 142 13m 42s 61.7 143 10m 5s 62 143.6 8m 5s 62.2 144 6m 51s 62.8 145 4m 15s 63 145.6 3m 24s

Fish

Fish Freezing Recommendations °Celsius °Fahrenheit Time Note -20 -4 7 days core temperature should be brought to specified temperatures and held here -35 -31 15 hours -35 to -20 -31 to -4 1 day Initial freezing to core temperature of -35°C/-31°F, then holding at -20°C/-4°F See Also Is it done yet? a food safety guide from the USDA. References Mhyrvold, Nathan et al. Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. Bellevue, Wash.: Cooking Lab, 2011. ISBN 9780982761007. Vol. I pages 110-112, 192-194. Baldwin, Douglas E. Sous Vide For the Home Cook. Incline Village, Nev.: Paradox Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9844936-0-9