Library · Cooling · Federal model code

How do you cool 40 gallons of product after service with no blast chiller?

Verified answer

Cool in the kettle using an ice paddle or cold-water jacket to reach 70°F within two hours, then transfer to covered containers no deeper than four inches for stage two. If the kettle cannot hold the rate, split across two kettles rather than into pans. Never load more than about a third of a walk-in’s rack space with hot product at once, and verify box temperature 30 minutes after loading.

Commonly wrong

"Divide into shallow pans and place in the walk-in" meets the code on paper. Forty gallons is roughly 30 hotel pans, the rack space does not exist after service, and the load puts everything else in the box at risk.

Conditions this applies to

Post-event breakdown, 40 gallons single batch, two cooks, one shared walk-in, no blast chiller

Operational findings are valid only under the conditions stated. They are advisory, not compliance failures.

Citation and review