Definition, use, and examples of the word residual heat.
For further reading, check out “Go green and use residual heat when cooking” by Sylvia Tan for The Straits Times.
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I’m Jenn de la Vega and this is your culinary word of the day.
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Today’s word is residual heat
It is spelled...R-E-S-I-D-U-A-L space H-E-A-T.
According to “What’s Cooking America,”
Residual Heat or Carry-over cooking is caused by residual heat transferring from the hotter exterior of the meat to the cooler center. As a general rule, the larger and thicker the cut of meat, and the higher the cooking temperature, the more residual heat will be in the meat, and the more the internal temperature will rise during resting due to carry-over cooking. This means the meat must be removed from the heat at an internal temperature lower than your desired final internal temperature, allowing the residual heat to finish the cooking.”
Remember, the steak will continue to cook as it sets. The temperature will rise to 125 degrees F. to 130 degrees F. internal temperature (medium rare) at 15 to 20 minutes. So, pay attention to how long you let the cooked steak sit before serving!
“Meat will continue to cook even after it has been removed from the heat source, a phenomenon known as “carryover cooking. This happens for two reasons: First, the exterior of a large roast gets hot much more quickly than the interior. Second, because heat always moves from a hotter to a cooler area, as long as there is a difference in temperature between the two regions, heat will keep moving from the surface to the center even after you remove the meat from the heat source. This transfer will slow, and eventually stop, as internal and external temperatures approach each other and even out. But the process can result in a significant increase in temperature at the center of a large roast, bringing it from a perfect pink to a disappointing gray.”
Susan Denzer of Love + Craft Kitchen adds,
“Slow cooked foods at low temperatures do not require a resting period because the energy is more evenly distributed throughout the cooking process. Carryover cooking temperature increases may only be a few degrees.”
Finally, Bec Lloyd of Unyucky.com says,
“Cakes and cookies will set firmer as the residual heat inside cooks that dough-y centre and as they cool, the sugary, sticky bonds that hold them together will become stronger.
When you turn the oven off, the temperature stays high for a long time as the heat gradually seeps away. This residual heat can be used for cooking many things. Each oven is different; some retain heat for longer while others lose it very quickly. After I’ve roasted a chicken for an hour, I can turn the oven off and chuck in a tray of cookies that needs no more than 10 minutes to bake.
The residual heat does this effectively. Some vegetable side dishes can be cooked in residual heat. Dishes awaiting serving can go back into a warm oven. I often use the residual heat of the oven to cheat at helping a bread dough rise. Not a hot oven, mind you. But when it has gone down to about 100 or so, I put my bowl of covered dough in there with the door ajar.
For further reading, check out “Go green and use residual heat when cooking” by Sylvia Tan for The Straits Times.
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I’m Jenn de la Vega and this has been your culinary word of the day.
Next time on Culinary Word of the day, your culinary desires.
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