How long does food continue to “cook” after you take it out of the oven?
In: Other
It depends on the food, the oven temperature, and the temperature gradient of the food itself.
Basically, your oven only can heat the edges of the food, and then that heat must travel through the food. As such the edges are always hotter than the core. After you pull out your cooked item, that edge temperature still carries to the center, although it also dissipates out to the kitchen air, so you may sometimes cover the item with foil to force more of it to move internally.
If you use a high temperature, then the edge will be that much warmer than the center (also meaning it’s more overcooked), so there’s more room for carryover cooking. If you cook at a lower temperature, there’s less difference between the edge and the target temperature, so there’s less carry over cooking.
The effect is also higher the bigger the object is in all dimensions. A pizza may be wide and long, but it’s very thin, so there’s less distance between the top and the middle, meaning less carry over effect. A roast is much thicker in all dimensions, so carry over has more effect.
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