Kitchen handbook

Why jars of meat and garlic in oil are more dangerous than any spoiled milk — and how to stay safe.

The range where bacteria in food multiply fastest, and the two-hour rule.

Why cooked rice left at room temperature can poison you even after refrying.

When a raw egg in a recipe is an acceptable risk, and when it is better to pasteurize.

The chemistry of the browned crust on meat and bread — and why it never happens in water.

How caramelization differs from Maillard, and why onions take half an hour, not five minutes.

Why you do not cut a steak right away, and what carryover cooking is.

The internal temperature for each doneness — with the carryover allowance.

Minimum doneness temperatures for every kind of meat, fish and ground meat.