If you've ever burned your fingers on piping hot McDonald's fries on the drive home,
you know it can be hard to wait to eat your fast food. But there
are a few potential reasons you might not want to chow down en route. Think
about it. Perhaps you're driving or, maybe you’re bringing food home to your family…
"Food! Food! Food! Food!"
"Food! Food! Food!"
or maybe you just want to keep the interior of your car as squeaky clean as possible.
In any of those cases, it makes sense why you’d want to keep your meal hot on the way
home. However, the temperature of your food isn't just a matter of personal preference,
it’s also a health hazard if the hot or cold foods don’t arrive with
their respective temperatures intact according to the CDC.
There’s a reason people refer to the range between 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 140 degrees
Fahrenheit as the "danger zone”, and you don’t need to be a doctor to figure out why…
"I don’t have to say anything. I’m a doctor, too."
The government agency even recommends going as far as using a food thermometer to make sure whatever
you order arrives at an acceptable temperature. And while food delivery skyrocketed during the
pandemic, The Food Institute reports that the customers' primary criticism was lukewarm food.
So, you can avoid cold chicken nuggets and lukewarm burgers by picking them up yourself;
Let's take a look at how to become a pro at keeping your fast food hot on the drive
home. A crucial tactic to keep your hot food hot involves separating it from your colder
items. Let's say you get chicken nuggets, fries, and an Oreo McFlurry from McDonald's.
Although you may be tempted to toss everything on the back or passenger seat, it's smarter to keep
the nuggets and the fries together and place the Oreo McFlurry a safe distance away in a
cup holder or other container to ensure the ice cream doesn't melt while also cooling your food.
This is because, as OptimoRoute explains, heat easily transfers from hot to cold food
when the items are bagged together or placed next to one another. That
means if you don't properly separate the menu items and give them enough space,
you will be warming your cold food and cooling your hot food — a lose-lose situation.
"They say you get what you pay for. But sometimes, you get a whole lot more."
This rule is backed by the CDC, which says hot and cold foods shouldn't be near each other while
in transit. The government agency also advises keeping an eye on how long it takes for the food
to reach your house since certain ingredients can go bad if they sit out for too long.
If you'd really like to ensure your meal is piping hot,
you can buy insulated containers to package your hot or cold items,
which may be helpful when taking your fast food to a friend's house further away.
1st Class Sewing & Design recommends stainless steel containers for your hot
food because they’re great at conducting heat, although plastic or glass would work well too.
If you don't often find yourself in the position of needing to transport
fast food or you find yourself in a pinch, wrap the hot food in aluminum foil. This
will block the steam from getting out and should also do the trick,
although it probably won’t work as well for long distances, according to Cooler Spy.
That should take care of the nuggets and French fries, but how can you keep your McFlurry from
melting on the drive home? An insulated container can help with this too, but to keep foods cool,
Heating & Plumbing London recommends keeping your McFlurry company by stuffing your container with
ice packs and letting it sit in the freezer the night before you get your takeout.
If you haven't planned your fast food trip that far ahead,
you can also just use frozen water bottles, ice cubes, or even a wine cooler. At the very least,
make sure the temperature in your car isn't working against you.
When it comes to the A/C in your car, Route4Me recommends keeping the air
conditioner off to avoid accidentally cooling down your entire meal. The same would go for
the heater in the cooler months when you're trying to keep chilled or frozen foods cold.