> Anahita asked:
> >  How long do you leave something out of the refrigerator until it
> >  comes to room temperature.
> >
> >  I realize that there are variables, such as how cold the item was to
> >  begin with (a fridge can range from, what? 34 to 40 degrees
> >  Fahrenheit?), and what the temperature of the room is (since it's
> >  winter, my current room temperature is around 64 degrees).
>
> Stefan li Rous responded:
> >I think you left off one even more important variable. How big the frozen
> >chunk of meat is.
>
> Actually i didn't leave this information out, as this is not what i
> was asking about.
>
> I thought i was clear in my original message, as i specified
> "refrigerator" and a beginning temperature of between 34 and 40
> degrees F.
>
> This is definitely not the freezer and not frozen at 32 degrees F. or
> colder (aren't freezers supposed to be around 28 degrees F.?).
>
> I meant what i said,
> and i said what i meant
> An Anahita is as specific as she can be,
> and tries to get close to 100 per cent :-)

But the size and shape of the object DOES matter. The larger something is, the
longer the center will take to warm up, and the more globular it is, the more
even the pattern of warming.

> So, any estimates of how long it takes to bring something out of the
> refrigerator at a temperature of somewhere around 34 to 40 degrees
> Fahrenheit up to room temperature, which as i said in my original
> message, is around 64 degrees Fahrenheit?
>
> An hour? Two hours? Three hours?
>
> I just want to serve something at room temperature that needs to be
> kept in the refrigerator until some time before serving, i'll say,
> "cheese spread", or a cooked dish of some sort that is best served at
> room temp., something whose flavor or texture is improved by not
> being at refrigerator temperature.

A small chunk of cheese can come to RT in half an hour. A 5 lb roast beef
(which should be RT before it goes in the oven) will take substantially longer.

Avraham

****************************************
Avraham haRofeh of Northpass (soon to be "of Sudentur")
     (mka Randy Goldberg MD)