point of ice).- 130°F (52°C): Medium-rare steak. Also the temperature at
which most bacteria begin to die, though it can take
upward of 2 hours to safely sterilize food at this
temperature. - 150°F (64°C): Medium-well steak. Egg yolks begin to
harden, egg whites are opaque but still jelly-like. Fish
proteins will tighten to the point that white albumin will be
forced out, giving fish like salmon an unappealing layer of
congealed proteins. After about 3 minutes at this
temperature, bacteria experience a 7 log reduction—which
means that only 1 bacteria will remain for every million
that were initially there). - 160° to 180°F (71° to 82°C): Well-done steak. Egg
proteins fully coagulate (this is the temperature to which
most custard- or egg-based batters are cooked to set them
fully). Bacteria experience a 7 log reduction within 1
second. - 212°F (100°C): The boiling point of water (or the
condensation point of steam). - 300°F (153°C) and above: The temperature at which the
Maillard browning reactions—the reactions that produce
deep brown, delicious crusts on steaks or loaves of bread
—begin to occur at a very rapid pace. The hotter the
temperature, the faster these reactions take place. Since
these ranges are well above the boiling point of water, the
crusts will be crisp and dehydrated.
SOURCES OF ENERGY AND