Saving leftovers - pop into the fridge immediately? Wait until they cool to room temp? Wife says the latter, and I say the former. that might have been a good rule when fridges were week and couldn't handle the extra heat load.

I am a fan of listening to the wife...... But I personally wait til the leftovers cool down first.

Thank goodness for this question. I left half a pie sitting on the sink waiting to cool down.

Obviously I'm from the "cool it first" school. Now, excuse me, while I go and wrap it in Alfoil and chuck it in the cooler.

I used to always let things cool off first until I was "corrected" by my kids who said that refrigerators are efficient enough to handle warm items now. Letting cooked food sit out allows "things" to grow and mutate on the food, at least that's what the kids said.
I put it in the fridge if and when I remember to. I've lived this long........

Yes, you can put it in your fridge right away. And yes, your fridge can handle it. But why make it have to handle it, and use the extra electricity to do so. Putting hot food in your fridge raises the temperature and then the fridge needs to kick on to cool it.

I usually cook enough for two days at a time when I cook. (A domestic goddess, I am not. I am all for less time cooking and fewer pot and pans to wash.) I let it cool down, before putting it in the fridge. I may not let it get to room temperature, but I do let it cool sufficiently.

Dear KB,

Well I did not even KNOW that the refrigerators were able to handle the extra heat load now, so I have been waiting for leftovers to cool down...all these years...

I would say get 'em in the fridge as soon as you can, then.

ASAP refrigeration is the overwhelming guideline on the internet.

Personally, I am content to at least wait until I am finished eating before doing so---which may take up to an hour since I like frequently like to meat, vegetables, etc in sequence rather than having them all on my plate at the same time.

And also, I prefer that certain foods like pancakes and french toast lose some of their excess moisture before I put them in a Ziploc type bag.

Here's a site that has some excellent comments by various people about the whole issue:  http://www.chowhound.com/post/wait-til-food-cools-completely-refrigerating-303264