Cooking Temperature Chart: What Low and Slow Can and Can't Do

What this article answers

What happens at which temperature

Meat sets from 50°C. Browning starts once the surface passes 100°C

What low and slow is good for

Tenderness and sweetness. It does nothing for browning

Making shank tender

85–95°C for 3–8 hours, or 60–65°C for 24–72 hours

Keeping potatoes from falling apart

Hold them at 55–60°C for 20–30 minutes before simmering

Making roasted sweet potatoes sweet

Let the inside pass slowly through 58–80°C

The thermometer in the pot reads 62°C (144°F). The meat has already started to set. The starch in the potatoes is starting to loosen, while root vegetables are actually getting firmer. Only browning won’t happen, however long you wait.

This article puts on one chart what happens at a given temperature, for any food, and what hasn’t happened yet.

What happens at each temperature

The inside of a food that holds water never goes above 100°C (212°F). Only a surface dried out by roasting, searing, or frying gets hotter, so there are two charts.

Inside the food, up to 100°C

Read across a row to see what happens together at that temperature. Read down a column to see where each change takes place. The temperature in parentheses is where the change in that cell happens. “Not yet” means it hasn’t started.

Food temperature	Meat, fish, eggs	Starch gelatinization	Collagen (sinew, skin)	Vegetable firmness	Browning	Fat
Below 40°C (104°F)	Not yet	Not yet	Not yet	Not yet	Not yet	Chicken fat starts to melt (30°C)
40–50°C (104–122°F)	Fish starts to set (44°C)	Not yet	Not yet	Not yet	Not yet	Beef fat starts to melt (40°C)
50–60°C (122–140°F)	Meat starts to set (50°C)	Wheat starts (52°C)	Not yet	Starts to firm (50°C)	Not yet	Melted
60–70°C (140–158°F)	Meat shrinks and juices start to run (66°C)	Rice starts (60°C)	Shrinks and toughens (65°C)	Firms	Not yet	Melted
70–80°C (158–176°F)	Meat shrinks sharply (70°C)	Rice finishes (77°C)	Dissolves little by little (70°C)	The firming enzyme stops (70°C)	Not yet	Melted
80–100°C (176–212°F)	Egg white fully set (80°C)	Even sweet potato finishes (83°C)	Dissolves over hours (85°C)	Softens (84°C)	Barely happens	Melted

Sources: meat, fish, and eggs from this site’s article on protein denaturation; starch from its article on gelatinization; collagen from its article on collagen turning to gelatin; vegetables from its article on cooking vegetables and from Anthon & Barrett (2006); browning from its article on the Maillard reaction; fat from its article on fat melting points.

The 62°C (144°F) from the opening falls in the 60–70°C row. The meat shrinks and its juices start to run, root vegetables firm up, and there is no browning yet. Food in a sous vide bag doesn’t brown, and that isn’t a failure. Browning simply doesn’t happen at this temperature.

On a dry surface, above 100°C

Dry surface temperature	Browning (Maillard reaction)	Sugar caramelizing
100–140°C (212–284°F)	Starts, but slowly	Not yet
140–170°C (284–338°F)	Clearly browns	Starts to color (150°C)
170–190°C (338–374°F)	Browns fast and deep (170°C)	Turns bitter (180°C)
190°C (374°F) and above	Scorches and turns bitter (190°C)	Burns black (190°C)

Sources: browning from this site’s article on the Maillard reaction; caramel from its article on caramelization.

Why the ranges vary by food

The same change starts at different temperatures in different foods. The temperatures in parentheses are typical values. Your food may be a few degrees either way.

Fish starts to set 5–6°C (9–11°F) lower than meat from land animals. The colder the water a fish lives in, the lower the temperature at which its muscle proteins unfold. Cook fish the way you cook meat, and the fish dries out first.

Each starch starts to gelatinize at its own temperature. Wheat starts at 52°C (126°F), potato starch at 55°C (131°F), tapioca at 56°C (133°F), sweet potato at 58°C (136°F), and rice at 60°C (140°F). Potato starch thickens a sauce before it boils because it starts to gelatinize at 55°C.

Which changes more time can push further

The changes in the chart fall into three groups by how they relate to time. Long, gentle cooking improves only the changes whose amount depends on time spent in a temperature range.

Meat and eggs stop setting once they reach temperature

Once the center of a piece of meat reaches the target temperature, its proteins more or less stop setting. Put meat in water just slightly hotter than the target core temperature, and it won’t overcook however long it sits.

So judge when meat, fish, and eggs are done by core temperature, not time. Even over low heat, once the center passes 66°C (151°F), the juices run out.

Tenderness and sweetness grow with time in a range

Cuts with a lot of sinew, like shank, turn meltingly tender in 3–8 hours at 85–95°C (185–203°F), or 24–72 hours at 60–65°C (140–149°F). At the lower temperature, given time, you get to the same place.

A roasted sweet potato gets sweeter the longer its inside stays at 58–80°C (136–176°F). In that range, an enzyme (β-amylase) cuts gelatinized starch into maltose, a sugar.

A sweet potato blasted in the microwave isn’t sweet because it rushes through that range in a few minutes.

Potatoes and root vegetables firm up only while they sit at 50–70°C (122–158°F). An enzyme active in that range links the pectin in their cell walls together with calcium. Hold them at 55–60°C (131–140°F) for 20–30 minutes before simmering, and they won’t fall apart.

Above 70°C (158°F) this enzyme stops, and from around 84°C (183°F) the vegetables start to soften.

Browning never happens at 100°C or below

While a surface is wet, its temperature stops at 100°C (212°F), because evaporating water carries the heat away. The Maillard reaction, which browns food, only visibly gets going once the surface water is gone and the temperature passes 100°C. The hotter it gets, the faster it goes. As long as there is water on the surface, turning up the heat won’t brown it.

That is why a stew doesn’t turn dark brown and a boiled egg never browns. When you want browning, don’t add time. Dry the surface.

Surface and center sit at different temperatures

While a steak cooks, the surface can easily be at 180°C (356°F) and the center at 55°C (131°F). Which chart to read depends on where in the food you measure.

Where you measure	Typical temperature	Which chart to read
The center of the food	50–95°C (122–203°F)	Inside the food
A wet surface (simmering, steaming, boiling)	Up to 100°C (212°F)	Inside the food. No browning yet
A dry surface (roasting, searing, frying)	140–200°C (284–392°F)	Dry surface

Sources: surface temperatures from this site’s articles on browning and moisture and on the Maillard reaction.

Frying works the same way. Even in 170°C (338°F) oil, the food inside the coating stays at or below 100°C as long as it holds water. Only the coating dries and browns, and the inside cooks as if steamed.

After you take it off the heat, the center of a thick piece keeps rising by a few degrees.

When the changes you want collide

In one dish, a change you want and a change you don’t can share the same temperature range. Then you adjust which range you pass through, and for how long.

Goal	Temperature range and time	What you give up
Lean beef cooked pink	Sear the surface of a whole piece; stop the center at 55–60°C (131–140°F)	The sinew won’t dissolve
Onsen tamago, a Japanese egg cooked slowly in hot water	65°C (149°F) for 30–40 minutes	The white won’t fully set
A browned steak with a pink center	Dry the surface and sear at 170°C (338°F) or more; stop the center at 55–60°C	Just under the surface overcooks
Deeply caramelized onions	Drive off the water first, then brown once the surface passes 100°C	Time to finish

Sources: this site’s articles on meat cooking temperatures, cooking eggs, the Maillard reaction, and caramelized onions.

Stopping the center at 55–60°C (131–140°F) is only for a whole piece of beef with a seared surface. For pork, chicken, ground meat, or beef served to children or older people, use the Japanese health ministry figure instead: a core of 75°C (167°F) held for 1 minute.

Dissolving sinew, sweetening sweet potatoes, and keeping potatoes whole are three changes you control by time in a range, not by temperature.

Each cuisine also works mostly in its own range. Chinese stir-frying heats a wok to about 250°C (482°F) and brings the inside of the ingredients up to about 80°C (176°F) in a short time. That gives both a seared aroma on the surface and crunch in the vegetables (heat control in Chinese cooking).

Japanese simmered dishes hold 85–95°C (185–203°F) so the food doesn’t fall apart. A French braise keeps the liquid at 82–88°C (180–190°F) for a long time to dissolve the sinew.

When the chart doesn’t apply

The chart gives values for food heated with only water. Under the conditions below, things don’t follow the chart.

Condition	How it differs from the chart
Egg mixture with a lot of sugar (custard, crème caramel)	Eggs set at a higher temperature
Firming with vinegar or salt (vinegar-cured mackerel)	The flesh turns white and firm without heat
Starch without enough water (rice not soaked first)	A hard core remains even at temperature
Wanting to reduce bacteria	Look at holding time, not temperature alone

Reading the range without a thermometer

You can see many of the changes in the chart. Watch how the food itself changes, and you can tell which range it has passed.

What you see in the food	Range it has passed
Fish flesh turns from translucent to opaque white	40–50°C (104–122°F): fish has started to set
Egg white turns from clear to cloudy white	57–62°C (135–144°F): egg white has started to set
Juices seep out of meat	66–73°C (151–163°F): meat has started to shrink
A skewer slides easily through sinew	3–8 hours at 85–95°C (185–203°F): sinew has dissolved
The surface browns and smells toasty	Above 100°C (212°F): the surface has dried. Fast above 140°C (284°F)

Sources: fish, egg, and meat temperatures from this site’s articles on protein denaturation and on cooking eggs; sinew from its article on collagen turning to gelatin.

Common failures and fixes

Falling apart and a lack of sweetness cannot be undone. No browning and tough meat can be fully fixed.

Problem	Cause	Fix it now	Prevent it next time
Potatoes or root vegetables fell apart	They went straight into boiling water and rushed through 50–70°C, where the enzyme that firms pectin works, so only the cell walls broke down	It can’t be undone. Mash what fell apart into a soup or use it to thicken the cooking liquid	Hold them at 55–60°C (131–140°F) for 20–30 minutes before simmering
The sweet potato isn’t sweet	It was baked hot and fast, so it rushed through 58–80°C, where the enzyme (β-amylase) turns starch into maltose	A baked sweet potato won’t get sweeter. Use it in a dish with sugar or syrup	Bake at 150–160°C (302–320°F) so the inside spends longer at 58–80°C
It won’t brown	Water stayed on the surface, and evaporation held the surface at 100°C	Take it out, wipe the surface dry, and return it to a well-heated pan	Wipe the surface dry before cooking, and don’t crowd the pan
Meat with a lot of sinew is tough	It was simmered too briefly, so the collagen shrank around 65°C and never turned to gelatin	Keep it at 80–95°C (176–203°F) and simmer 1–2 hours more	For shank, plan on 3–8 hours at 85–95°C

Low and slow helps tenderness and sweetness

• One temperature moves meat, starch, sinew, vegetables, browning, and fat all at once. At 62°C (144°F), meat starts to shrink, root vegetables firm up, and there is no browning yet
• Time decides how much sinew softens, how sweet a sweet potato gets, how well potatoes hold their shape, and how many bacteria die. Stop meat by core temperature, and get browning by drying the surface past 100°C