# Does the water have to be at temp before putting food in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Anova Precision® Cooker\ **Created:** [November 26, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-the-water-have-to-be-at-temp-before-putting-food-in/1265 "2016-11-26T09:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Josie77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cc9497/32.png) [@Josie77](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Josie77)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-the-water-have-to-be-at-temp-before-putting-food-in/1265/1 "2016-11-26T09:37:37Z")
I was wondering if the water needs to be at temp before putting food in and if it does how does the WiFi app work ? I wanted to put food in before I go to work and then switch it on before I come home can I do this ? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![john.jcb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/john.jcb/32/7269_2.png) [@john.jcb](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/john.jcb)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-the-water-have-to-be-at-temp-before-putting-food-in/1265/2 "2016-11-26T21:42:03Z")
I have the original units that were ll manual so I can’t comment on your Wi-Fi questions. When I have a lot to do I normally start out with hot tap water then turn on the Anova set to my desired temperature then put the food in while it is heating. If I am doing meats I do not worry too much about adding extra time. For vegetables I add about 15 minutes as it needs to get to a higher temperature, I would worry about spoilage if food was kept at room temperature all day. Bacteria that remain toxic even after cooking may multiply extremely fast as the day goes on. ---
**Author:** ![Josie77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cc9497/32.png) [@Josie77](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Josie77)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-the-water-have-to-be-at-temp-before-putting-food-in/1265/3 "2016-11-26T22:11:13Z")
Thanks john ---
**Author:** ![HunterC](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/hunterc/32/878_2.png) [@HunterC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/HunterC)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-the-water-have-to-be-at-temp-before-putting-food-in/1265/4 "2016-11-27T17:39:44Z")
Hey @Josie77! The water doesn’t need to be at temp, what a lot of people do when the want to prepare their meals in advance is make what we call and “ice-bath”. Basically what you do is put what ever food you want to cook, let’s say it is chicken, all prepared in your bag with spices into your container, but filled will ice and water. This ensures that the chicken stays at a cool enough temperature to not have food safety concerns leaving it out. You can then leave, so go work, live you life etc. Then when you are about an hour or two out from being home, you press start on your wifi app (make sure you plug your unit in before you leave your house). It will start warming up the water, and it will heat it all up from there so that when you get home your chicken is perfectly cooked! Let me know if that helps answer you question! ---
**Author:** ![Josie77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cc9497/32.png) [@Josie77](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Josie77)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-the-water-have-to-be-at-temp-before-putting-food-in/1265/5 "2016-11-27T18:23:01Z")
Brilliant that’s exactly what I needed . thanks .can’t wait for mine to arrive