What cooking method requires food to reach 145°F for four minutes?

Roasting is indeed the cooking method that requires food to reach an internal temperature of 145°F and be held at that temperature for a minimum of four minutes to ensure that harmful pathogens are killed, making the food safe to eat. This temperature and time combination helps to effectively reduce the risk of foodborne illness by adequately cooking proteins like pork, lamb, and beef, which can harbor bacteria that pose health risks.

While boiling, grilling, and steaming also involve cooking food and can reach sufficient temperatures to ensure safety, roasting specifically emphasizes not just reaching the temperature but maintaining it for a designated period to further ensure the destruction of pathogens. The focus on both temperature and duration is critical in achieving food safety standards set by food safety guidelines.