Can food cooked by the sous vide method spoil once vacuum packed?
I sous vide spaghetti squash. I, then, vacuum pack the squash. Finally, I forget to put it in the freezer so it sits at room temperature for a day.
3
-
So it's still in the vacuum bag it was sous vide in? You might've pasteurized it, but I have no idea if it'd be to he point where it's shelf stable.– JoeSep 10, 2018 at 14:21
-
1He couldn't have really "pasteurized" it since he handled it in non-sterile conditions after he cooked it.– MaxWSep 10, 2018 at 16:26
-
Mere pasteurization is not sufficient. The shelf-stable packages you see in the stores are sealed tightly in mylar bags and sterilized under pressure, and/or with radiation. You could probably do the former at home, but you'd need a chamber vacuum sealer capable of sealing a retort pouch and a pressure canner.– Lee Daniel CrockerSep 10, 2018 at 16:40
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
Yes, it can both spoil and be unhealthy, even deadly. The micro organisms and toxins they can produce were there before you put it the bag and vacuum sealed it to cook it sous vide. If the temperature you cooked it at was not high enough to kill the micro organisms and destroy their toxins, they are still there. Just vacuum packing it a second time then leaving the package at room temperature has changed nothing. The food can still spoil and still make you sick or kill those who consume it. Leaving it at room temperature has allowed them to multiply/grow.
