42
votes
Accepted
How can I seal a crack in a teapot in a foodsafe manner?
Potter here. Those cracks are very bad, and are the kind that will continue to spread each time the teapot heats and cools; I doubt you have too many uses before it falls apart entirely. You should ...
- 61.4k
37
votes
Can I drink black tea that’s 13 years past its best by date?
If the tea still smells fine and looks fine – dry, no visible change in colour or growth of any anything on the tea – then it should be safe to consume. After such a long time the flavour is likely to ...
- 11.9k
32
votes
Accepted
Is this yellow substance on my chicken meat a fat deposit, and is it ok?
According to this website (linked below) yellow fat is a good thing! Says it's
"the result of a grass-based diet which is high in chlorophyll.
The cartenoid beta carotene in the grass is the ...
- 362
31
votes
Can a sealed jar be unsafe?
It's completely possible. Sealing by itself doesn't preserve the food, effective processing does, then the seal keeps it from regaining any microbes which could cause spoilage.
If your food is sealed ...
- 75.4k
24
votes
Accepted
Best way to deal with drying dishware to minimize hazards?
The only important part here is to not seal water in the container.
You can either let it air dry, or use a clean cloth to dry it.
If you have a problem with your dishes and glasses having a white ...
- 80k
22
votes
Is this yellow substance on my chicken meat a fat deposit, and is it ok?
Home grown, free roaming, chicken can be recognized by those yellow deposits of fat, and by its meat being more firm to the bite, due to the muscles being actually used during the roaming.
Source: I ...
- 1,135
22
votes
Accepted
Silicone food molds that have been used to prepare (caustic soap): Safe for use with food again?
I think it sounds fine.
Strong acids and bases do their thing by dissolving into water. They are highly soluble. Once diluted through rinsing, they’re not really a problem. (A dishwasher would be ...
- 26.9k
21
votes
When does a spatula or spoon become sterile during cooking?
Making stuff sterile, in the medical sense, i.e. pathogen-free, is incredibly hard. You basically need an autoclave, and of course tools that withstand prolonged exposure to high pressure steam at ...
- 319
20
votes
Accepted
Is a garlic bulb which is coloured brown on the outside safe to eat?
Your garlic is fine, some discoloration of the outside layers is normal. When garlic is lifted out of the ground it's covered in dirt and the outer layers are brown. Garlic is then cured (it's just ...
- 75.4k
16
votes
Accepted
Japan Pufferfish preparation technique training
You are saying it yourself: since fugu preparation is no place for DIY, you won't find general resources on how to learn to prepare it, because easily available resources would be a prompt for DIY ...
- 1,135
16
votes
Accepted
Why can't you use lard or dripping in an electric deep fat fryer?
I’m going to use the manual for my Bella 1.5L Deep Fryer as an example. There are two different kinds of reasons: the superficial reason, and the underlying reason.
The superficial reason is a ...
- 1,227
15
votes
Are there any food safety concerns related to food produced in countries with an ongoing war in it?
Explosives and shrapnel are going to be a problem for farmers for years after the war as they deal with an ‘iron harvest’ (plowing up mines and unexploded ordinance especially, but also whatever else ...
- 80k
15
votes
Should I refrigerate or freeze unopened canned food items?
If you can keep the temp below 85 °F (30 °C) you should be fine. There is no harm in placing your cans in the refrigerator, and I think this would be your best bet if you have the space. I would not ...
- 73.8k
14
votes
Accepted
What temperature should pre cooked salmon be heated to?
If any food-- salmon or not-- has been prepared such that it is safe to eat, and it has been stored in a way that it is still safe to eat, the temperature it should be reheated to is simply 'as ...
- 1,234
14
votes
Can a sealed jar be unsafe?
Yes, it's possible. If the soup is producing gas and smelling bad, then it's bad, even if it hasn't popped the seal yet.
- 61.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Swollen meat packages (modified atmosphere packaging)
Now you've punctured it you don't have a week. It was packaged in a protective atmosphere, & you've broken the seal… not to mention, of course, that if it was continuing to increase in pressure, a ...
- 29.7k
13
votes
Too much nutmeg?
I think (pending a bit more digging through the literature) that for an acutely toxic dose you would need to be consuming something in the order of all of the nutmeg you put into your whole dish ...
- 13.9k
13
votes
Accepted
When does a spatula or spoon become sterile during cooking?
Bacteria will not multiply and may begin to die once the temperature is over 140F (60C), but that doesn't make the situation risk free. Once at 212F (100C) you can be sure that you are killing ...
- 73.8k
11
votes
How do you clean mussel shells for serving appetizers at a wedding?
Mussel shells are robust. Hot water, soap and a brush will work fine. If you have a lot the dish-washer is an option as well.
- 896
11
votes
Silicone food molds that have been used to prepare (caustic soap): Safe for use with food again?
I use my own homemade soap to clean dishes on occasion. In particular I usually let my mixer bowl, measuring cups etc. stand overnight after a batch of soap, with the residue still in them, and clean ...
- 605
10
votes
Accepted
Are frozen berries safe in overnight oats?
In your scenario the berries never go above fridge temperature so there are no safety concerns.
- 11.9k
9
votes
Accepted
Do tealight holding dishes keep food at a safe temperature?
In the context of serving things domestically, those candle-heated food warmers can be good. But they might not keep the temperature uniformly high enough for long enough.
It depends on too many ...
- 43.8k
9
votes
Is a garlic bulb which is coloured brown on the outside safe to eat?
Dirt, or oxidation would explain the brown color (dirt if it's always been this way, oxidation if it's changed. Garlic grows in the dirt, and if it's not harvested early enough to have plenty of dirty ...
- 15.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Can I eat food with a bit of mold if I treat it for X minutes in the microwave?
No.
In many cases, it's not the mould (or bacteria etc.) itself that poisons you, it's toxins released by the pathogen. Killing the mould doesn't say anything about what happens to the toxins, any ...
- 43.8k
8
votes
Best way to deal with drying dishware to minimize hazards?
Bacteria and molds need 3 things in the right amount to thrive:
nutrients
water
temperature
If you don't let water go away from the surface, you are just relying on the lack of nutrients, which won'...
- 1,135
8
votes
Best way to deal with drying dishware to minimize hazards?
Frame challenge:
It sounds like you expect hazardous bacteria or other contaminants to form on your dishes if you expose the inside of the glass bowl to the environment (like air or a kitchen towel).
...
- 1,248
8
votes
Accepted
Is MAPP gas safe for searing meat and Creme Brulee etc?
Propane and butane are very commonly used fuels in kitchen torches, MAPP gas is less common but can also be used on food. Propane burns hotter than butane, and MAPP gas is even hotter, so if you're ...
- 75.4k
8
votes
Can a sealed jar be unsafe?
You are using a process known as "canning". (That you are using jars rather than cans is mostly immaterial; the purpose and principles of the process are the same.)
Canning preserves food by ...
- 327
7
votes
Too much nutmeg?
That's really up to you and your risk tolerance. As you've correctly assessed, there aren't many studies on toxicity levels of nutmeg, particularly not of toxicity when cooked in food. As such, the ...
- 61.4k
7
votes
Was our chicken the correct temperature?
It's perfectly safe. If it's pre-cooked then it is safe to eat cold, hot or lukewarm. It's true that room temperature is the happy range for the microbes that cause foodborne illness to grow, but that ...
- 75.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible