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Today's Diane Rehm show--about how Ecoli can kill people or make them sick got me to thinking. One of the guests said something like "We don't know how to make a head of lettuce safe."
I think that the US as a melting pot of cultures may be able to learn something about food preparation from the Caribbean and the Middle East. Food contamination is not recent to my knowledge and for decades almost weekly someone in the US gets sick from stuff like listeria, salmonella or E. coli.
While the bacteria themselves may not make people sick; the waste products that the bacteria produce can be toxic to the kidney, liver and other organs. Therefore, I think that in addition to other methods, it makes sense to use vinegar in food preparation.
Meat:
In my family (from the Caribbean) we rinse all meat, poultry and fish after removing it from the package and defrost it in a bath of vinegar and water. Sometimes we add salt and spices such as garlic to the bath. After the meat's defrosted, we pour off the liquid and then marinate with spices. I was never sure why my mom did this as a child. We assumed it was for the taste since I can definitely taste the "raiche" (unfresh) taste in meats that are prepared differently. But apparently this method of food preparation also removes pathogens from the meat.
Vegetables:
I love Middle Eastern food! A lot of salads from the Middle East and Middle-eastern influenced cultures in Spain and Italy are made with vinegar and lemon juice. These acids are mixed with the cut up vegetables and spices and sometimes left to sit for a while before being eaten.
In addition to properly washing fresh fruits and vegetables, I believe preparing them with vinegar can also reduce the amount of possibly harmful bacteria to numbers that the body can fight off by itself.
My family has been using Vinegar to rise all raw foods for at least the last 120 years that we can find. Recipes from my great great Grandmothers from Italy and Mexico call for cleaning meats and vegetables in a bath of water and vinegar before preparation. A lot of the old ways need to be looked at and resurected culturally.
Still food safety world wide has never in the history of human kind ever been better.
Very interesting. I have also heard of people spraying with hydrogen peroxide, then rinsing.
How much white vinegar would one add to a dishpan of water to soak vegetables?
Very interesting. I have also heard of people spraying with hydrogen peroxide, then rinsing.
How much white vinegar would one add to a dishpan of water to soak vegetables?
I think vinegar makes better tasting salad dressing. LOL Its probably also safer if you ingest it by accident.
I am not sure if there's a minimum effective concentration of vinegar solution to use when initially rinsing vegetables, but you can do a search on Google to find reputable sources for the information. In order to search for government-published articles on Google, I recommend the following steps:
1. 1. Input the search terms as you would normally.
2. 2. After the search terms, include the term: site:.gov
Adding the "keyword" site: allows you to specify the website or portion of the website that you want results to come from. Speicifying .gov will avoid a lot of commercial websites that may contain incorrect or misleading information, or be links to phishig For example, I could type the following into Google if I only wanted to find tshirts listed on amazon.com: tshirt site:amazon.com
It is probably equally important to rub or agitate the produce (w/o bruising) to dislodge the little microbes. You should probably rinse off the produce at least once to wash away the excess bacteria and their harmful byproducts as well.
I think vinegar makes better tasting salad dressing. LOL Its probably also safer if you ingest it by accident.
I am not sure if there's a minimum effective concentration of vinegar solution to use when initially rinsing vegetables, but you can do a search on Google to find reputable sources for the information. In order to search for government-published articles on Google, I recommend the following steps:
1. 1. Input the search terms as you would normally.
2. 2. After the search terms, include the term: site:.gov
Adding the "keyword" site: allows you to specify the website or portion of the website that you want results to come from. Speicifying .gov will avoid a lot of commercial websites that may contain incorrect or misleading information, or be links to phishig For example, I could type the following into Google if I only wanted to find tshirts listed on amazon.com: tshirt site:amazon.com
It is probably equally important to rub or agitate the produce (w/o bruising) to dislodge the little microbes. You should probably rinse off the produce at least once to wash away the excess bacteria and their harmful byproducts as well.
all good points, although the gov't is the last source I would consider trustworthy.
Well, I'm about as adverse to the taste of vinegar as one can be and never use it for anything in my kitchen. Even the barest hint of its smell will drive me out of a room.
Well, I'm about as adverse to the taste of vinegar as one can be and never use it for anything in my kitchen. Even the barest hint of its smell will drive me out of a room.
I don't get sick.
Ok tough guy. LOL
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I think vinegar makes better tasting salad dressing. LOL Its probably also safer if you ingest it by accident.
The government pays for a lot of good research done by universities and the like.
