The food thread

Before vinegar, there were yeast and good molds. I believe if it is controlled, then all those years of experience have made the practice safe. You have to use a good amount of salt, so I'm sure that plays a role.

google 'hot sauce botulism'
depending on the fermenting mechanism it might not be long before the container is anaerobic. I am definitely no expert on this subject, though. Just know a bit about home canned food, etc...
 
Salt fermentation of vegetables relies on salt to suppress growth of harmful bacteria and molds until lactic acid bacteria can start fermenting and lower the pH. Adding vinegar helps lower the initial pH until lactic acid bacteria can take over.

I have always read NOT to use iodized salt when fermenting vegetables as the iodine suppresses lactic acid bacteria.
 
I still vividly remember throwing in the pan as a result of a mushroom hunt many years ago :spin:

NONE OF THESE TESTS WORKS - - AT ALL!
First of all, I don't know of ANY mushroom that will turn silver black - - in fact, I don't know of any food whatsoever that will turn silver black.
The two groups of mushrooms that cause 90% of the fatalities in USA (Amanita virosa and Amanita phalloides) will not turn silver black, and they also can be peeled. They have a pleasant (not bitter, not burning) taste both before and after cooking.

Interesting, talk about questioning authority. One site claims this mushroom causes 45% of the fatalities in the US.

Chlorophyllum molybdites is the poisonous mushroom most frequently eaten in North America.[1] The symptoms are predominantly gastrointestinal in nature, with vomiting, diarrhea and colic, often severe, occurring 1–3 hours after consumption.[2] Although these poisonings can be severe, none has yet resulted in death.[5]
 
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Interesting, talk about questioning authority. One site claims this mushroom causes 45% of the fatalities in the US.

Just as well we are already a bunch of cynics, internet and fact are strangers for the most part.
 

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Those fly agarics are more 'magic' than poisonous. You'd have to eat a couple of pounds to die.
The other thing I was told (no idea how true but it was way before the internet so likely to be correct) is that if you get ill in less than 4 hours you are likely going to be ok but if it takes 8 hours you are in deep, deep trouble.
 
Those fly agarics are more 'magic' than poisonous. You'd have to eat a couple of pounds to die.
The other thing I was told (no idea how true but it was way before the internet so likely to be correct) is that if you get ill in less than 4 hours you are likely going to be ok but if it takes 8 hours you are in deep, deep trouble.

You need to dig deep to find any actual fatalities, but the liver/kidney failure is real if rare.

As for botulism you can cut through the nonsense and actually read the facts, the CDC keeps records. As I read today more people are killed while taking selfies than shark attacK, that goes for botulism too I guess.
https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/surveillance.html
 
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Those fly agarics are more 'magic' than poisonous

I live in a city that is built around a drumlin, on which is built an impregnable fortress (I dare you, get it pregnant). This large grassy knoll, AKA Citadel Hill, is covered in psilocybin mushrooms in the fall. It is also right next to the cop shop. Still, every October the hill is roamed by grazing college students and hippies, all with their gaze fixed firmly on the ground.

I used to have a place in Cape Breton which included a lovely meadow, full of wild strawberries in July, wild blueberries in August, and magic mushrooms in October. Also black flies and deer flies that could just about pick you up and carry you away, so harvesting those things was a challenge.
 
I guess growing food still counts... So I enjoy nice dried chili's like New Mexico reds etc, but its hard to find them around here on a regular basis. So I saved some seeds from some nice chili peppers (not the super hot ones, but some with a bit of heat and lots of flavor), and I tried to germinate some to see if I can grow a few. While I was stuffing peat pots I looked over my spice shelf and started grabbing any whole seeds. I planted, besides chili peppers, coriander, cumin, fennel, and fenugreek. Still no sign of the peppers, I suspect they were dried at too high a temperature, but to my surprise the first to sprout was the fenugreek! I also seem to have a few cumin, coriander, and fennel sprouts. Given hat these were all whole spices, not sold as seed, I'm pretty happy, I didn't really expect anything. Fresh fenugreek leaves are very nice with lamb.

That reminds me last year I bought some seedlings from Canadian Tire and was surprised to see epazote. I bought some and grew it in a pot on my back deck; strange herb, smells like gasoline cut with mineral spirits when fresh, but a handful of leaves in a pot of black beans adds a unique and pleasant flavor. Dried it doesn't taste like much.