Regarding Lynda’s concern about food poisoning and rare steaks, I can help ease her mind. We’re warned about undercooked chicken (most poultry), pork, beef, and seafood, but each one for different reasons: in chicken/poultry, it’s salmonella; in pork, it’s (mostly) trychinosis (‘trick-uh-no-sis’ if you’ve never seen it written); for beef, it’s e.coli; and for seafood, it’s various issues, depending on the animal, but salmonella and parasites, like worms, mostly.
Salmonella bacteria can live throughout the meat and its juices, so not cooking it enough leaves some still alive to make you sick. Trichinosis (a parasite) also lives inside the meat, and can only be killed by getting the meat hot enough throughout. With beef, the e.coli lives in the surfaces of the meat. A steak or roast only has external surfaces, so once the outside is browned, it’s safe. Ground beef has those potentially-infected outside surfaces mixed in throughout the meat by the grinding process, so ground beef should be cooked all the way through.
For the various issues with seafood, it depends on the animal and it’s particular contaminant, but should be cooked thoroughly. Some only have surface bacteria and can be seared on the outside and rendered safe. Sushi has to be selected and handled in very careful ways so that there’s no cross-contamination. Sometimes they use extreme cold to make it safe without cooking it, and they freeze it quickly and deeply to avoid damaging the meat with large ice crystals forming in the tissue.
Hope that wasn’t too long. Keep up the great work.
So….combination of dying of laughter and cringing from mental images after my first in-depth dose of Nasty the Clown. After that anorexic woman with a yeast infection line, I’ve never eaten a quarter pounder with cheese and never will after that.
Also, since I was busy ordering Amazon items through the website, Mark, Lynda likes what that do what to her WHAT?
Thomas says
Great post! Have nice day ! 🙂 j3l2h
Jared Miller says
Regarding Lynda’s concern about food poisoning and rare steaks, I can help ease her mind. We’re warned about undercooked chicken (most poultry), pork, beef, and seafood, but each one for different reasons: in chicken/poultry, it’s salmonella; in pork, it’s (mostly) trychinosis (‘trick-uh-no-sis’ if you’ve never seen it written); for beef, it’s e.coli; and for seafood, it’s various issues, depending on the animal, but salmonella and parasites, like worms, mostly.
Salmonella bacteria can live throughout the meat and its juices, so not cooking it enough leaves some still alive to make you sick. Trichinosis (a parasite) also lives inside the meat, and can only be killed by getting the meat hot enough throughout. With beef, the e.coli lives in the surfaces of the meat. A steak or roast only has external surfaces, so once the outside is browned, it’s safe. Ground beef has those potentially-infected outside surfaces mixed in throughout the meat by the grinding process, so ground beef should be cooked all the way through.
For the various issues with seafood, it depends on the animal and it’s particular contaminant, but should be cooked thoroughly. Some only have surface bacteria and can be seared on the outside and rendered safe. Sushi has to be selected and handled in very careful ways so that there’s no cross-contamination. Sometimes they use extreme cold to make it safe without cooking it, and they freeze it quickly and deeply to avoid damaging the meat with large ice crystals forming in the tissue.
Hope that wasn’t too long. Keep up the great work.
Lloyd Steinline says
So….combination of dying of laughter and cringing from mental images after my first in-depth dose of Nasty the Clown. After that anorexic woman with a yeast infection line, I’ve never eaten a quarter pounder with cheese and never will after that.
Also, since I was busy ordering Amazon items through the website, Mark, Lynda likes what that do what to her WHAT?