Food Fun, Funds, and Fundamentals (Series #3)

Welcome to the third installment of “Food Fun, Funds, and Fundamentals,” an ongoing exploration of food preparation, handling, and appreciation. To learn more about the philosophy behind these vignettes, please click here for Series #1, which shines attention on egg and rice selection, while Series #2 centers around maximizing the use of your herbs and spices. This week focuses on an important yet often overlooked aspect of home cooking: food poisoning prevention.

Botulism anyone?

          Before opening any canned foods, give the can a quick inspection. Does it have any holes or appear compromised in any way? Chuck it! One particularly ominous sign is when the can appears bulgy, as if it were pressurized by a gas (which technically it is). What this means is that Clostridium botulinum have contaminated the food. These bacteria produce a toxin that causes an often lethal disease called botulism. For bulging cans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you place the can in a Ziploc bag, seal it with tape, then repeat the process with a second bag; put it in the trash and not the recycling bin.1

Welcome to the danger zone...

Two of the biggest factors involved in preventable food-borne illnesses are time and temperature; most harmful pathogens grow best between a temperature range of 4 and 60 °C, known in the food-service industry as “the danger zone” (not to be confused with the legendary hit song by Kenny Loggins). So, an important guideline is to keep hot foods above 60 °C, and cold or stored foods below 4°C. Food items should be discarded once they’ve spent a total of 4 hours cumulatively in the danger zone.2

Wash your melons.. Not those melons..

          While most people know that washing your hands and produce thoroughly is a good idea, it’s easy to forget about the thick-skinned specimens, such as cantaloupe. If you were to cut an unwashed cantaloupe, the knife might contaminate the edible portion with unwanted bacteria, so try to scrub your fruits and vegetables with a food-grade brush and soap beforehand.

Bleach is great, but mustard gas isn't 

Hoseholds that I’ve encountered clean their dishes and utensils the following way (those that clean them manually, that is): wash dishes with dish-detergent, rinse the dishes, then towel-dry the dishes. This popular method is not ideal; while washing and rinsing the dish is important, there is a difference between a dish that is clean and a dish that is sterile (i.e., nothing is living on it). To sterilize a cleaned dish, bleach—when used properly—is a safe and effective disinfectant. Using a separate sink or bin (I like bus bins), mix 4 teaspoons (20 mL) of bleach per liter of lukewarm water, then let the dishes and utensils soak in the bin for at least 2 minutes. It’s important not to use hot water or other detergents along with the bleach because not only is it ineffective, this might cause the release of dangerous fumes (e.g. bleach and ammonia combined will react to create mustard gas; yes, the same horrific gas used in World War I). Also, bleach can be corrosive and leave a bad smell when used in high concentrations, so use it sparingly.

Let them hang out to dry!

          Growing-up, my mother assumed I was being lazy whenever I allowed my newly washed dishes to air-dry overnight rather than use a towel. But something always seemed “off” about this process. It turns out I’m vindicated! Other than temperature and time, bacteria also require moisture to multiply, and dish towels have a tendency of getting damp midway through the task. Those still damp dishes then end up in a cupboard and act as a home for microbes. Not to mention that dish towel was likely used for other things, such as drying your hands or wiping countertops, which act as sources for contamination. Feel free to let your sterile and clean dishes dry during the day or overnight on the rack, and don’t feel guilty!

When you eat, be just, cheerful, equable, temperate and orderly; thus, you will eat acceptably to the gods.     

          -Epictetus

- Tyler Feeney-

M.Sci (c) in Dietetics

Food Fun, Funds, and Fundamentals (Series #1)

This week, I am excited to introduce something a bit different. In contrast to the style of articles you may be used to from yours truly, “Food Fun, Funds, and Fundamentals” will be an ongoing series of vignettes; short, loosely connected, easy to understand nuggets of wisdom I’ve acquired over many years studying nutrition—as it pertains to cooking and food preparation. Aligned with this will be advice on how to boost the healthfulness of your meals while saving money, busting food myths, improving kitchen safety, along with a peppering of funny and insightful blurbs from experts in the field…both past and present. Feel free to digest each vignette in any order you wish. Enjoy.

WHITE , BROWN OR PARBOILED ?

If you like the tender texture and taste of white rice but want something more healthful, check out an item you can find in most grocery stores called parboiled rice. It's inexpensive and prepared pre-cooked within its husk, which causes the starch inside the grain to expand then draw in important vitamins such as thiamin (also known as Vitamin B1). So not only does it take much less time to cook at home than brown rice, you will still recover around 80% of the vitamins you would have normally not gotten from the white stuff 1. It’s the best of both worlds!

HOW TO PROPERLY COOK AN OMELET 

Cooking a proper omelet can be an arduous and frustrating task for many. The final flip often will leave the dish looking mangled. If this is the case for you, look down at your turner. Likely, it will be square-shaped, whereas, your frying pan and omelet are circular. See the conundrum? Squaring a circle is a mathematical and physical nightmare! But luckily, if you make a lot of omelets, I highly recommend you invest in a tool from the company OXO called the “Flip and Fold Omelet Turner.” It’s flexible and hugs the side of pretty much any pan, so it’s amazing (and no, I don’t work for OXO…not yet anyway). And it’s not just for omelets; I use it all the time for pancakes, stir fries, pizzas, brownies, you name it.

In the same vein, I much prefer omelets to have a fluffy texture. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites into two bowls, then with an electric mixer (with one beater, not two) beat the egg whites. At first, they will become foamy but eventually you will see the egg form soft, droopy “peaks” on the end of your beater. Make sure not to over-beat past this stage. Then with a fork, beat the egg yolks, pour them over your whites and gently fold them into each other. Cook as usual (don’t forget the cheese!).

WHITE, BROWN OR BLUE EGGS?

A misconception that some people have about eggs is that eggs with a brown shell are better for you than white eggs—perhaps thinking bleach is somehow involved in their processing, or that maybe the same brown stuff that’s in whole wheat bread is lacking in white eggs. Unfortunately, this is not the case, with the colour of chicken eggs determined primarily by the breed and individual genetics of the hen (you can even get blue eggs, but they don’t appear to be as common or as popular). If you want a more nutritious egg, one option is to look for eggs lain by flaxseed-fed chickens. These are higher in anti-inflammatory and brain-supporting fats than standard eggs2 (the package will tout “Omega 3”, usually emblazoned on the carton).

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.

The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity, than the discovery of A new star.

A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye.

- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin3

- Tyler Feeney-

M.Sci (c) in Dietetics

References

1.     Kyritsi, A., Tzia, C., & Karathanos, V. T. (2011). Vitamin fortified rice grain using spraying and soaking methods. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 44(1), 312-320.

2.     Hayat, Z., Cherian, G., Pasha, T. N., Khattak, F. M., & Jabbar, M. A. (2009). Effect of feeding flax and two types of antioxidants on egg production, egg quality, and lipid composition of eggs. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 18(3), 541-551.

3.     Brillat-Savarin, J.A, & Drayton, A. (1994). The Physiology of Taste. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.