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When visiting various countries in Europe (Italy, Spain, etc) I've run across the equivalent of farmers markets where they have varying types of infused oils.
by jmspring 3y ago
When visiting various countries in Europe (Italy, Spain, etc) I've run across the equivalent of farmers markets where they have varying types of infused oils. The oils often have the seeds/herbs/etc. in the bottle. I wonder what method these vendors use.
I know people who have simply put herbs/peppers/etc directly into oil and go with that method. I've not heard of them getting botulism, but maybe it was luck.
When looking into this awhile back, I ran across this article - https://extension.psu.edu/how-to-safely-make-infused-oils https://extension.psu.edu/how-to-safely-make-infused-oils - I have yet to try the recommendations here in and wonder about the impact on flavor.
- justusthane 3y agoI’ve only heard of garlic in oil being a botulism risk. Are other veggies dangerous too?
- jmspring 3y agoThe article I linked to mentioned that fresh herbs could be a source as well. The article from OP mentions peppers can as well. So, I guess one has to be careful.
- fiddlerwoaroof 3y agoI wouldn’t do this myself, but theoretically heating the oil relatively high for a while before consuming would destroy any toxin buildup. The other route would be adding enough acid to prevent botulism from growing, but I think that can be a bit tricky.
- plaguuuuuu 3y agobotulism is pretty resistant to heat. ph, salt. im sure a high purity ethanol also
- fiddlerwoaroof 3y agoThe spores are, but the toxin is the problem and breaks down with heat so, in theory, if you boil the food for a bit before eating it, it would be safe.
- mortureb 3y agoI’m pretty sure it’s the opposite. You can kill the spores with heat but it leaves the toxins intact.
- OJFord 3y agoNo, that's not correct. Hence it being a (overblown US citizen internet commenter) concern with preserved food. Can something like tomatoes, not naturally that acidic in a preparation that doesn't lower the pH much, and even though you've heated it and killed things in the process and it's now in a vacuum, it can potentially still develop.
- brnaftr361 3y agoBotulinum toxins are large, easily denatured proteins... by heating to 80°C (176°F) for 20 minutes or > 85°C (185°F) for at least 5 minutes. Their heat resistance varies with composition of the food or other medium, and the concentration of the toxin. Reports suggest that HTST pasteurization (72°C/162°F for 15 seconds) is likely to inactivate most or all of the toxin in contaminated milk, while conventional pasteurization at 63°C/145°F for 30 minutes seems to be less effective. Chlorine and other agents can destroy botulinum toxins in water. The vegetative cells of C. botulinum are susceptible to many disinfectants, including 1% sodium hypochlorite and 70% ethanol, but clostridial spores are very resistant to inactivation. They can be destroyed in the autoclave with moist heat (120°C/ 250°F for at least 15 minutes) or dry heat (160°C for 2 hours) or by irradiation. The spores of group I strains are inactivated by heating at 121°C (250°F) for 3 minutes during commercial canning. Spores of group II strains are less heat-resistant, and they are often damaged by 90°C (194°F) for 10 minutes, 85°C for 52 minutes, or 80°C for 270 minutes; however, these treatments may not be sufficient in some foods. https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/botulism.pdf https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/botulism.pdf
- ac29 3y ago> I know people who have simply put herbs/peppers/etc directly into oil and go with that method. I've not heard of them getting botulism, but maybe it was luck. According to the CDC, food-borne botulism is pretty rare, just 21 cases in the US in 2019: https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/surv/2019/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/surv/2019/index.html That being said, it can be fatal so certainly it wouldn't be advisable to take the risk.