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I was surprised that there's nothing in that article about health concerns. Is it just me here being concerned about the stew getting infected by something?

copypasterepeat 2y ago
I don't think that's a big concern since everything gets cooked into oblivion. With something like this, nobody is trying to hit some sweet spot and get vegetables or whatever else to be al dente. Everything is boiled for many hours until all bacteria is killed off.
- RALaBarge 2y ago
  Yeah if something common and harmful is surviving 100 C +, we got some big problems, my friends.
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    I highly doubt a perpetual stew would be at boiling temps, the stew would disappear too quickly. I would think it'd be at slow cooker temperatures, 80 - 90C. High enough to kill off the nasties but low enough to not be boiling.
    - maplant 2y ago
      It’s probably simmering, but it also probably boils on occasion. You’re not losing stew anyway, you’re just losing water
      - bryanlarsen 2y ago
        80C - 90C is simmering, yes.
  - TZubiri 2y ago
    It happens with toxins, which is the reason why cooking spoiled food isn't a magical solution to everything. Examples are on-living molecules whether inorganic simple elements or complex thermo resistant proteins leftover from other forms of life like fungi. That said, there's nothing special in a forever stew that makes it particularly more susceptible to this risk. The toxins don't reproduce (unless there's some fucky crystallization phenomenon, but that's sci fi speculation), and if there is some thermoresistant toxin introduced, then it will probably be dilluted quickly.
    - sidewndr46 2y ago
      Yeah it'd be awful if someone slipped some ice nine into the stew
precommunicator 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety) Basically anything above 60°C (140°F) has the same safety as below 4°C (40°F).
- falcor84 2y ago
  Wow, I'm "one of today's ten thousand" learning about this, thanks! I always treated the "best before" on bags of frozen veggies as "avoid after" and am very happy to discover now that frozen vegetables apparently remain safe indefinitely. This will save me a bit of money. And now I'm more open to trying this perpetual stew thing too.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
    LOL. I've always been a "the 'best before' date is a vague suggestion for anything other than dairy products" type. I just made soup from a bag of a bean mix that I know is definitely more than 10 years old.
ceejayoz 2y ago
https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-s... Anything that's been held at 136°F or higher for an hour or so is essentially sterile from a food safety standpoint.

copypasterepeat 2y ago

I don't think that's a big concern since everything gets cooked into oblivion. With something like this, nobody is trying to hit some sweet spot and get vegetables or whatever else to be al dente. Everything is boiled for many hours until all bacteria is killed off.

RALaBarge 2y ago
Yeah if something common and harmful is surviving 100 C +, we got some big problems, my friends.
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  I highly doubt a perpetual stew would be at boiling temps, the stew would disappear too quickly. I would think it'd be at slow cooker temperatures, 80 - 90C. High enough to kill off the nasties but low enough to not be boiling.
  - maplant 2y ago
    It’s probably simmering, but it also probably boils on occasion. You’re not losing stew anyway, you’re just losing water
    - bryanlarsen 2y ago
      80C - 90C is simmering, yes.
- TZubiri 2y ago
  It happens with toxins, which is the reason why cooking spoiled food isn't a magical solution to everything. Examples are on-living molecules whether inorganic simple elements or complex thermo resistant proteins leftover from other forms of life like fungi. That said, there's nothing special in a forever stew that makes it particularly more susceptible to this risk. The toxins don't reproduce (unless there's some fucky crystallization phenomenon, but that's sci fi speculation), and if there is some thermoresistant toxin introduced, then it will probably be dilluted quickly.
  - sidewndr46 2y ago
    Yeah it'd be awful if someone slipped some ice nine into the stew

precommunicator 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety) Basically anything above 60°C (140°F) has the same safety as below 4°C (40°F).

falcor84 2y ago
Wow, I'm "one of today's ten thousand" learning about this, thanks! I always treated the "best before" on bags of frozen veggies as "avoid after" and am very happy to discover now that frozen vegetables apparently remain safe indefinitely. This will save me a bit of money. And now I'm more open to trying this perpetual stew thing too.
- HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
  LOL. I've always been a "the 'best before' date is a vague suggestion for anything other than dairy products" type. I just made soup from a bag of a bean mix that I know is definitely more than 10 years old.

ceejayoz 2y ago

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-s... Anything that's been held at 136°F or higher for an hour or so is essentially sterile from a food safety standpoint.