Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog on September 3, 2024
Where do you get your kitchen advice from? The Internet? Word of mouth? How about older relatives?
Our elders can offer great sage advice. From how to mend clothing, how to get stains out of fabric and household items, recipes passed down from generation to generation. Even advice on storing food.
Kitchen advice from Grandma is a sacred rite, passed from parent to child and to grandchild. But just because Grandma did it, is it safe?
Let’s investigate certain common kitchen advice from Grandma and see what the experts say. From leaving butter on the counter, saving bacon grease, reusing aluminum foils, and microwaving saran wrap.
We saw her do it. But is it safe?
The butter dish or butter bell is a staple on many Grandma’s kitchen tables. Butter was taken from the fridge and placed on the counter or table so that the softened goodness could be smeared across bread, biscuits, and more. But it never returned to the refrigerator.
Was it safe?
According to Land O’Lakes’ Culinary Content Specialist, it is complicated.
“The USDA [United States Department of Agriculture] and FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] require that most dairy products be stored in the refrigerator,” though butter doesn’t always fall into that stringent “dairy” category. According to the USDA, butter is in fact safe at room temperature.
But there is more to the story.
Heat, including room temperature, accelerates butter decay. The fats found in butter begin to spoil. This makes the butter become rancid and go bad.
So, what’s the solution?
How about a bit of both.
The directions printed on Land O’Lakes butter indicates to “Keep Refrigerated.” But you can still temporarily store it on the counter to soften.
Placing butter on the counter for about 30 to 60 minutes before you need it will soften that golden goodness for spreading, baking, or whatever your heart desires.
If butter should be refrigerated but can be placed temporarily at room temperature to soften. How long is too long at room temperature?
Experts say four hours.
“Do not leave butter at room temperature for more than four hours” and “always return any unused butter to the refrigerator.”
When left out, you may notice butter become darker in color and a change in flavor.
So far, that is 0 for 1 Grandma. Experts and product specialists nix the kitchen advice of leaving butter at room temperature on the counter.
Bacon grease is the delicious and savory by product of a country breakfast. It can be added to so many recipes. From skillet cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, basted on chicken, tossed in pastas, and pretty much any type of cooked vegetable. The list goes on and on.
Many Grandma’s kitchens across the country had an old coffee can filled with that delicious goodness.
But was it safe?
Before storing bacon grease, you need to take a few steps to ensure it is safe for future use.
First, you need to strain it. You must first remove any small bits of bacon that could have been left behind. This helps to prevent the grease from going rancid.
Place a coffee filter, cheese cloth, or a fine mesh sieve over your intended storage container. A mason jar works great, but there are also plenty of commercial products made for the purpose. Pour the warm (not hot!) bacon grease into the jar. A nice clear grease should pass through.
Many of us grew up with that coffee can filled with bacon grease just sitting on the counter by the stove or even on the stove itself. However, food safety experts frown upon this practice.
Store your bacon grease in the refrigerator instead. Here, that liquid gold will last for up to three months. You can even store it indefinitely in the freezer. If you plan to freeze it, consider freezing portion amounts. An ice cube tray is a perfect way to preserve it!
So far Grandma and the experts are tied. Grandma won this round, by a silver hair (because she likely stored the grease on the counter).
Your Grandma may have come from a more frugal time period. Things were repaired, reused, and taken care of. You may have seen your Grandma reusing aluminum foil.
But was it safe?
You can absolutely reuse aluminum foil. In fact, you don’t even have to hand wash it!
You can pop that sheet in the dishwasher on the top rack (soiled-side down) to give it a good cleaning. You may want to weigh it down with a utensil or cup to keep it from swimming around in your appliance.
But yes! Aluminum foil can be easily reused.
Even without washing, you can use aluminum foil multiple times.
Dirty on one side? Flip it over and use in the oven or toaster oven. Ta da! Clean side.
If it gets torn or wrinkled, you can still make use of it. Crumple it into a ball and use it as a pot scrubber, cut through layers of foil to sharpen scissors, put them in boots to hold them upright, or in various applications around the house.
The possibilities are endless!
Grandma won this round for sure! While it might be more trouble than it is worth, you can absolutely reuse aluminum foil over and over again.
Thin plastics are usually a no-no in the microwave. But chances are, you’ve seen Grandma place a saran wrapped food item in the microwave and hit that start button.
But was it safe?
According to a spokesperson from the company, Saran Wrap is indeed safe to use in the microwave. When used as directed.
In fact, it was designed for that purpose. This product came out around the time microwaves began to increase in popularity. It is a great storage solution that also allows for reheating in the microwave.
Always vent excess steam before fully uncovering something covered with Saran Wrap. Steam burns can be very serious. Carefully turn back one corner of the wrap before removing it entirely.
For best results, use a large container that allows an inch between the wrap and the food. Wrap laying on top of food may slow heating time and create a mess.
Plastic wrap can melt when it comes in contact with very hot high fat or high sugar foods. For example, bacon and pastries. It is not a good idea to heat these items in direct contact with Saran Wrap.
Never use Saran Wrap in places it isn’t intended. Conventional stoves, toaster ovens, or browning units, for example, may result in melted plastic in your food.
Looks like Grandma was right overall! Saran Wrap, and later plastic wrap, were a great invention, saving time and cleanup in the kitchen.
While there are likely other questionable food safety practices Grandma may have practiced, she certainly knew a thing or two around the kitchen. Respect your elders, but when in doubt – look it up. Food safety is an important part of the kitchen.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Kitchen Advice from Grandma. Just Because She Did It, is it Safe,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)