What made me unhappy today ?

[Homer Potvin]

Got a mild case of food poisoning. I ate something that had reached a few days after its best before date. I did not look at the date when I decided to have it, and it smelled and looked alright.

Oh well.

What was it?

 

[Tallyfire]

Got a mild case of food poisoning. I ate something that had reached a few days after its best before date. I did not look at the date when I decided to have it, and it smelled and looked alright.

Oh well.

Ouch. Hope your stomach has recovered! The worst case of food poisoning I ever had came at the end of a trip and resulted in me wandering through the airport like a zombie, almost passing out on the benches.

Even ignoring best before dates, I check most things that can go off. I heard a useful guide:

• If it looks fine, smell it.
• If it smells fine, taste it.
• If it tastes fine, eat it.

Usually keeps you safe. Didn’t work for an Indian street food stall, mind. The coconut cashew smoothie tasted amazing, but I can’t say it looked fine to begin with.

 

[Madman Starryteller]

What was it?

Two very thin slices of ham.

@Tallyfire feels like I've recovered now.

 

[Tallyfire]

Two very thin slices of ham.

@Tallyfire feels like I've recovered now.

Ooh ham, nasty.

I’d be curious to hear Homer’s restaurant perspective…

 

[Homer Potvin]

Ooh ham, nasty.

I’d be curious to hear Homer’s restaurant perspective…

Tough to tell. Even tougher to isolate. As far as I know, ham isn't more or less prone to food born illness than average, but not sure. In my experience, when you get sick in the stomach or butt, the hit rate for food poising as opposed to a non-food bug as the cause is very low. A doctor can test to see what it was and 90% of the time it had nothing to do with the food at all. If it is food poisoning, they can test for what the exact strain it is. On top of that, 90% of the time you do have food poisoning, it's due to cross contamination from something else. Usually raw meat coming into contact with something else, either from the fridge or a contaminated knife or cutting board. I'm just guessing at the percentages, but that feels about right.

I've mentioned it here many times: if you want to get sick, eat vegetables. Particularly the ones that live in the ground and have the pH sweet spot for bacterial growth. Lettuce in particular is an excellent way to get sick. If that's not efficient enough, hit the salad bar. Contaminated RTEs and improper holding temps galore. If the thousands of food recalls I've dealt with in my career, and the few dozen Department of Health confirmed food poisoning reports I've seen, nearly all of them are vegetable related. Raw oysters would make the list too. Everyone stigmatizes sushi, but I've worked in many joints that serve it and never seen a recall or confirmed case.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Ouch. Glad to hear you recovered, Madman. Food poisoning is never fun.

The worst case of food poisoning I ran into was milk that was a little past its "best by" date. I was laid low for a few days, especially because I didn't realise the milk had expired. (Once I did, of course, I poured it all down the sink).

Homer, I'm not so sure about vegetables. Aren't they all right if you wash them thoroughly (especially in warm water, if not hot)? I make myself a vegetable salad fresh every day, and I only store my veggies in the fridge, take out what I need, wash it, prepare it and eat it then and there ... and I've never had any problems with vegetables.

Of course, a salad bar (with the vegetables sitting there for goodness knows how long) is different.

 

[DLC]

I used to have hangovers pretty regular back in the day, and it occurred to me if you ate anything that made you that sick the next day, you'd never touch it again. But there we are the following Saturday night back at the pub.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

But there we are the following Saturday night back at the pub.

That's a special kind of stupid.

I had a hangover once: too much red wine drunk with an Irishwoman who drank more than I did, yet wasn't even weaving when she left the house that evening. Thought I had the flu until my now-husband pointed out the actual source of the problem. That was 48 years ago and I have never wanted to repeat the experience.

 

[Tallyfire]

As far as I know, ham isn't more or less prone to food born illness than average, but not sure. In my experience, when you get sick in the stomach or butt, the hit rate for food poising as opposed to a non-food bug as the cause is very low. A doctor can test to see what it was and 90% of the time it had nothing to do with the food at all. If it is food poisoning, they can test for what the exact strain it is. On top of that, 90% of the time you do have food poisoning, it's due to cross contamination from something else. Usually raw meat coming into contact with something else, either from the fridge or a contaminated knife or cutting board.

That’s really interesting. I had no idea they could test for that!

Homer, I'm not so sure about vegetables. Aren't they all right if you wash them thoroughly (especially in warm water, if not hot)? I make myself a vegetable salad fresh every day, and I only store my veggies in the fridge, take out what I need, wash it, prepare it and eat it then and there ... and I've never had any problems with vegetables.

Of course, a salad bar (with the vegetables sitting there for goodness knows how long) is different.

I think the salad bar is the point. I once got (what I assume was) food poisoning from a food truck chicken burger. The chicken was freshly cooked in front of me and looked done, so I always assumed it was the lettuce in the burger bun that did it. If someone's lazy it can be sitting around for days...

 

[Homer Potvin]

Ouch. Glad to hear you recovered, Madman. Food poisoning is never fun.

The worst case of food poisoning I ran into was milk that was a little past its "best by" date. I was laid low for a few days, especially because I didn't realise the milk had expired. (Once I did, of course, I poured it all down the sink).

Homer, I'm not so sure about vegetables. Aren't they all right if you wash them thoroughly (especially in warm water, if not hot)? I make myself a vegetable salad fresh every day, and I only store my veggies in the fridge, take out what I need, wash it, prepare it and eat it then and there ... and I've never had any problems with vegetables.

Of course, a salad bar (with the vegetables sitting there for goodness knows how long) is different.

You can wash away contaminates, be they physical or chemical, but you can't wash away bacteria. It's inherent to the irrigation, should that be contaminated from the source. All food has bacteria naturally but certain RTE things like lettuce have the perfect pH to facilitate bacterial growth at a higher rate if you're not careful.

But for the most part you're fine until the cows start pooping into the water supply.

 

[ps102]

But for the most part you're fine until the cows start pooping into the water supply.

This happened in a small village called Vrisses. Some local farmer's goats were contaminating the local water supply and everyone was getting sick.

It's called Vrisses (literally meaning water taps in English) because there is a fountain at the center of the village that pours water from the nearby mountain. I don't think it works with a pump—just gravity. The mountain water is far higher than the village in altitude.

The farmer was eventually fined by the authorities and forced to remedy the problem he was causing, which surprised me a little. I didn't expect them to bother with some small village in the far countryside of the south.

I've been there and can confirm that the mountain water is really good. I'm glad they fixed the problem.

 

[Homer Potvin]

This happened in a small village called Vrisses. Some local farmer's goats were contaminating the local water supply and everyone was getting sick.

It's called Vrisses (literally meaning water taps in English) because there is a fountain at the center of the village that pours water from the nearby mountain. I don't think it works with a pump—just gravity. The mountain water is far higher than the village in altitude.

The farmer was eventually fined by the authorities and forced to remedy the problem he was causing, which surprised me a little. I didn't expect them to bother with some small village in the far countryside of the south.

I've been there and can confirm that the mountain water is really good. I'm glad they fixed the problem.

Don't think we have goat farms in any significant acreage here. They probably exist but you don't hear about them much. Unlike cattle farms which can be larger RI, damn near.

 

[ps102]

Don't think we have goat farms in any significant acreage here. They probably exist but you don't hear about them much. Unlike cattle farms which can be larger RI, damn near.

It's not uncommon for villagers to own a goat or two. I've never heard of anyone owning a cow though. I mean, the big farms that sell commercial milk do, but if you want to farm milk at home, a goat is the way. Not sure why. I guess they are smaller and easier to keep.

Owning a goat is a great way to keep yourself fed even in bad situations. Goats will happily eat grass and most plants (dried or fresh) and make milk out of it. It's basically a way to turn inedible food into edible food. I'm sure they came in handy during periods of mass poverty... like after the big civil war.

To note, goat milk has a distinct flavor to it. I can totally understand why people might not like it. I like it. But I can't stand goat cheese. That distinct flavor is ten times as strong and it tastes... bleh. I don't recommend it.

 

[Homer Potvin]

It's not uncommon for villagers to own a goat or two. I've never heard of anyone owning a cow though. I mean, the big farms that sell commercial milk do, but if you want to farm milk at home, a goat is the way. Not sure why. I guess they are smaller and easier to keep.

Owning a goat is a great way to keep yourself fed even in bad situations. Goats will happily eat grass and most plants (dried or fresh) and make milk out of it. It's basically a way to turn inedible food into edible food. I'm sure they came in handy during periods of mass poverty... like after the big civil war.

To note, goat milk has a distinct flavor to it. I can totally understand why people might not like it. I like it. But I can't stand goat cheese. That distinct flavor is ten times as strong and it tastes... bleh. I don't recommend it.

Baaaaaaaa!

(Goat sounds)

 

[Rath Darkblade]

It's not uncommon for villagers to own a goat or two. I've never heard of anyone owning a cow though. I mean, the big farms that sell commercial milk do, but if you want to farm milk at home, a goat is the way. Not sure why. I guess they are smaller and easier to keep.

Owning a goat is a great way to keep yourself fed even in bad situations. Goats will happily eat grass and most plants (dried or fresh) and make milk out of it. It's basically a way to turn inedible food into edible food. I'm sure they came in handy during periods of mass poverty... like after the big civil war.

To note, goat milk has a distinct flavor to it. I can totally understand why people might not like it. I like it. But I can't stand goat cheese. That distinct flavor is ten times as strong and it tastes... bleh. I don't recommend it.

Not to mention, goat wool is strong and can be spun into clothing too. In your face, cow! *Mooooo*

On the other hand, don't goats try to climb everything and get everywhere? I've heard stories about goats being found up trees, on a roof, or even vertically up a wall.

I once wrote a novel where the protagonist is a goat farmer in ancient Babylon. Then he goes to the city for a few days. All he wants to do is sell his extra goats and buy a few things for the farm. Instead, he runs into prejudices, politics, espionage, and all the wonders of life in the big city.

Can he make it out with all his bits intact? Can he still make a profit? And why do humble sausages come into it?

A tale of goats, grease and grudges. Read it today!

 

[defaux]

You can wash away contaminates, be they physical or chemical, but you can't wash away bacteria. It's inherent to the irrigation, should that be contaminated from the source. All food has bacteria naturally but certain RTE things like lettuce have the perfect pH to facilitate bacterial growth at a higher rate if you're not careful.

But for the most part you're fine until the cows start pooping into the water supply.

When we went to Egypt (quite some years ago now) the guide told us not to drink the water. Don't even touch the nile. Also, avoid the salad and pasta (because it gets rinsed in the water).
We were the only ones in the group that that didn't get sick the entire trip. Although, we were living in China at the time, so quite possible we had antibodies no-one else had at that point.

I've been there and can confirm that the mountain water is really good.

There's nothing quite like fresh ground water. A place near where I used to live had a stream filtered by the natural rock formations. You could taste the iron from the mountains. We live on rain water tanks now, which still taste so much better than the water we used to get in the city.

To note, goat milk has a distinct flavor to it. I can totally understand why people might not like it. I like it. But I can't stand goat cheese. That distinct flavor is ten times as strong and it tastes... bleh. I don't recommend it.

Isn't feta made from goat's milk? I like feta. I could probably google that ... [30 seconds later] Apparently it's sheep milk with an optional small percentage of goat milk. Never tasted sheep's milk.

And why do humble sausages come into it?

And now I'm curious, what goes into a "humble sausage"? Wait... maybe I don't really want to know.

 

[ps102]

On the other hand, don't goats try to climb everything and get everywhere? I've heard stories about goats being found up trees, on a roof, or even vertically up a wall.

I'm not 100% sure. I'll tell you this though: I did have to help a friend find his goat that somehow managed to escape once. It somehow went to the most random place possible—a small grassy pit only accessible by jumping over the wall of the small village graveyard. If memory serves, it got stuck between two large objects and couldn't move.

Isn't feta made from goat's milk? I like feta. I could probably google that ... [30 seconds later] Apparently it's sheep milk with an optional small percentage of goat milk. Never tasted sheep's milk.

It is sheep's milk, yes. It usually also has goat milk but that depends on where in Greece you go.

Here is the catch though. We actually also have something called λευκο τυρι (white cheese) which is feta-like but is made from different milks, most commonly cow's milk since it's much cheaper.

In the UK, this distinction is respected—they call it "Greek style salad cheese" instead of feta. I don't know about other countries though. It would not surprise me in the least if it isn't respected. After all, it does have the same look and texture as feta.

 

[Louanne Learning]

I like feta.

Everything is betta with Feta

 

[edamame]

Common cold has been lingering and I even lost my voice for a day. My voice still hasn't come fully back. I don't remember colds being this bad in the past.

 

[Naomasa298]

I've heard stories about goats being found up trees, on a roof, or even vertically up a wall.

The little black dots in this image are goats. It isn't a photoshop.