Wapsi Square Forum

Dave wrote:Milk in the US is typically Pasteurized at 161F for 15 seconds. The FDA also accepts a longer, lower temperature process (145F for 15 minutes) as being effective...

Thanks, that makes me feel more confident about the safety of something I did a while back. (I kept a small amount of soup, very carefully, at 160 degrees... for about 4 hours, with no lid. Thai curry soup turned into a really wonderful pizza sauce.)

DinkyInky wrote:

Hansontoons wrote:Note to self: stay away from first post unless brain sparking on all synapses.

Link fixed.

All remarks appreciated.

And now back to the shadows... maybe I'll find DinkyInky and she will have a nice pot of kimchi to share.

*hands nice ceramic jar of kimchi over to your corner from the shadows*

Sleep cycle is seriously messed up. Mom duties plus TROLLCAT plus migraines plus allergies plus writing plus blog(OMG I forgot to update my blog! Never clicked publish.) plus gaming plus plus plus=little sleep.

Ooooohhh! Gratefully accepted (with both hands) as succor during a trying day. I do hope you found peace and relief.

I had an international day. Emails had me attending to an issue that involved Singapore, then Aberdeen needed an opinion on a mis-manufactured component, followed by a call from personnel in Ghana concerning a tool they were attempting to reassemble. Two long pieces made from material that does not like to be in contact with itself were screwed together. And they didn't like each other and stopped wanting to screw together. And something else moved on the assembly when they tried harder. It shouldn't move. They're screwed. Lunch was good. But then meetings most the afternoon. Now home with Jasper dog snoozing at my side and football on the tv. All good now. And it's Friday again already.

Warrl wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote:I don't drink eggnog... Too scared of the raw eggs. and since I don't drink alcohol, I can't use the "age 40-proof eggnog for three weeks to kill all the salmonella" trick.

And that bit about "heating it gently without boiling, until it coats the back of a spoon?" I don't buy that.
Thickening =/= boiling to sterilize.

I like my eggs cooked thank you very much. And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

I can just guess how you'd react to salmon served medium rare...

NOPE

Typeminer wrote: . . . I had enough excitement with gasoline in the coal furnace that one time . . . .

GlytchMeister wrote:GAS in a COAL furnace?!?

Are you MAD?

Because I am... And that sounds exactly like something I'd do just to see what happens.

Typeminer wrote:Well. . .

I was about 13. No one else was home. I thought the fire was dead out, and we had a bulk tank of gas in the yard. I got maybe half a cup of gas in an empty soup can and went to pour it on the coal. There was a spark down there somewhere. It blew back at me, and I dropped the can, spilling the remaining gas onto the concrete floor. There was a brief, exciting fire that slightly melted my sneakers and popped the lid off a can of paint that was sitting there.

Realizing that I was still alive (and that the gods must be saving my ass for some really jolly punchline), I put the lid back on the paint can, stoked up the fire, swept up the floor, disposed of the soup can, and never spoke of it to anyone for a long, long time.

More than 40 years later, I learned that my father had done basically the same thing with kerosene and his grandmother's stove as a kid. Not that that inspired me to share.

In my case, it was a burning barrel for burning trash . . . it was a most marvelous WHUMP!!! . . . or would have been if I hadn't been bent over with my ear about three inches from the side of the barrel!

And if the hood on my parka hadn't caught fire . . .

I had the hood on the parka out and the parka back on by the time mom came out the back door to see about the way the house had rattled. "There must have been a spray can in the trash or something . . ."

When I went back in, she pinned me down, got a confession, asked if I'd learned anything . . . then told me to go look in the mirror.

I was missing my eyelashes and eyebrow on the left side.

I didn't even get in trouble . . . she said I was still green when I came in.

Dave wrote: . . . Years ago, the Boy Scout troop I belonged to went on a winter-ish weekend camping trip. We were using charcoal stoves for cooking. One patrol's cook-of-the-day hadn't used enough charcoal lighter-fluid to get his stove started properly, and after the starter burned away and the flames were gone there were only a couple of smallish spots on the briquettes that were glowing.

He could have spent the time needed to fan it properly and get the heat to spread and the rest of the charcoal to catch fire properly. He didn't.

He took out the can of charcoal lighter and sprayed a hefty dose on the coals. There was a hiss, and a big cloud of white vapor arose. He leaned over and blew forcibly towards the hot-spots.

FWOOMP! The whole vapor cloud flashed into a fireball.

He went skidding back over onto his tail. His bangs and eyebrows were singed. Fortunately, his eyes and skin didn't take any damage from the brief flame exposure.

I doubt he ever did that again.

You might be surprised . . . though he might have done something not exactly the same . . . "Experience is a lovely thing . . . it enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."

I swear it rained flaming boards for fifteen minutes!

I've made variations on that mistake with gasoline at least four times . . . though after the burning barrel I recognized the problem and use either an ignition delay or remote ignition. Wrapping a paper towel around a rock, lighting it and throwing it works well for remote.

I also used that when I intercepted someone else after he dumped ten gallons of gasoline on a burn pile, but before he lit the match . . . that was a truly awe-inspiring WHUMP!!! "We have liftoff . . ."

----

Warrl wrote:

Dave wrote:Milk in the US is typically Pasteurized at 161F for 15 seconds. The FDA also accepts a longer, lower temperature process (145F for 15 minutes) as being effective...

Thanks, that makes me feel more confident about the safety of something I did a while back. (I kept a small amount of soup, very carefully, at 160 degrees... for about 4 hours, with no lid. Thai curry soup turned into a really wonderful pizza sauce.)

That's standard practice, actually . . . it's very common to keep soups and stews simmering, sometimes for days. The flavors all blend together in a marvelous fashion.

In fact, people used to joke about inheriting soups from their grandmother, who had inherited it from her grandmother . . .

That's the premise of a crockpot: long cooking times at medium temperatures . . . 12, 16, 24 hours at 150-160 degrees (and up). Of course, you want to make sure that it gets to temperature fast and stays there.

The basic food-safety rule is that food should be under 40 degrees or over one hundred forty degrees (Fahrenheit), never in-between (except for serving, of course, and it's better to keep it hotter or colder even then).

--FreeFlier

GlytchMeister wrote:

Fuel-Air stoichiometry is fun!

HO, yezz!

Dave wrote:Years ago, the Boy Scout troop I belonged to went on a winter-ish weekend camping trip. We were using charcoal stoves for cooking. One patrol's cook-of-the-day hadn't used enough charcoal lighter-fluid to get his stove started properly, and after the starter burned away and the flames were gone there were only a couple of smallish spots on the briquettes that were glowing.

He could have spent the time needed to fan it properly and get the heat to spread and the rest of the charcoal to catch fire properly. He didn't.

He took out the can of charcoal lighter and sprayed a hefty dose on the coals. There was a hiss, and a big cloud of white vapor arose. He leaned over and blew forcibly towards the hot-spots.

FWOOMP! The whole vapor cloud flashed into a fireball.

He went skidding back over onto his tail. His bangs and eyebrows were singed. Fortunately, his eyes and skin didn't take any damage from the brief flame exposure.

I doubt he ever did that again.

Our scout leaders emphasized SAFETY!

Every patrol was issued a double-mantle Coleman lantern and liquid fuel. But use of the gas to light campfires in wet, miserable weather, ESPECIALLY at camporees with other troops who were packing it in and going home, was STRONGLY discouraged.

That's why we had road flares.

Typeminer wrote:Every patrol was issued a double-mantle Coleman lantern and liquid fuel. But use of the gas to light campfires in wet, miserable weather, ESPECIALLY at camporees with other troops who were packing it in and going home, was STRONGLY discouraged.

That's why we had road flares.

That'll get them started. Getting them really going, takes sterner measures.

One winter trip to Treasure Island camp out in the Delaware River, we built a bonfire for Saturday night, and laced it with a bunch of old metal juice pitchers and about 30 pounds of surplus lard blocks we found out at the camp dump. Once the lard got going we couldn't get anywhere near the fire. It melted the pitchers down into a pool of molten metal... we picked the solidified "melt" out of the ashes the next morning.

For getting fires started in nasty weather, when it's raining sideways... a Karuk elder I knew, swore that chainsaw-bar oil was the thing to use. It's thicker than kerosene or diesel fuel... much less volatile than gasoline, the vapors are not likely to go boom, it burns hot, and it burns longer than an equivalent amount of gasoline.

Warrl wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote:I don't drink eggnog... Too scared of the raw eggs. and since I don't drink alcohol, I can't use the "age 40-proof eggnog for three weeks to kill all the salmonella" trick.

And that bit about "heating it gently without boiling, until it coats the back of a spoon?" I don't buy that.
Thickening =/= boiling to sterilize.

I like my eggs cooked thank you very much. And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

I can just guess how you'd react to salmon served medium rare...

Sushi/sashimi?

oldmanmickey wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote:

Fuel-Air stoichiometry is fun!

but a bit dangerous in the hands of idiots
warning this video contains bad words and idiots mixed together.

Following suggested link after suggested link (so many Fails videos, online... ), I found this interesting way to split a log...
And a variation on the same theme...

Finally, Homemade Cannon Shoots Bowling Ball 2 Miles

And for a "final" finally: Functional .22 Cal Steampunk Gatling Gun

And now, on the subject of eggnog. When I was younger, we used to make a drink as follow: pour milk into a large cup/glass/whatever, crack an egg or two into it, add plenty of sugar, sometimes cinnamon and nutmeg, mix by hand (technically, by spoon, moved without any motor assist), and drink. We called it, unimaginatively enough, "un oeuf battu dans du lait" (an egg beat/whipped into milk). I haven't done that in a long time, but I still have fond memories of it.

Hmm... I do have a blender now...

lake_wrangler wrote:And now, on the subject of eggnog. When I was younger, we used to make a drink as follow: pour milk into a large cup/glass/whatever, crack an egg or two into it, add plenty of sugar, sometimes cinnamon and nutmeg, mix by hand (technically, by spoon, moved without any motor assist), and drink. We called it, unimaginatively enough, "un oeuf battu dans du lait" (an egg beat/whipped into milk). I haven't done that in a long time, but I still have fond memories of it.

Hmm... I do have a blender now...

Ca c'est pour petit dejeuner.....pas ainque pour buver.

Damn US English keyboard...

I gave that up when salmonella hit eggs...been down the food poisoning route with clostridium and a hospial stay and I'm not doing it again.

On that note, did anyone ever read "Ice Station Zebra" and note that the medical officer's name is E Coli?

Alistair MacLean was a sick puppy...

GlytchMeister wrote: And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

you commit no sins young sir. i would much rather have mine done well. if it bleeds i am gonna be sick. waiters in restaurants have told me that the way i want it is not the correct way to cook it. i politely ask them if they are paying for the steak, if not then i want it cooked well please. when i am cooking steaks at home i do ask the family how they want theirs cooked. If they answer any way besides well, i tell them my house, my steaks, i am cooking it my way.

Just Old Al wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote:And now, on the subject of eggnog. When I was younger, we used to make a drink as follow: pour milk into a large cup/glass/whatever, crack an egg or two into it, add plenty of sugar, sometimes cinnamon and nutmeg, mix by hand (technically, by spoon, moved without any motor assist), and drink. We called it, unimaginatively enough, "un oeuf battu dans du lait" (an egg beat/whipped into milk). I haven't done that in a long time, but I still have fond memories of it.

Hmm... I do have a blender now...

Ça c'est pour le déjeuner.....pas ainque pour boire.

There. Fixed it for you, with my French Canadian keyboard...
A valiant try, I might add... Except that in Québec, we have the déjeuner, as our first meal of the day, whereas the petit déjeuner is the first meal of the day in France - and possibly elsewhere in Europe...
I'm particularly impressed by your use of "ainque", a contraction of "rien que", which is definitely part of the Québec Joual (the French language equivalant to slang), and hard to write, too... (your use of Québec Joual is what prompted me to remove the "petit" before the "déjeuner"...)
I did have to change your "buver" for "boire"...

oldmanmickey wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote: And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

you commit no sins young sir. i would much rather have mine done well. if it bleeds i am gonna be sick. waiters in restaurants have told me that the way i want it is not the correct way to cook it. i politely ask them if they are paying for the steak, if not then i want it cooked well please. when i am cooking steaks at home i do ask the family how they want theirs cooked. If they answer any way besides well, i tell them my house, my steaks, i am cooking it my way.

The only thing you can do to steak that is worse than cooking it over ... i mean well ... done is this perversion of slicing good cuts "extra thin".

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

oldmanmickey wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote: And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

you commit no sins young sir. i would much rather have mine done well. if it bleeds i am gonna be sick. waiters in restaurants have told me that the way i want it is not the correct way to cook it. i politely ask them if they are paying for the steak, if not then i want it cooked well please. when i am cooking steaks at home i do ask the family how they want theirs cooked. If they answer any way besides well, i tell them my house, my steaks, i am cooking it my way.

The only thing you can do to steak that is worse than cooking it over ... i mean well ... done is this perversion of slicing good cuts "extra thin".

oh i hate this thin cut crap. that and deli slices. i like to be able to taste the meat i am eating.

lake_wrangler wrote: I'm particularly impressed by your use of "ainque", a contraction of "rien que", which is definitely part of the Québec Joual (the French language equivalant to slang), and hard to write, too... (your use of Québec Joual is what prompted me to remove the "petit" before the "déjeuner"...)
I did have to change your "buver" for "boire"...

I have family around Trois Rivieres...still. Still speak it reasonably badly.

GlytchMeister wrote:I don't drink eggnog... Too scared of the raw eggs. and since I don't drink alcohol, I can't use the "age 40-proof eggnog for three weeks to kill all the salmonella" trick.

And that bit about "heating it gently without boiling, until it coats the back of a spoon?" I don't buy that.
Thickening =/= boiling to sterilize.

I like my eggs cooked thank you very much. And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

Agreed on all parts minus complete abstinence from alcohol. I'll have a bit every now and again. It's more likely to be in a social situation, but maybe once or twice a year as something to take the edge of of a shite day.

A Spaghetti Western or two usually does the trick.

Just Old Al wrote:

lake_wrangler wrote: I'm particularly impressed by your use of "ainque", a contraction of "rien que", which is definitely part of the Québec Joual (the French language equivalant to slang), and hard to write, too... (your use of Québec Joual is what prompted me to remove the "petit" before the "déjeuner"...)
I did have to change your "buver" for "boire"...

I have family around Trois Rivieres...still. Still speak it reasonably badly.

Hey, at least you still try, and you are familiar with the Québec Joual.

When I first started going to work at a summer camp in Ontario, when I was 16 (and lived in Québec City, at the time), most people working there could hardly say anything in French. They all would say they only studied it until Grade 9, after which it was optional, and most of them didn't take the option...

Yesterday I went looking for EggNog and the shelves were bare, it's now Friday evening and I have some Brandy and commercial eggnog in the shopping bag. (It's better to make it from scratch...)

Having avoided all things Pumkin-Spice up to this point I suppose I can deal with an appropriate seasonal flavour for a little while. (The bottle of Brandy is likely going to last until New Years at the rate I (don't) drink these days.)


I don't get sick from uncooked foods, I seriously think every case of food poisoning I've ever had came from improperly handled, but already prepared, foodstuffs.

Heck, just last night I took myself to dinner and ate raw fish, danger be damned.

oldmanmickey wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote: And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

you commit no sins young sir. i would much rather have mine done well. if it bleeds i am gonna be sick. waiters in restaurants have told me that the way i want it is not the correct way to cook it. i politely ask them if they are paying for the steak, if not then i want it cooked well please. when i am cooking steaks at home i do ask the family how they want theirs cooked. If they answer any way besides well, i tell them my house, my steaks, i am cooking it my way.

The problem is cooking a steak well done without burning takes skill many don't seem to have so they confuse the two. If a waiter told me that I would respond "If your chef isn't talented enough to cook it like I asked I'll gladly go elsewhere."

shadowinthelight wrote:

oldmanmickey wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote: And yes,mi like my burgers well done... And my steaks medium well (unless its a really good cut of steak). I apologize for my culinary sins. I'm just too freaked out by food poisoning.

you commit no sins young sir. i would much rather have mine done well. if it bleeds i am gonna be sick. waiters in restaurants have told me that the way i want it is not the correct way to cook it. i politely ask them if they are paying for the steak, if not then i want it cooked well please. when i am cooking steaks at home i do ask the family how they want theirs cooked. If they answer any way besides well, i tell them my house, my steaks, i am cooking it my way.

The problem is cooking a steak well done without burning takes skill many don't seem to have so they confuse the two. If a waiter told me that I would respond "If your chef isn't talented enough to cook it like I asked I'll gladly go elsewhere."

But... Cooking it well without burning is easy. Take it slow, flip frequently. I do it all the time with burgers. A steak isn't much different in terms of thermal conductivity.