Applesauce left out overnight
January 4, 2014 6:15 AM Subscribe
This morning I found a container of homemade applesauce left out with the cover off on the counter overnight. Can I eat it? The house was at around 66 degrees.
Yes, absolutely.
...you could get tipsy, but not after one night.
posted by Namlit at 6:40 AM on January 4, 2014
...you could get tipsy, but not after one night.
posted by Namlit at 6:40 AM on January 4, 2014
I would eat it no problem, but you can always heat it up (to the point where it is steaming hot) and the let cool a bit (or eat hot!) if that would make you more comfortable.
As a rule, acidic and/or sugary things do fine for a few days or more without refrigeration. Applesauce is both, so it is in no worries column for me.
posted by ohio at 6:57 AM on January 4, 2014
As a rule, acidic and/or sugary things do fine for a few days or more without refrigeration. Applesauce is both, so it is in no worries column for me.
posted by ohio at 6:57 AM on January 4, 2014
Yup, high sugar content and high acid content are both inhibitors of bacterial growth. It's fine.
posted by Turkey Glue at 7:03 AM on January 4, 2014
posted by Turkey Glue at 7:03 AM on January 4, 2014
I would eat it no problem, but you can always heat it up (to the point where it is steaming hot) and the let cool a bit (or eat hot!) if that would make you more comfortable.
FWIW this does nothing to help "fix" the problem of foods being left out on the counter overnight. It's irrelevant.
However, applesauce of all things should be fine.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:13 AM on January 4, 2014 [4 favorites]
FWIW this does nothing to help "fix" the problem of foods being left out on the counter overnight. It's irrelevant.
However, applesauce of all things should be fine.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:13 AM on January 4, 2014 [4 favorites]
Things like applesauce, jams and jellies, etc., were originally ways of preserving food. So generally you can trust them at room temperature longer than you would trust raw food. And raw apples last fairly long anyway.
posted by musofire at 7:50 AM on January 4, 2014
posted by musofire at 7:50 AM on January 4, 2014
When apples go bad, you can smell it.
Lack of bad smell or taste will not definitively tell you something is safe to eat. It can definitively tell you when something is unsafe, but not the other way around. Not all spoilage produces detectable odours or flavours.
I would eat it no problem, but you can always heat it up (to the point where it is steaming hot) and the let cool a bit (or eat hot!) if that would make you more comfortable.
As KokoRyu said above, this does nothing. With many food-borne pathogens, the problem is the products the pathogen leaves behind.
Plus, heating then cooling again keeps the food in the Danger Zone, the temperature range where bacteria multiplies fastest.
So, back to the original question:
With my professional hat on, I'd say: no, this is probably a bad idea, best to just pitch it and remember the fridge next time. But then I have to worry about potentially making dozens of people sick at a time, so...
Without my professional hat on, at home? Yeah, I'd eat that. It's almost certainly okay. If you're not immunocompromised in any way, it's probably a truly negligible risk.
But not zero, so up to you.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:46 AM on January 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Lack of bad smell or taste will not definitively tell you something is safe to eat. It can definitively tell you when something is unsafe, but not the other way around. Not all spoilage produces detectable odours or flavours.
I would eat it no problem, but you can always heat it up (to the point where it is steaming hot) and the let cool a bit (or eat hot!) if that would make you more comfortable.
As KokoRyu said above, this does nothing. With many food-borne pathogens, the problem is the products the pathogen leaves behind.
Plus, heating then cooling again keeps the food in the Danger Zone, the temperature range where bacteria multiplies fastest.
So, back to the original question:
With my professional hat on, I'd say: no, this is probably a bad idea, best to just pitch it and remember the fridge next time. But then I have to worry about potentially making dozens of people sick at a time, so...
Without my professional hat on, at home? Yeah, I'd eat that. It's almost certainly okay. If you're not immunocompromised in any way, it's probably a truly negligible risk.
But not zero, so up to you.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:46 AM on January 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: We all ate it, and we survived, so I guess it was fine.
posted by mkb at 7:26 PM on January 5, 2014
posted by mkb at 7:26 PM on January 5, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by musofire at 6:26 AM on January 4, 2014