[Sca-cooks] Help! Pickled Turnips

[Chris Stanifer]

--- Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I bought a jar of Middle-Easter pickled turnips today.They're pickled 
> with vinegar, salt, pepper, and some beetroot.  When I opened the jar, 
> there was the "pop" of the seal breaking, then the liquid began to 
> fizz.  There was no residue, no funny smell, just lots of little bubbles 
> rising to the top, as if it were a glass of soda.  Is this normal?  Safe 
> to consume?


If the liquid began to fizz, I would certainly discard the product, in a secure garbage bin, and
in a bag marked 'POISON'. Clostridium Botulinum, which can survive the pickling process if the
acid level is not strong enough, are present in the earth, and many low-acid pickles (such as
turnips and beets) have been implicated in cases of Botulism.  The Botulism bacteria, unlike many
other bacteria, do not necessarily 'sour' or otherwise scent the product when they take hold, so
smelling it is not a guarantee that it has not gone off.

For what it's worth, the Botulism toxin can be destroyed by boiling the liquid for 10 minutes
(plus 1 minute for every mile above sea level), but you are better off chucking the stuff.  Too
bad, too, because they sound like they would be very tasty.

Oh...and it only takes 1 single C. Botulinum to kill a healthy adult male, if conditions are
right.

William de Grandfort

=====
Through teeth of sharks, the Autumn barks.....and Winter squarely bites me.


		
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