Edit: between 1973 and 2012, 85% of the food poisoning outbreaks in the US that were caused by leafy greens such as cabbage, kale, lettuce and spinach were traced back to food prepared in a restaurant or catering facility
Yeah but you don’t have to buy your vegs from fast food/catering facilities. It’s extremely simple to buy some tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, lettuce, onion etc and prepare a salad yourself.
In fact salads are the easiest things to make, and you can even add bits of cheese, boiled eggs or chicken breast. The next easiest things to cook are roasted vegetables and meat. I mean you don’t have to cook for hours every day in order to eat “healthy”. And of course there are things like soup or stews that you can store in the fridge for a few days and only heat them up when needed.
If so then homemade meatballs are also “junk food”, right? No, it’s obviously not “junk food”.
Salads, fruits and veg are some of the most risky items on a supermarket stall. Literally every year almost everywhere there’s serious e.coli poisoning from such foods and usually and more frequently from organic ones (which is also logical given the abundant use of organic fertiliser). I am not even going to talk and vent about random people touching food with their filthy unwashed hands and then leaving it back.
This time of year, when the blanched Italian endivienherzen comes into the market, we have it with crispy bacon, shavings of Parmigiano or chunks of Roquefort, and a sprinkling of chopped toasted hazelnuts (from our tree–bumper crop this year!). The dressing is champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, and walnut oil. It’s OH’s favourite dish of the season.
Yes, I agree, none of the extremes is good. Besides, there are moments like Christmas or anniversaries, birthdays, parties or social gatherings, when you don’t really have to monitor every bite you take or whatever…go with the flow once in a while, it’s great for your spirit.
It may be risky for children younger than 5 YO and adults older than ___ YO. Otherwise, no special reason to see fruits and vegs as “risk for serious e. coli poisoning”…at least in regions with good enforcement of food safety regulations.
If there’s a special reason for concern, there are plenty of veggie disinfection products in countries with higher hazard of salmonella, e. coli and the like. Put water in a recipient, add a few drops of the disinfectant, submerge the veggies or fruits for 10 mins and carry on. This optional disinfection is still simpler than cooking.
I think there’s more truth in that pre-washed packaged ready-to-eat salad leaves are more likely to give you food poisoning.
A cut-leaf releases nutrients which stimulate bacterial growth. You don’t get that with a whole lettuce or carrot.
They even smell off when you open them. I will not buy them. Full stop.
If I didn’t have the time to spend two or three minutes washing and preparing a salad, rather than opening a bag then social media and this forum would be dropped from my life long before I felt I needed to buy packaged salad to save time.
The last time I got food poisoning - a few years ago - was at a restaurant in Newbury. I had salad. Everyone else didn’t. I got sick.
Here’s an article on Listeria in salads (and cheese) in Switzerland:
In the case of the fresh-cut products, the salad leaves are cut up during the processing for bag salads. This destroys the natural protective layer of the plants against bacteria and fungi. The escaping cell juice serves as food for microorganisms such as listeria, and the humid atmosphere in plastic bags also promotes their growth.
Sure. I will wash my veggies to remove visible mud and little stones. It hurts when you bite them. Otherwise, it’s all fine. If I’m in the Tropics, I’ll dip my veggies in water with some chloride based disinfectant.
From the wiki you shared:
The median age of patients who died of gastroenteritis was 82 years, while the median age of patients who died from hemolytic–uremic syndrome was 74 years.
PS. First time I come across the word Fenugreek - Bockshornklee. I don’t even remember seeing that thing in shops around here. I’ll try to find it next time I go shopping for food.
while with you guys it seems to be what we call chicorée:
And YES I hated it as a kid. It was turned into this bitter salad and had to be eaten (as you eat what comes to the table, kid).
I still don’t buy it. Although I would probably like your wife’s version.
I read adding some baking soda to the water does the trick too. Not tried it.
That was a staple in Belgium, practically a Belgian national dish but most kids hated it.
Mine was the weird one who loved it and was happy if it was on the menu as there was always loads left and he could get seconds.
you can go “wild” with salads.
