Food Safety
The lady in tianguis cuts off a chunk of cheese and thrusts it at you impaled on the point of a knife...
The vendor wants you to sample a chunk of melon on a plate
How long has that jar of mayonnaise been sitting on the taco preparation shelf?
The biggest myth circulating among gringo turistas is that heavy doses of fresh limon juice kills bacteria...
The fact is much of the outbreak of cholera in Mexico City a decade or so ago was spread by wandering ceviche vendors selling pickled fish doused with lots of limon. Even pure limon juice cannot kill many forms of bacteria. Virus yes -- bacteria no. Use common sense.
Watermelon and cantaloupe can osmosis bacteria bacteria right from the ground it's growing in. When I grow cantaloupe it's after cow manure has been in the ground for six months. And no, this is not a myth.
If you find a cracked egg, careful inspection may reveal a perfectly sealed product within an unbroken sack. Crack the suspicious egg into a separate bowl. Discard of the yolk is broken or the white does not look right. Eggs do not to be refrigerated if kept out of sunlight and at temperatures less than 80F. If eggs spoiled that rapidly chickens would have died out millions of years ago.
Super sterilized un-refrigerated box milk lasts longer even after being opened. Whereas fresh refrigerated milk turns sour a few days after being opened, box milk has remained perfect in my refrigerator for longer than a week.
Many people do not understand that properly refrigerated food means food kept at 35F to 38F and this includes food store on door shelves. I am convinced many RV'ers ignore this and sicken themselves because they have no idea of how chilled their refrigerator is.
People are paranoid about sterilizing fresh vegetables in Mexico. Most USA vegetables sold in the winter have their origin in Mexico. It takes a full half hour immersion in weak iodine to sterilize a head of lettuce but wait, read the wrapper, lettuce and celery comes from the US!
I have had notoriously bad luck with shrimp especially shrimp ceviche and shrimp cocktails. The safest way to cook shrimp is to boil it which causes tears to flow because I love shrimp sauteed in butter and garlic.
Shopping in an open market meat shop means dealing with flies, the sight of which makes my skin crawl. if you buy market meat, at home soak it raw like you do vegetables in sterilizing water and drops.
I never buy ranch cheese from an unknown wandering vendor. Queso blanco is uncooked, and unsterilized. It came from an unknown rancho. Always rely on advice from a local before buying soft white ranch cheese. Other cheeses are cooked. Hard cheese is legal to bring home.
Hopefully this thread will see extensive discussion and additions :)
The vendor wants you to sample a chunk of melon on a plate
How long has that jar of mayonnaise been sitting on the taco preparation shelf?
The biggest myth circulating among gringo turistas is that heavy doses of fresh limon juice kills bacteria...
The fact is much of the outbreak of cholera in Mexico City a decade or so ago was spread by wandering ceviche vendors selling pickled fish doused with lots of limon. Even pure limon juice cannot kill many forms of bacteria. Virus yes -- bacteria no. Use common sense.
Watermelon and cantaloupe can osmosis bacteria bacteria right from the ground it's growing in. When I grow cantaloupe it's after cow manure has been in the ground for six months. And no, this is not a myth.
If you find a cracked egg, careful inspection may reveal a perfectly sealed product within an unbroken sack. Crack the suspicious egg into a separate bowl. Discard of the yolk is broken or the white does not look right. Eggs do not to be refrigerated if kept out of sunlight and at temperatures less than 80F. If eggs spoiled that rapidly chickens would have died out millions of years ago.
Super sterilized un-refrigerated box milk lasts longer even after being opened. Whereas fresh refrigerated milk turns sour a few days after being opened, box milk has remained perfect in my refrigerator for longer than a week.
Many people do not understand that properly refrigerated food means food kept at 35F to 38F and this includes food store on door shelves. I am convinced many RV'ers ignore this and sicken themselves because they have no idea of how chilled their refrigerator is.
People are paranoid about sterilizing fresh vegetables in Mexico. Most USA vegetables sold in the winter have their origin in Mexico. It takes a full half hour immersion in weak iodine to sterilize a head of lettuce but wait, read the wrapper, lettuce and celery comes from the US!
I have had notoriously bad luck with shrimp especially shrimp ceviche and shrimp cocktails. The safest way to cook shrimp is to boil it which causes tears to flow because I love shrimp sauteed in butter and garlic.
Shopping in an open market meat shop means dealing with flies, the sight of which makes my skin crawl. if you buy market meat, at home soak it raw like you do vegetables in sterilizing water and drops.
I never buy ranch cheese from an unknown wandering vendor. Queso blanco is uncooked, and unsterilized. It came from an unknown rancho. Always rely on advice from a local before buying soft white ranch cheese. Other cheeses are cooked. Hard cheese is legal to bring home.
Hopefully this thread will see extensive discussion and additions :)
