Is my broth still good?

[mom61508]

I left broth simmering overnight but at 2am my mom came and turned it off and it sat out till 745 this morning. It was cool to the touch when I touched it. Do I throw it out or keep it???

[la mamita]

I would dump it, that's long enough for bacteria to grow if unrefridgerated. I'm pretty cautious in this regard though...

[tinuviel_k]

I've safely recovered broth that was left out that long. If you don't feel comfortable you should toss it, though.
Was the broth covered when it was turned off? I have no scientific basis for this, but to some degree I think covered broth remains sterile a bit longer than uncovered as long as it was merrily bubbling and covered when the heat was turned off.

[mom61508]

No it wasn't covered :( So sad this is my second batch that has been ruined....uhhhhhh!  Such a bummer my instinct says to dump it.

[CherryBomb]

Eh, if you're going to freeze it, I'd go ahead and use it.  I had this problem the last time i made chicken stock, I turned it off after 24 hours and let it sit to cool, then fell asleep.  I still used it.

[cyclamen]

Yeah, it's too bad... if it was covered I would just boil it again.  My mom used to do that all the time when we were kids and we never got sick. 

And... it actually is scientific that covered broth won't go bad as quickly.  Bacteria spores have to get in somehow in order to grow:

http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp03/0302003.html

Anyhow, if it was uncovered and the house was warm, I'd probably dump it from habit.  Tho honestly, if the house was cold and it smelled okay I might boil it, let it cool, add a bunch of saurkraut or kimchi and just eat it.  I know that's a food safety no-no since enough bacteria can sometimes grow to produce undesirable toxins without an undesirable smell, but again, they have to get in there somehow.  Most of the bacteria floating around the average kitchen is harmless.  AFAIK, nasty stuff like ecoli and salmonella need a medium to keep growing - they aren't airborne (unless aeresolized by knife splatter etc) so they couldn't just have floated into your soup.  Now if someone went to the bathroom and didn't wash their hands good, and touched the soup yeah...

Further anecdata: my dad used to keep all kinds of stuff on the stove (usu. covered, but probably not 100% of the time) like meat and fish and beans and stuff, for days, in the Florida heat, and we always ate it until it smelled bad....gross!  *shrug* and we never got sick.  But I wouldn't bank on that if I were feeding my kid.

[littlest birds]

I turn mine off at night on purpose, and start it up again the next day as a rule.  I don't like having the gas flame going in the kitchen while we're asleep.  Our kitchen is quite cold so that also makes me relaxed about it.  I have to make my sauerkraut in another room now, over a heat register because there was no way it would be warm enough in the kitchen.  In winter we often leave leftovers out overnight (covered) and use them the next day.  It seems like boiling the broth again would do in any bacteria regardless.  That's really only a few hours as well, so there probably is very little to kill. 

I never leave broth uncovered while it's cooking, though.  I turn it very low (like when cooking rice) to where I don't even need to crack the lid because it just won't boil rapidly enough to overflow.  (I wonder if I am cooking it the "wrong" way since I don't know if I ever read any instructions.)  Anyway, your re-boiled broth wouldn't worry me.

[la mamita]

Originally Posted by littlest birds 

; It seems like boiling the broth again would do in any bacteria regardless.  That's really only a few hours as well, so there probably is very little to kill.

This is not true. I've done a lot of reading about food safety after having food poisoning so many times and even contracting parasites this year (I live in South America at the moment). When food is left out at room temperature, bacteria can start to grow in it, and some foods are more hospitable to bacteria or have a greater chance of having had bacteria in them to start with. Boiling it again will kill off MOST bacteria, however the waste products of that bacteria are not removed and *that* is why you can get really sick from eating food that was left out too long but reheated thoroughly. It's the difference between food 'poisoning' where you are literally intoxicated by the bacterial waste products and a bacterial infection. Either way, you end up feeling like death...

A rule of thumb: 4 hours or more at 40-140F for foods that are normally refrigerated/cooked means it is in the danger zone...