[jrose_lee]

I made beef stew last night for dinnner. Yum! It was from homemade bone broth, all organic veggies and beef. Then I accidentally left it out all night. It's been out approx. 12 hours.<br><br>
Do I need to just throw it all out? Can it just be reboiled and put in the fridge? I don't know...hate to waste it all (big batch) but obviously don't want anyone getting sick.<br><br>
Help?

 

[oneKnight]

I'd eat it. Honestly, I cook stuff overnight in the crock pot then it's too hot to put in the fridge before I have to leave so I leave it out all day while I'm gone to work then put it up. We never have any problems. I routinely make buttermilk by leaving milk out overnight - I fail to see the difference.

 

[LionTigerBear]

If it were me, I would toss it, but I'm kind of paranoid like that and I don't know if that would be the right thing to do. Sorry I'm not more help.<br><br>
But my mom's good friend got food poisoning in a bad way, from eating food that had sat out for too long, and she had to go to the hospital and I guess she almost died. That really made an impression on me.

 

[klg47]

I'm not really sure what factors cause foods to cause food poisoning, so it's hard to say what to tell you. But - a few weeks ago, I made beef stroganoff, my favorite meal. I left it out all night. But I just couldn't stand to throw it out! I was worried because I was pregnant, but I still ate it. I made sure it got thoroughly hot when I re-heated it, and I was fine. But I still wonder - was I taking a huge chance, or was there really not much chance of it being contaminated in the first place?

 

[ASusan]

I think if you heat it back up to boiling for a few minutes, you're ok.<br><br>
In part, I say this based on the experience of DH's family. They make a family dish called pepper pot, which is stewed beaf(? ox tail, specifically, I think). It is made primarily at holidays and eaten for breakfast. It is heated up every morning, and then left to cool on the stove. It just sits on the stove (burner off) until the next day - or the next - and is heated back up again. It lasts about a week or so.<br><br>
At first, this bothered me, but this is the way it is eaten, and no one ever gets sick from it.

 

[spughy]

I would reheat it IMMEDIATELY, then cool it quickly and refrigerate it and it will probably be ok.<br><br>
There are two ways you can get sick from food spoilage. One is from the bacteria itself, but if you're eating TF you probably have good enough gut flora to cope with that. The other is bacterial waste products. Those will get EVERYONE, IIRC. Bacterial waste takes longer to build up, but will still make you sick even if it's heated because it's a chemical toxin, not an organism.<br><br>
But 12 hours... you're probably fine as long as you kill the bacteria right away.

 

[momto l&a]

I'd bring to a boil and eat.

 

[velcromom]

If you are going to eat it I think it needs to be boiled 20 min. first... I left out some really good spaghetti sauce once and looked up some food safety info and that is what they advised.<br><br>
If it was covered while it was still piping hot and then sat overnight, like in ASusan's example, I'd feel better about that than if it cooled off, uncovered and sat out. But I am paranoid, having had food poisoning, and anything that gets left out over an hour is usually tossed out of my kitchen.

 

[425lisamarie]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>momto l&a</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7896805"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I'd bring to a boil and eat.</div>
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Me too

 

[provocativa]

We do this all the time, if the beginning soup ingredients weren't questionable. I leave stocks out overnight all the time.

 

[momma4fun]

Yeah everytime I make soup it sits on the stove until it's done. After the first couple days I'll heat it up to boiling each time we eat from it. It can go all week in our house.

 

[Ruthla]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>momto l&a</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7896805"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I'd bring to a boil and eat.</div>
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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>425lisamarie</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7898735"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Me too</div>
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me three

 

[grisandole]

Was it covered or uncovered? If it was covered, there is a chance it could be contaminated with botulism, which contrary to popular belief, isn't just from canned goods. In any case, boiling will kill any toxins present, so if you boil it for a while, it should be okay.<br><br>
Personally, I would throw it out, but I'm paranoid when it comes to food poisoning.

 

[Dillpicklechip]

I just did this same thing last night. I made a small pot of chicken stock from some chicken legs we had yesterday, intending to use it to make soup for the kids' lunch today, and I left it sit out on the stove all night, with the lid on. It was out for about 10 hours after it cooled down.<br><br>
After reading this thread I guess it's okay. I boiled it again for half an hour when I got up this morning just to be safe though.

 

[spartz]

Do you mean if it was UNcovered it could have botulism? Sorry, not really au fait with botulism, just know it's incredibly nasty. Also know that boiling will kill the botulism bacteria but not affect the toxic by-products they have already produced. It's the toxic by-products that paralyse and kill.<br><br>
When I am making stock, I turn it off very late at night and it sits out on the stove until it gets turned on again first thing in the morning. We've never had any problems but the stock pot is huge and it takes ages for it to cool down. It is always still quite warm in the morning so any organisms probably only have a window of opportunity for a few hours - not the whole night. And I always thought with the lid on there was less chance of bacteria getting in anyway.<br><br>
Spartz.

 

[JElaineB]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>spartz</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/8244940"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Do you mean if it was UNcovered it could have botulism? Sorry, not really au fait with botulism, just know it's incredibly nasty. Also know that boiling will kill the botulism bacteria but not affect the toxic by-products they have already produced. It's the toxic by-products that paralyse and kill.<br><br>
When I am making stock, I turn it off very late at night and it sits out on the stove until it gets turned on again first thing in the morning. We've never had any problems but the stock pot is huge and it takes ages for it to cool down. It is always still quite warm in the morning so any organisms probably only have a window of opportunity for a few hours - not the whole night. And I always thought with the lid on there was less chance of bacteria getting in anyway.<br><br>
Spartz.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum" target="_blank"><i>Clostridium botulinum</i></a> is an anaerobic bacteria (meaning it lives in the absence of oxygen), so a covered pot would be a more hospitable environment for it, hypothetically. The cover would certainly help keep out other nasties from the air, though.

 

[spartz]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>JElaineB</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/8246182"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum" target="_blank"><i>Clostridium botulinum</i></a> is an anaerobic bacteria (meaning it lives in the absence of oxygen), so a covered pot would be a more hospitable environment for it, hypothetically. The cover would certainly help keep out other nasties from the air, though.</div>
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Ah, I'm with you now. Guess the lid to the stock pot isn't completely sealed and the stock itself should be well aerated since it's been boiling all day. But definitely something to keep in mind. Thanks.