What happens when you ‘ferment’ food and how does it help with preservation?
In: Chemistry
Good bacteria is usually stronger than bad bacteria. Get yourself some good bacteria to start and it will kill the bad. Fortunately, there’s more good bacteria than bad out there so it normally works out.
Bad bacteria usually has no smell to it. The worry is botulism. Bacillus Botulinum has no smell and doesn’t make CO2 or acids so you can’t see, smell, or taste it. It can also grow aerobic or anaerobic. It prefers anaerobic but, with low oxygen, it will still grow. It’s not the spores that kill you, it’s the toxins.
What we were taught when I was a cook was, “If something should smell bad, and does smell bad, you shouldn’t serve it, but it won’t kill you. If something should smell bad, but doesn’t, it will kill you.” Regardless, it needs to be thrown out. Don’t trust the smell test. If it’s old, it’s old. Throw it, don’t use smell.
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