Okay hear me out. It’s Friday night, I finish work early, and I decide it’s time to finally make garlic confit. I look up the instructions, and within 20 minutes the house smells divine. While I could literally eat garlic by the spoonful, I decide to Google different ways to enjoy garlic confit. I see several articles with uses, recipes, and…..cue panic. According to the internet, garlic confit is most definitely going to kill me. I’m (rightfully) devastated.
But I can’t wrap my head around it. If garlic confit can cause botulism, why is the garlic on my counter safe? And more importantly, are the at home salad dressings I make also waiting to plan my untimely demise?
why I shouldn’t be afraid of garlic in all of its delicious forms.
In: 5
Confit, as a preservation method, gives the botulinum microbe time to grow if it’s not properly prepared/“sterilized”. Raw or fresh garlic isn’t old enough for the microbe to grow enough to create enough botulism toxin to be dangerous.
In the same sense that fresh bread doesn’t pose a mold risk, but month-old bread may have enough mold to be dangerous.
The C. botulinum bacteria only thrive in the *absence* of oxygen. Since garlic on your countertop is exposed to air it’s not hospitable to C. botulinum, though it can have spores on/in it.
When you immerse it in oil the garlic is deprived of oxygen and C. bot spores can mature, the bacteria can reproduce, and the toxin can start to build up.
It’s when you *preserve* garlic as confit for an extended period of time, that you run a slight risk of Botulism, because the bacteria needs time to multiply to dangerous levels.
If you make Garlic Confit and devour the lot before the weekend is over, your risk is negligible. Enjoy your confit!
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