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.
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