breadcrumbs mouldy bread

AllyS

Hi all

We always eat homecooked food, but I still find that I go over my £200 a month budget (2ads & 2Chd). I will look at cheaper meals for more inspiration.

Anyway, I have bread that has gone mouldy this morning, but I do make breadcrumbs occasionally, so the kids can have chicken goujons, anyway, can I use this bread (cutting off mouldy bits) to make breadcrumbs to use at a much later date? How is it best to store it? Freeze it?

Thanks

kittycat204

It isn't okay to eat mouldy food even after the mold has been cut off, as surface mold is more than what you see. It actually has hyphae or roots which can penetrate deeper into the food.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_dangerous_is_it_to_eat_molded_bread#ixzz1keg90NNa

saying that, i would cut it off and breadcrumb and freeze. maybe not worth the effort and risk for a £1. or less if you get some reduced that is going stale already.

mrsdwhite

I agree with Kitty I'm afraid, the mould you see is just the tip of it, the roots and spores will go like a network through the bread (or any other food). Having said that, bread is not a high risk food and it would be unlikely to hurt you if the visible bits were cut off.

freyasmum

I wouldn't - for the reason others have said above. The bit of mould you see is not the only mould that's there.

And if you've ever been given anything that's gone off, even without visible mould, you get the most awful 'earthy' taste _pale_

Remember, it's not just a few pence worth of bread you'd be wasting but also your chicken breasts or whatever else you decide to breadcrumb. Sometimes trying to save money just ends up costing more... and it's just not worth it.

Emuchops

Totally going against the trend I'd say 'eat it'. It will be fine. I've eaten mouldy bread since childhood with no ill effects. I don't care if it's got deadly tendrils spreading the death spores throughout the loaf, unless your immune system is 'challenged', get it in the freezer...

Ben84

Mouldy bread has a strong foul flavour to some people, including the bits that aren't visibly mouldy, so it may not go down well when served to them.

horsechestnut

If I see a white loaf that is drastically reduce in the Supermarket, then I buy it and wizz it up in the blender to make bread crumbs. I freeze them in sandwich bags ready to use them from frozen in my usual recipe.

kezlou

I must admit i can't eat mouldy bread, i'm quite sensitive so i can not only taste it but smell it aswell.
My OH though he's fine.

Sometimes what i do is smell the non-mouldy bots and if its okay for me to taste then i freeze it. If not its straight in the bin.

marleyboy

Albeit when I was a child my Mother would cut away the mould and serve us the bread, it never really did me any harm, it is not something I would recommend for the following reason.

The blue-green coloured fungi you see on mouldy bread are likely to be one or more species of Penicillium. It is true that one species called Penicillium notatum, from which Penicillin can be derived, may occur on bread, but the species is rarely present. Sometimes, a white rim may be seen around the infected area on the bread.

The problem is that Penicillium species hardly ever grow alone on bread. More often than not other fungi such as Aspergillus, Fusarium and others grow alongside the Penicillium. Although some Aspergillus species may be recognised by their black spores, other fungi may be whitish or transparent and almost invisible to the naked eye.

Almost all these fungi can produce poisons called mycotoxins if the conditions are right. This doesn't happen all the time and the presence of mould does not mean that mycotoxins are present - but it is a real risk, as mycotoxins are harmful to humans.

The extent of the harm can vary from kidney disease to death depending on the amount ingested. While this is not very likely to occur following the ingestion of the odd slice of furry bread, the risk is there.

Aspergillus species in particular produce a really nasty substance called aflatoxin, which has been known to cause hundreds of fatalities worldwide in recent centuries. Other moulds produce carcinogenic substances on occasions.

Wiping the mould off the bread is not the answer as the filamentous hyphae of the mould pervade the bread and are invisible to the naked eye. These hyphae may also contain the various mycotoxins.

Toasting the bread only destroys the parts of the mould on the surface of the bread: the hyphae inside the bread may survive along with the mycotoxins they may contain.

In addition, mouldy bread will often succumb to bacterial infection with species such as Staphylococcus soon after mould establishes itself on the bread, because the bread becomes moister following mould growth. Ingestion of these bacteria will almost certainly result in food poisoning.

So, I would suggest that mouldy bread is best avoided.

SailorSam

I didn't know that about mould going deeper, i've sliced mould off cheese and eaten it in the past (the cheese not the mould), am i going to die ?

marleyboy

SailorSam wrote: »

I didn't know that about mould going deeper, i've sliced mould off cheese and eaten it in the past (the cheese not the mould), am i going to die ?

Mouldy cheese is often eaten. Stilton and others do contain Penicillium species and people eat the horrible stuff day in and day out without any harm.

The reason is simple. These cheeses and some other food products contain Penicillium roquefortii or Penicillium camembertii, both of which are totally harmless to humans and they do not produce mycotoxins.

So your not going to die