Would this be ok to eat?

krustylouise

Hi,

Sorry if I come across as stupid but I'm very paranoid about food.

I had a gammon joint in the slow cooker on weds and used the stock to make pea and ham soup. I chopped up the ham last night and added to the soup. It has been in the slow cooker since wed - never put in the fridge or anything. Our kitchen is pretty cold but during the day would be about 20degrees.

thriftwizard

Not at all stupid to ask... I'd put it into a different pan & give it GOOD boil (5 mins at least, 10 would be better) then see how it tastes. I've found slow-cooked ham stock can ferment quite quickly, and it doesn't taste very nice then - rather yeasty.

PS - you'll need to stir the whole time, or the peas will stick & burn.

katkin

I agree, taste a tiny bit and if its sour or unpleasant cut your losses, otherwise give it a good boiling as thriftwizard recommends.

HOWMUCH

Yeah try a teaspoon full and see how it tastes but 20 degrees is warm.

Linda32

If you haven't already done so, I would throw it away.

suki1964

Linda32 wrote: »

If you haven't already done so, I would throw it away.

Why?

If it doesn't taste fizzy or sour it's grand

I cooked the gammon on Sunday and left the stock in the pan on the cooker till Tuesday when I got the day off so I made the soup

That made it sat in the pan till Wednesday when I decanted it in to a Tupperware in the fridge

The last of it got chucked on the Saturday whe. It began to seperate and taste sour

Linda32

Because like Louise, I'm wary of food safety as well. So I said I wouldn't have risked it either.

Just having to put the word 'risk' in with the word 'food' does it for me.

HappyMJ

krustylouise wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry if I come across as stupid but I'm very paranoid about food.

I had a gammon joint in the slow cooker on weds and used the stock to make pea and ham soup. I chopped up the ham last night and added to the soup. It has been in the slow cooker since wed - never put in the fridge or anything. Our kitchen is pretty cold but during the day would be about 20degrees.

If it was a restaurant you wouldn't get away with that and probably have your licence revoked. Food either has to be cold or hot. It can never be left out and especially not overnight. The ideal temperature for bacteria growth is around 25 degrees.

Now personally if left overnight just the one night then I'd risk it but we are talking since Wednesday...it's now Saturday. 3 days later and you're thinking of eating food left out at room temperature.

How cold is "pretty cold"? I have no heating and the internal temperature of the house is around 20 degrees falling to only 18 degrees overnight. To be "pretty cold" your kitchen needs to be under 4 degrees which would reflect the conditions in the fridge. The outdoor temperature hasn't dropped that low yet for your kitchen to be "pretty cold".

Of course boiling it will kill any bacteria but the taste might be vastly different possibly even inedible. Give it a try if you want.

If you're a perfectly healthy adult I'd give it a go. I wouldn't feed anything potentially dangerous to a child, a sick adult or an elderly adult.

krustylouise

Thank you very much for all your replies.

I have decided to throw it away, simply because after closer inspection it had begun to separate.

Newly_retired

On the subject of gammon, in the past I have bought vacuum wrapped gammon joints which had a very long "use by" date on them.
Recently I bought one which I now discover had a short date on it, now long past by about a month.
Is it safe? Or do I just chuck it out?

Linda32

Well, going on my rules, No, 'use by' date is there for a reason. That reason is food safety, not 'to make us buy more' as my OH would say.


Or, ask yourself, how much did it cost? is that worth what you are worried about?