Bugs in my chick peas

bouicca21

I was going to make hummus and a chick pea curry tomorrow, so I got the packet out to soak the peas overnight, only to discover little insects which google suggests are bean weevils - dark coloured, about the size of fruit flies or a little bit bigger. The packet had been opened but was folded over and secured with a peg. 

Do I need to clean the whole cupboard and get rid of any open packets (there are lentils in there, as well as dried mushrooms, desiccated coconut, and an open packet of cheese crackers  on another shelf, everything else is either sealed or in cans) or can I be reasonably confident that it is only the chick peas that would be affected?  What are the chances of the little [moderately rude word] lurking and looking forward to me restocking?  Mind you I have definitely gone off chick peas for the time being so I won’t be buying any more for quite a while.

weenancyinAmerica

A few years back, we received a load of rice to give away at our senior food bank. We could see weevils in it and started to throw it out. Our Vietnamese customers, said oh no, and that they would just put it in water and let the bugs rise to the surface, remove them, and cook it. And they did - for a church dinner that night! I think it how and where you have been raised make a big difference. My sister won't keep cans past their best by date. We still eat them if the cans look okay.

bouicca21

Yes, I get that my revulsion labels me as a first world city person!  I did think about washing them off - after all they hadn’t survived the boiling water - but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  I’ll happily eat stuff past the best before or use by dates if it looks and smells ok, and I’ll cut the mould off cheese, but I couldn’t face eating something that had had bugs in it.

Brie

bouicca21 said:

Yes, I get that my revulsion labels me as a first world city person!  I did think about washing them off - after all they hadn’t survived the boiling water - but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  I’ll happily eat stuff past the best before or use by dates if it looks and smells ok, and I’ll cut the mould off cheese, but I couldn’t face eating something that had had bugs in it.

My mom always used to say bugs meant you were getting free protein.  Not a fan myself.