[rabid_child]

Last night I baked a sweet potato to use in sweet potato biscuits later this week. I baked it along with dinner, and it was blazing hot when I put away leftover so I left it on the stove wrapped in aluminum foil. I wasn't feel well though and fell asleep around 8, and didn't put it away, and my bf never thinks to do these things, so it sat out all night. I put it in the fridge this morning, and it was pretty darn cold. Do you think I could still use it later in the week, or will it have become toxic overnight?

 

[cftwo]

Some people are a lot more strict about these things than I am, but if it's not growing any mold, I'd go ahead and use it (within 2-3 days, though), because you'll be baking with it. If you were talking about something where you wouldn't cook it again, I'd say absolutely not.

 

[WonderRandy]

yum yum. eat em up.

 

[GhostUser]

Im sure it would probably be ok but I wouldn't eat it. In our house, if its been out of the fridge all night, it goes in the garbage.

 

[froggythefrog]

I would eat it sooner than later, but it should be fine.

 

[Snow White]

It still had its peel and it was wrapped, right, so the chances of anything surviving the oven or getting in there later are fairly slim. Plus, you'll be heating it again. I'd say smell it and if it doesn't seem off, use it. I used to eat stuff that sat in a pot on the stove all the time when I still lived with my parents and I was fine.

 

[Brandon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kali

Im sure it would probably be ok but I wouldn't eat it. In our house, if its been out of the fridge all night, it goes in the garbage.

Same here. I don't like to waste food, but I'm a believer in "When in doubt, throw it out" when it comes to anything I even remotely feel is questionable.

 

[rabid_child]

I'm a "when in doubt, throw it out" person myself, but it's not like it's the middle of the summer, and the potato was in skin, in foil, and is going to be baked into biscuits, so it'll be getting quite hot again before it's eaten. I'm leaning toward it being edable, because of things like apple pie which we cook then leave out for days and continue to eat it.

 

[WonderRandy]

eat em...

 

[taurushead]

i second Kali.

its probably fine but im pedantic and would probably through it out muttering 'better to be safe than sorry' .

but its probably a-ok!!

xo

 

[eggplant]

I'm of the "smells fine, looks fine, eat it" school. But then I, much like a toddler, sometimes find myself putting unidentified tidbits I find on the kitchen counter or floor in my mouth before thinking of what I'm doing...

 

[karenlovessnow]

I would eat it.

 

[thebelovedtree]

The health dept (and I) say THROW IT OUT! the vast majority of microorganisms that cause food borne illness are not food spoilage organisms- meaning they don't change the taste, texture, or smell of the food.

The sweet potato was wrapped in foil which would keep it moist and allow any bacteria on the skin to flourish. Even if you bake it there are many strains of bacteria that produce toxins as they go through their life cycle and these toxins aren't damaged by heat. They can still make you ill even if the item was cooked well after being left out and all the bacteria are now dead (this type of food borne illness is called a food borne intoxication)

<<<---- Is serv safe certified

 

[froggythefrog]

Even though you would catch me eating the thing, thebelovedtree is 100% correct.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebelovedtree

The health dept (and I) say THROW IT OUT! the vast majority of microorganisms that cause food borne illness are not food spoilage organisms- meaning they don't change the taste, texture, or smell of the food.

The sweet potato was wrapped in foil which would keep it moist and allow any bacteria on the skin to flourish. Even if you bake it there are many strains of bacteria that produce toxins as they go through their life cycle and these toxins aren't damaged by heat. They can still make you ill even if the item was cooked well after being left out and all the bacteria are now dead (this type of food borne illness is called a food borne intoxication)

<<<---- Is serv safe certified

 

[Kiz]

I would eat it. I hate wasting food.

 

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

I'd eat it. I can't AFFORD to waste food. We probably eat a LOT of things that most people would be a little freaked at.

(Brandon, I'll clear out all the expired labels before you come to visit. Or maybe that's why you never HAVE come to visit?)

I realize the health dept. has reasons for their regulations and all, but eh...

 

[Snow White]

Sure, it's possible for heat stable toxins to remain on the skin, but most bacteria aren't pathogenic and would have died first time round in the oven. And the chances of pathogenic bacteria walking around your kitchen and getting into the foil wrapper...nah... I wouldn't feed it to a crowd, but I'd eat it myself and maybe wash and peel it before heating again if I was having a paranoid day.

 

[Life2k]

If you are going to bake it in biscuts, the temp will be over 350 for 30 min? If so, it should be fine. Make sure it smells "normal" right before you use it tho'. I wouldn't eat it without raising the temp high enough long enough to kill bacteria. Then after your meal, I would not save the leftovers.

 

[Kiz]

Considering it's been five days since it was left out overnight, if it wasn't off then it would be off now!

 

[Life2k]

You know me, Kiz. I wake up in a new world every day. Sorry, I didn't notice how old the question was. Can we say bored, very bored?