Page 46 - Sous Vide Que

safer since searing pasteurizes the surface and bacteria rarely get into whole undamaged muscle such as a fish fillet or steak.
About Spores
Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinum form spores under stress. Spores are like tiny fortresses that protect bacteria under extreme conditions, even boiling temperatures. You need acidity and pressure cooking at temperatures in the range of 250°F to eradicate spores. Botulinum is especially dangerous. Botulism can be fatal.
The good news is that eating spores is low risk. The acidity of your digestive system will likely kill them, and even if they should somehow activate, you will likely excrete them before they can do any harm.
Things that grow underground like garlic, onions, and carrots have more Clostridium botulinum spores than things that grow above ground. Clostridium botulinum prefers anaerobic (air free) environments. That means that throwing raw garlic in a sous vide bag or in a bottle of olive oil at room temperature increases the risk. To prevent spores from activating, do not keep foods in your refrigerator longer than 3 weeks before or after cooking and make sure your fridge is at or below 38°F.
About Parasites
Raw seafood can harbor parasites, most commonly tapeworm eggs or larvae. Cooking to 145°F will kill adult tapeworms as well as larvae and eggs. That is hotter than most chefs like to cook fish, even with conventional cooking. Fortunately, most parasites can be killed by freezing for 7 days at -4°F or 15 hours at -35°F. Commercially frozen fish are often taken to these low temperatures. Alas, most home freezers are set to 0°F. So if you wish to cook fish to 131°F or below, you should consider buying commercially frozen fish.
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