Autoclaves, cooking food, and health

Autoclaves, cooking food, and health

            I am always astounded when I read about food related sickness outbreaks in the USA.

            The general reason is because we often ignore some heat and water boiling, sometimes even steam like in an autoclave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclave ), which will kill all of the germs and viruses that often exist in poorly cooked food. The other usual reason is because we buy and eat raw food, often salads.

            Now I recognize many people presently enjoy eating poorly cooked meat, to include beef (like e coli) and chicken (like salmonella)  meals. Even raw oysters are still popular, as  are "rare" cooked steaks. Even a few of us Americans still like drinking raw "cow milk", though most of the local Mennonites where I live add hydrogen peroxide (usually a few drops of 35%)  into their raw milk to kill the germs.

            Even chefs (especially if they don't wash their hands) who dip their finger into the food for taste testing may be demonstrating poor health habits.

            And I also recognize one can "overcook" food, often resulting in more tasteless and sometimes less nutritional  food.

            And I also recognize one also should sterilize their cooking and eating stuff, as best they can.

            That's what a "good" cook, and even eater of foods knows how to best balance. There's no free lunch. Even I believe and think that "overcooking" can reduce the food value of the final cooked product. Usually trial and error will be involved as a best solution evolves where you live.  As most mothers say, moderation in all things is a smart way to go.

            My sales pitch is to try not get sick during any hard times situation when one has to depend on their own means to stay alive; including  not  getting  sick  from poor health habits that might arise from our present cooking and eating habits.

            Said another way, cooking safely and cooking food is a sacred responsibility.