# I have learned a lesson and I have learned it well. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-a-lesson-and-i-have-learned-it-well/148083 "2003-01-12T04:43:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-a-lesson-and-i-have-learned-it-well/148083/21 "2003-01-13T23:08:00Z")
So, I’ve reason to pause before I use the package of “Road Kill Helper” I got for Christmas? I mean, the helper itself is probably OK, but now I’ve got to worry about how long the road kill was; well, _road kill_ before I picked it up? Does the temperature of the road itself come into play here? Will thorough cooking make the road kill (whatever the species) become acceptable fare? Help me fight ignorance (my own) here! Sorry for you and your family’s illness, **racer72** ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-a-lesson-and-i-have-learned-it-well/148083/22 "2003-01-14T03:50:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CRorex \* > \*\* > > Now, I do this ALL the time in the lab. I’ll make bacteria broth. Basically cow and yeast extract, add water and I’ll autoclave it (using high pressure steam I’ll bring the temperature of the broth up to 121C for 20-30 min). Each flask of broth will have an aluminum foil lid SECURELY taped down. These flasks of broth (which are ideal for growning all sorts of goodies) remain sterile for several months. At room temp. I see no reason why the same principle would not work with food. \*\* ``` Curiously, if this isn't done right, it's actually a recipe for brewing up botulinus, according the article I referenced above. The botulinus spores are somewhat resistant to boiling -- it takes some time to kill them. So if you don't boil the food long enough, you'll kill off the competing bacteria but leave the spores ready to propagate. Then, by covering the pot and leaving it out, you create the warm, anaerobic environment it needs to thrive. Get the PH right and you have a potentially scary stew. But given that all we bachelors with habits of leaving dinner out on the stove have somehow survived to mature adulthood, I'm guessing that botulinus doesn't propagate all that rapidly under those conditions, at least not to the point where a healthy immune system can deal with it. ``` ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-a-lesson-and-i-have-learned-it-well/148083/23 "2003-01-14T04:40:07Z")
Clostridium botulinum spores are very resistant to boiling. That’s why you need to use a pressure canner when processing those garden veggies not acid enough to be safe when run through a water bath canner. It works sort of like the autoclave, mentioned above, using steam under pressure. I’m not too sure that just boiling on a stove-top would be enough to kill the spores. I seem to remember from a micro text that some spores can withstand boiling water for hours. Although it’s been a few years since I read that I’ll admit. The only cases of botulism I’ve ever run across came mostly from improperly canned foods. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-a-lesson-and-i-have-learned-it-well/148083.md?page=1)