自制的礼物吃起来有多安全?

自制的礼物吃起来有多安全?

After one too many tacky ties or too-small sweaters, a gift of homemade jam or salsa can be a welcome respite from the overconsumption that permeates this time of year. But whether it's chutney, relish, pickles, condiments or nut butters, there are some important health factors to consider — for both the gift-giver and giftee.

在打了太多俗气的领带或穿了太小的毛衣之后，自制的果酱或沙拉酱可以让你在一年中的这个时候免受过度消费的困扰。但无论是酸辣酱、佐料、泡菜、调味品还是坚果酱，都有一些重要的健康因素需要考虑——对送礼的人来说都是如此。

Do you know where your homemade jelly jar came from? (Photo: Dennis Jarvis [CC by SA 2.0]/Flickr)

That doesn't mean you need to give up on your dreams on gifting your family and friends exquisite preserved lemons or spicy pickled okra, however. But a few tips from the experts will help to set both you and your gift beneficiary's mind at ease.

但这并不意味着你要放弃给家人和朋友精心腌制的柠檬或酸辣的秋葵作为礼物的梦想。但是专家们给出的一些建议会让你和你的礼物受益人放心。

Beware foodborne botulism

当心食源性中毒

Before you dig into a homemade jar of pickles, consider its provenance. (Photo: ArtemSh/Shutterstock)

Botulism isn't just a tummy ache or queasiness. It's an illness caused by the germ Clostridium botulinum, which thrives in certain conditions, like, say, improperly canned carrots. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "You cannot see, smell, or taste botulinum toxin — but taking even a small taste of food containing this toxin can be deadly."

肉毒中毒不仅仅是肚子痛或恶心。这是一种由细菌梭菌肉毒杆菌引起的疾病，这种细菌在某些条件下会大量繁殖，比如，在不合适的罐装胡萝卜中。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的说法，“你看不见、闻不到、尝不到肉毒杆菌毒素——但是即使吃一点点含有这种毒素的食物也可能是致命的。”

No substitutions

没有替换

Boiling water bath canning is one of the easiest way to make shelf-stable jams and pickles at home. (Photo: K-State Research and Extension [CC by 2.0]/Flickr

Now is not the time to put on your chef's hat and experiment in the kitchen. Perhaps you think you can plop some carrots in a jar of pickles, or add more peppercorns to your brine instead of vinegar. Alas, when you are dealing with this kind of chemistry, acid, bacteria, food density and pH levels are everything.

现在不是戴上厨师的帽子在厨房里做实验的时候。也许你认为你可以在一罐泡菜中放入一些胡萝卜，或者在盐水中加入更多的花椒而不是醋。唉，当你在处理这种化学物质时，酸、细菌、食物密度和pH值就是一切。

When it comes to testing out your friend's well-meaning homemade gift, you might have to ask some awkward questions. Elizabeth L. Andress of the NCHFP states, "It may not be easy to ask questions of your gift-giver. But important things to think about include: where the recipe and canning instructions came from, when it was canned, and how it was made."

当你要测试你朋友的善意自制礼物时，你可能不得不问一些尴尬的问题。NCHFP的Elizabeth L. Andress说:“向送礼物的人提问可能并不容易。但需要考虑的重要事情包括:配方和罐装说明来自哪里，何时罐装，以及如何制作。”

When checking out a canned good, chunks of food should be covered with a liquid, with no discoloration or drying out on top. Look closely for unnatural discoloration, mold, cloudiness or bubbling liquid before you open it. If it smells off-putting or spurts liquid upon opening, play it safe and toss it. Even with all those warning signs, there can still be jars of toxic botulism that present no red flags at all.

在挑选罐装食品时，大块的食物应该用液体覆盖，上面不要变色或变干。在你打开它之前，仔细检查是否有不自然的变色、发霉、浑浊或冒泡的液体。如果它闻起来令人作呕，或者一打开就喷出液体，那就安全的扔掉它。即使有了所有这些警告信号，仍然可能存在有毒的肉毒中毒，完全没有危险信号。

It's not all doom and gloom, however. If you have your heart set on a homemade holiday, stick to high-acid, low-risk foods like peaches, cherries, plums, and cranberries, or cranberry sauce. Additionally, the high sugar content of fruit jams and jellies provide an extra measure of safety. If you're a novice, you might want to skip out on low-acid vegetables, creamed soups, pestos or vegetable butters — those are best left to the experts.

然而，也不全是厄运和沮丧。如果你想要一个自制的假期，坚持吃高酸、低风险的食物，如桃子、樱桃、李子、小红莓或小红莓酱。此外，高糖含量的果酱和果冻提供了额外的安全措施。如果你是一个菜鸟，你可能想要跳过低酸蔬菜，奶油汤，pestos或蔬菜黄油-这些最好留给专家。

Lastly, at the risk of permanently alienating friends and family, or coming off as a total Grinch, you'll want to make sure everyone involved has thoroughly washed their hands. It seems like a no-brainer, but 'tis the season for germs to spread. "It's not just the food, it's the environment,” Chapman warns. “Especially this time of year, we see norovirus being risky.”

最后，冒着永远疏远朋友和家人的风险，或者成为一个彻头彻尾的怪杰，你要确保每个人都彻底洗手了。这似乎是显而易见的，但这是细菌传播的季节。查普曼警告说:“不仅仅是食物，还有环境。“尤其是每年这个时候，我们看到诺洛病毒很危险。”