So people are avoiding peanut butter in jars, even though there is no evidence to show it is contaminated. (It was just the bulk peanut butter sold to institutions, and the paste used by various manufacturers originating in the Blakely, Georgia plant that was believed to be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria). But peanut butter manufacturers are losing consumer confidence, and a lot of money. No surprise. I hate to admit this, but at the beginning I was avoiding peanut butter too - just in case. The trouble with a lot of these complicated outbreaks is that the story keeps changing on a daily basis. So what do you do? You play it safe and avoid anything even remotely connected.
A few days ago my 96 year-old neighbor invited us over for some 'moving pictures.' Actually, I hadn't the faintest idea what he meant. I was hoping it was some old pictures of the neighborhood before it became...you know...kind of up-market and cheesy. Anyway, I felt I had to take something over to eat. With only an hour's notice, what could I do? The cupboard was bare. All I had was that half-jar of peanut butter in the frig, some raisins, a can of sweet condensed milk, corn flakes....Eureka! Those peanut butter cookies that my friend Elizabeth taught me to make (before she died...so sad). But what if the people there didn't want to eat anything with peanut butter?
Oh well, I had no choice. Actually it worked out rather well. Except for the fact that the 'moving pictures' turned out to be videos of the most recent performance by his piano students. Too dreadful, but fun in a way. It was like moving back to a by-gone age.
What really annoyed me is that he did not serve the cookies I brought. But I was told afterwards that they were delicious, and everyone in his adoptive (Vietnamese) family loved them. And, as far as I know, no-one became ill. Certainly not my neighbor as he is out there every morning at 7am walking Cinnamon, the dog, and driving the kids to school in his truck. It would take more than a little Salmonella to do him in. It must be all those pomegranates and walnuts he ate when he had the ranch - up until a year ago.
Here is the recipe, with credits to Elizabeth Thomas, a wonderful person, a great foodie and the best dessert-maker I have ever known. May she cook with the angels.
1 can sweetened condensed milk,
40z. cornflakes (4 cups)
4 oz. golden raisins (1 cup)
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
Cream together the peanut butter and condensed milk. Stir in the raisins. Gently mix in the cornflakes. Place the mix in mounds on a cookie sheet, covered with a non-stick flexible baking sheet or on kitchen parchment.
Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes until golden brown and almost set (make sure they don'tq burn underneath). Remove from sheet and set to cool after about one minute. When cool, store in air-tight container. They will keep about a week.
That's it! Easy breezie. About twenty minutes from beginning to end. The kind of instant killer-cookie we love. Number of calories? Don't ask me. I don't want to think about it. Safe? Absolutely!
TSF
Showing posts with label peanut paste. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peanut paste. Show all posts
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
PEANUT REDUX
As I expected, this peanut related contamination of our food supply is growing and growing, expanding every way: more confirmed cases of illness, more deaths, a wider time frame for risky foods, and many, many more possible suspect products. Yesterday there were some 32 new alerts in my mailbox. It's Sunday today, but I bet there will be another bunch today. It's no longer just peanut paste and bulk shipments of peanut butter to institutions, but also peanuts themselves and wonderful things like trail mixes.
Now that it has got to the peanuts, I am beginning to wonder if the source of the contamination (or, sources) is not limited to the Peanut Corporation of America facilities. I would not be the least surprised if it also pops up elsewhere. Maybe even at the peanut grower level. Jimmy Carter - are you involved?
As for recalling hundreds of peanut products going all the way back to January 1, 2007 - let's face it, that is a bit unrealistic. I bet we have already eaten most of it.
Just to be safe I am throwing out any item I have bought that contains peanuts. What is considered safe today, will probably be unsafe tomorrow. By the way, I found that my favorite pecan oatmeal bars also contain peanut paste. So much for the label.
I wonder if they have peanut futures on the commodities exchange? Maybe it isn't too late to sell some calls or buy some puts, so I could make some money for a change.
Bon appetit!
TSF
Now that it has got to the peanuts, I am beginning to wonder if the source of the contamination (or, sources) is not limited to the Peanut Corporation of America facilities. I would not be the least surprised if it also pops up elsewhere. Maybe even at the peanut grower level. Jimmy Carter - are you involved?
As for recalling hundreds of peanut products going all the way back to January 1, 2007 - let's face it, that is a bit unrealistic. I bet we have already eaten most of it.
Just to be safe I am throwing out any item I have bought that contains peanuts. What is considered safe today, will probably be unsafe tomorrow. By the way, I found that my favorite pecan oatmeal bars also contain peanut paste. So much for the label.
I wonder if they have peanut futures on the commodities exchange? Maybe it isn't too late to sell some calls or buy some puts, so I could make some money for a change.
Bon appetit!
TSF
Thursday, January 22, 2009
PASS ON THE PEANUT
Peanut butter is clogging my mailbox, if not my arteries. Today there are nine new recall notices from the Food and Drug Administration of products containing peanut butter paste which might be contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium bacteria. Yesterday there were six new recalls, and the day before, four. .....I am losing count, but I believe that by now some 125 - 130 products have been recalled because of this outbreak. Some of these foods were distributed nationwide, and are particularly popular with children, as well as some of my neighbors and friends - foods such as peanut butter cookies, ice cream, candy, crackers and more. There have been close to 500 confirmed cases of illness so far in 43 states, and some 7 suspected deaths. Multiply that by ten and you are likely to be closer to the real numbers, since only a small percentage of this type of illness gets reported.
How did this happen? It is believed that the contamination occurred at the Peanut Butter Corporation's Blakey, Ga. plant (now closed). At least, a very similar strain of this bacteria was found in a crack in the floor, near where the pallets were stored. Mind you, that still doesn't explain how it got into the vats. What, the roasted peanuts, peanut butter or paste landed on the floor and were then scooped up and put back into the containers? My guess is that this is not the end of the story. There will probably be more twists and turns, as usual. Stay tuned... We are on the case.
I have given up my favorite peanut-butter oatmeal bars, and am avoiding chocolates with peanut butter (sigh...), just in case. At least it is good for that belly bulge that arrived during the holidays. At the rate things are going, what is not on the recall list today, will probably be there tomorrow. I am just glad that I am not in some nursing home, hospital, university or school with food service that received the large tubs of contaminated peanut butter. Several people in long-term care facilities have become ill, and of course, any additional illness is worse for them than for those of us that are healthy.
The nonprofit National Peanut Board says Americans eat 700 million pounds of this yummy stuff every year. Apparently millions of pounds have been recalled. If peanut butter follows the route of the nationwide spinach outbreak in 2006 or the 2007 tomato scare (no, not tomato but Jalapeno and Serrano pepper) , we are going to be eating a lot less of it in the future - at least for a few years. Poor Peanut Corporation of America. Plus the others that produce it. This little bacteria is going to cost them.
The list of suspect products is too long to reproduce. The growing list of recalls is on: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html. This list has now expanded to include some pet treats as well - not so dangerous for Fido, but could be if a child handles the treat and then does not wash his or her hands afterwards before eating. Most likely not all the recalled products are contaminated, but all the small producers did use peanut butter or paste from the suspect factory in making them.
But there is a bright side - at least until we know otherwise. Apparently some peanut butter/paste products are safe for us to eat. Here are some of the companies that are swearing they don't use any peanut paste or butter from the Blakey plant in making their goodies, and, unless we find out otherwise, it is perfectly safe to eat them.
How did this happen? It is believed that the contamination occurred at the Peanut Butter Corporation's Blakey, Ga. plant (now closed). At least, a very similar strain of this bacteria was found in a crack in the floor, near where the pallets were stored. Mind you, that still doesn't explain how it got into the vats. What, the roasted peanuts, peanut butter or paste landed on the floor and were then scooped up and put back into the containers? My guess is that this is not the end of the story. There will probably be more twists and turns, as usual. Stay tuned... We are on the case.
I have given up my favorite peanut-butter oatmeal bars, and am avoiding chocolates with peanut butter (sigh...), just in case. At least it is good for that belly bulge that arrived during the holidays. At the rate things are going, what is not on the recall list today, will probably be there tomorrow. I am just glad that I am not in some nursing home, hospital, university or school with food service that received the large tubs of contaminated peanut butter. Several people in long-term care facilities have become ill, and of course, any additional illness is worse for them than for those of us that are healthy.
The nonprofit National Peanut Board says Americans eat 700 million pounds of this yummy stuff every year. Apparently millions of pounds have been recalled. If peanut butter follows the route of the nationwide spinach outbreak in 2006 or the 2007 tomato scare (no, not tomato but Jalapeno and Serrano pepper) , we are going to be eating a lot less of it in the future - at least for a few years. Poor Peanut Corporation of America. Plus the others that produce it. This little bacteria is going to cost them.
The list of suspect products is too long to reproduce. The growing list of recalls is on: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html. This list has now expanded to include some pet treats as well - not so dangerous for Fido, but could be if a child handles the treat and then does not wash his or her hands afterwards before eating. Most likely not all the recalled products are contaminated, but all the small producers did use peanut butter or paste from the suspect factory in making them.
But there is a bright side - at least until we know otherwise. Apparently some peanut butter/paste products are safe for us to eat. Here are some of the companies that are swearing they don't use any peanut paste or butter from the Blakey plant in making their goodies, and, unless we find out otherwise, it is perfectly safe to eat them.
- See's Candies of California, Hershey, Rees's and Russell Stover Candies.
- Kraft products such as Nabisco and Planter brands.
- Quaker Oats granola bars or snacks.
- Products of Sport protein bar company PowerBar, a division of Nestle.
- Energy Bars made by Bonk Beaker of California.
- Tiger's Milk nutrition bars made by Schiff Nutrition of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Keep eating...
TSF
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