As we learn more about bacteria and diseases, our cooking practices change, and many are quite different from 50 years ago. Just because your grandma taught you some tricks about cooking doesn't mean that they all should be used today. Food safety is extremely important, so you always want to be caught up on which things you've learned are actually incorrect. From the reason why you shouldn't cook the stuffing inside of the turkey to the truth about whether vegetables lose nutrients when you microwave them, let's take a look at some incorrect things we believed about food 50 years ago.
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00:00When it comes to food safety and preparation, a lot has changed in the last several decades.
00:05Though you may not remember defrosting meat on the counter all day, your parents probably
00:08do, and unsurprisingly, that's not the recommended technique today.
00:12What is it, Cynthia, what is it?
00:16Jubelet gravy and sliced turkey!
00:20Although some of these busted myths from the good old days might be inconvenient, they're
00:23likely keeping you healthier.
00:25Here are some of the things that people believed about food 50 years ago that just aren't true
00:29today.
00:31Got raw milk?
00:32Though we eat plenty of foods in their raw form, milk shouldn't be one of them.
00:36I see you're drinking 1 percent, is that because you think you're fat?
00:40Because you're not, you could be drinking whole if you wanted to.
00:45The risks of consuming raw, unpasteurized milk outweigh any potential benefits you might
00:49get from it, since along with any good bacteria comes other harmful bacteria.
00:53E. coli, salmonella, and listeria can lead to life-threatening diseases.
00:57Because raw milk can potentially harm children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune
01:02systems, it's even been banned for sale in 30 states.
01:05So while milk might do a body good, raw milk might not.
01:10Thanks for hanging me out to dry there, Madison.
01:13Stuffing that bird
01:14Everyone remembers grandma's turkey fondly, unless you were one of the unlucky ones to
01:18get sick from the stuffing inside.
01:20We know now that the required temperature to kill bacteria lurking deep in that cavity
01:24is 165 degrees.
01:26But just because your meat reaches that temp doesn't mean that the middle of the stuffing
01:29has also.
01:30To be safe, bake your stuffing in a separate dish, outside of the turkey, or just go with
01:35a good old standby.
01:36The chicken's almost done, now it's time to make stuffing, stove top makes it easy to
01:41push a little button, it's stove top stuffing for your microwave oven, yeah!
01:47Overcooking the pig
01:48Grandma's food is under attack again, and this time it's the pork.
01:52But the shoe leather that resulted from the 160-degree recommended safe cooking temp wasn't
01:56her fault.
01:57What exactly is in this dish?
02:00It's a Sunday roast.
02:03Decades ago, parasites were prevalent in pork, but today, since meat typically runs parasite-free,
02:08we are able to enjoy tender pork, cooked to 145 degrees.
02:12Sudsing up the chickens
02:13This debate has raged on for decades, but evidence shows strongly in favor of not washing
02:18your poultry.
02:19As you can see, this is my baby.
02:26The idea behind washing raw chicken and turkey was to rinse off any bacteria that might be
02:30present, but the good news is that in order to kill that nasty bacteria, all you need
02:34to do is cook it.
02:36This successfully avoids any cross-contamination in your kitchen and keeps everyone safe, except
02:41the chicken.
02:42Netflix and cookie dough
02:44Streaming may not have been around 50 years ago, but raw cookie dough sure was.
02:49And while we've been told repeatedly that mindlessly spooning gobs of the stuff into
02:53our gullets is bad because of the raw egg in the dough, it turns out the egg isn't the
02:56issue.
02:57We'll eat a whole roll of Toll House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then, to finish,
03:01we'll snuggle.
03:02Thanks to pasteurization, the risk of getting sick from raw egg has diminished.
03:06So what are we looking out for now?
03:08Flour!
03:09Yep, flour.
03:12New research has shown that E. coli can survive in dry environments, like your pantry.
03:17But if you gotta get your fix, go to the pros.
03:19New York City's Dough Heat treats their flour, so you can safely indulge in your guilty pleasure.
03:25Calorie counting for dummies
03:26Negative calorie foods encapsulated the idea that you can eat unlimited quantities of certain
03:31foods because you're burning more calories eating them than they actually contain.
03:34I have eaten asparagus.
03:37I understand asparagus.
03:39I will now be the asparagus!
03:43But unfortunately, these foods don't actually exist.
03:46Even for so-called negative-calorie snacks like celery, which does contain calories,
03:51the difference between caloric value and consumption still puts you in the plus column.
03:55Also, you're eating celery.
03:57You deserve better.
03:58Nuking those nutrients
04:00The microwave was once thought to zap away precious nutrients from your brussels sprouts,
04:04but microwaving vegetables is actually one of the best ways to retain all those vitamins.
04:09Because of the short cooking time and meager use of water, the nutrients remain, and hey,
04:13if you're going to eat broccoli, might as well get the most bang for your buck.
04:17Burning off the booze
04:18If you still think that alcohol burns off during the cooking process, you might want
04:22to grab that rumball away from your kid.
04:24Studies show that as much as 45 percent of the alcohol can remain in a dish that's simmered
04:29or baked, something to keep in mind the next time you're reassuring your guests that your
04:33Coco-Van is alcohol-free.
04:35We got the meat
04:37Once upon a time, leaving meat on the counter to defrost all day was normal.
04:41But these days, safer options include defrosting in the fridge or microwave.
04:45That's because bacteria quickly multiplies at room temperature, and while the outer layer
04:49of your meat defrosts, any bacteria on that surface will start growing faster.
04:53By the time your meat is defrosted, you've potentially grown a whole bacteria colony
04:57on your counter.
04:58Oh, thank you, dear.
05:01Mayo for the masses
05:02Name something you take on a picnic.
05:05A blanket!
05:06Potato salad.
05:07Yeah, gang!
05:08Potatoes?
05:09Uh, okay, we're going to go with potato salad.
05:10Ever witness a potato salad that's been sitting out all day?
05:13Just because it's been happening for years, doesn't make it right.
05:15Today's guidelines say that perishable foods that require refrigeration should not be left
05:20out for more than two hours, and that window goes down to just one hour if the sun's beating
05:24down at 90 degrees or more.
05:26If you can't get to the potato salad fast, stick to the chips.
05:29What's wrong with you people?
05:30Why won't you eat my salad?
05:31What am I, dirty?
05:32I'm a dirty person?
05:33I shower just like you!
05:39It's all yolks
05:40It has long been believed that egg yolks cause high cholesterol, but there's good news for
05:45everyone who's been missing those yellow insides.
05:46There is no better start to the day than eggs for breakfast.
05:52Except maybe eggs with a side of bacon.
05:55Eating foods that are high in cholesterol, like egg yolks, does not negatively impact
05:59the blood cholesterol of a healthy person.
06:01In fact, studies show you can eat an egg a day without increasing your risk of heart
06:04disease.
06:05So there's only one thing to do.
06:07What I said was, give me all the bacon and eggs you have.
06:12Do you understand?