I was never shy about eating raw cookie dough as a kid (or as an adult), whether it was packaged or homemade. I knew that you could get food poisoning from Salmonella in raw eggs, but since we used pasteurized eggs I always figured that the risk was minimal, thus the cookie dough was safe enough…and worth the minimal risk for the delight…
I was never shy about eating raw cookie dough as a kid (or as an adult), whether it was packaged or homemade. I knew that you could get food poisoning from Salmonella in raw eggs, but since we used pasteurized eggs I always figured that the risk was minimal, thus the cookie dough was safe enough…and worth the minimal risk for the delightful eating experience.
However, I just learned that raw eggs are not the only threat. Apparently, flour is also a "raw" ingredient, though I've never really thought of it that way. Untreated flour can cause food poisoning from both E. coli and Salmonella…so riskier than the eggs that my mother warned me about. Poisonous flour, who knew? Maybe the Salem witches now that I think about ergot poisoning.
I don't know what magical process Betty Crocker used back in the day for the Spoon & Bake, which I never had the opportunity to try, but these days, companies apparently make edible cookie dough with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs…although the products I've noticed are still kept refrigerated. I vote for a return to the can.
I was never shy about eating raw cookie dough as a kid (or as an adult), whether it was packaged or homemade. I knew that you could get food poisoning from Salmonella in raw eggs, but since we used pasteurized eggs I always figured that the risk was minimal, thus the cookie dough was safe enough…and worth the minimal risk for the delightful eating experience.
However, I just learned that raw eggs are not the only threat. Apparently, flour is also a "raw" ingredient, though I've never really thought of it that way. Untreated flour can cause food poisoning from both E. coli and Salmonella…so riskier than the eggs that my mother warned me about. Poisonous flour, who knew? Maybe the Salem witches now that I think about ergot poisoning.
I don't know what magical process Betty Crocker used back in the day for the Spoon & Bake, which I never had the opportunity to try, but these days, companies apparently make edible cookie dough with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs…although the products I've noticed are still kept refrigerated. I vote for a return to the can.
Thanks for the information. I should have maybe focused on patents related to flour treatment. I will need to do a search and see what I can find.