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wintercat_gw

Riga sprats - food safety questions

wintercat_gw
10 years ago

These sprats are smoked AND packed in oil. Does that create a sort of belt and suspenders protection?

I'm asking because I've made myself a sprats sandwich to have for lunch at work. It's about 7 hours from preparation this morning till lunchtime (I have a long commute by bus, and we're talking Israel time - I'm not in the US).

Will I live if I eat it?

TIA!

Comments (17)

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Them sprats aren't in the fridge, of course, but in my desk drawer at work.

  • colleenoz
    10 years ago

    Maybe. But, why didn't you put some kind of icepack in with it?

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I didn't think it necessary and then I got the jitters.

    I ate it anyway and survived, so it must be OK even without an icepack. Possibly the smoking makes it far safer.

  • momj47
    10 years ago

    Who smoked, you or the sprats?

  • John Liu
    10 years ago

    To be honest, I'd eat that the next day as long as they didn't smell or taste off.

    Heck, a couple years ago I made myself two chopped roast beef sandwiches with mayo on Thursday, took them out of the fridge on a Friday, carried them in a bus on Friday, carried them in a bicycle saddlebag on Saturday and Sunday, eating during the ride, and finished the second one on Sunday.

    I believe that through repeated insults the body and gut get stronger.

    That only applies to food you eat yourself. Guests deserve scrupulously safe food because they may not share the same philosophy, or gut microbes.

  • natashaB
    9 years ago

    Well, I'm also conscious about the food I eat. I prefer fresh fruits and vegetables because they're healthy. I usually put leftover foods inside the refrigerator and reheat it the next day. When cooking, I use some techniques to preserve the foods and prevent it from spoilage. I fry a food or use salting technique. Smoking technique is also a good way to prolong the lifespan of the food. The most important thing is the food should be kept in a clean place to prevent contamination and spoilage.

  • ann_t
    9 years ago

    John, I think you have proved that you have an iron stomach.

    ~Ann

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    I've heard that the buses in Israel are air conditioned now. I'm sure that helped...as did the fact that the sprats were tinned, to begin with. They work very hard to kill the micro-organisms when they pack them, and the ones you add while making your sandwich are mostly ones your system already knows.

    John, if you used commercial mayonnaise, it was probably pasteurized. :) That helps a lot!

    Rule for food service: No more than two hours out of the refrigerator or warmer. Danger Zone = 40ð-140ð F. or 4ð-60ð Celsius.

    Rule for home use when to throw it out: Four hours out of the fridge. As I understand it, the two hour rule for food service is because of other factors that lead to contamination, and the breadth and variety of people eating. Don't feed 3.5 hrs. out of the fridge to your baby or the frail or elderly. Don't push it! Try to get food put away as soon as possible.

  • bbstx
    9 years ago

    Another gap in my education! What's a Riga Sprats? I googled it and it looked a lot like sardines to me. Does it (do they) taste like sardines?

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Just realized the thread's come alive.

    John - LOL! Really enjoyed reading that!

    plllog - busses in Israel have been airconditioned for years, but I still remember the time they weren't. Great improvement, though some drivers seem to try to freeze dry their passengers in summer.

    bbstx - I, too, didn't know what Riga sprats were till we were flooded with sprat-loving Russian immigrants. Riga sprats don't taste remotely like sardines. They make a great appetizer and go very well with beer.

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    So, Riga as in Latvia, right?

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    plllog - right.

    Sorry not to have replied earlier. Sprained my back, went on sick leave for 2 weeks. No computer at home, so no GW.

    If I remember correctly, you're studying Hebrew. So here's soemthing lovely by way of compensation for unintentional rudeness.

    Here is a link that might be useful: So Tender Is the Light

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here's a better link whre you can see them performing.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Better Link

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    Glad to see you're back at work. It's a shame about your back. No rudeness. People pop in and out of online forums.

    It's been decades since I studied Hebrew. :) I could manage about 40% of the words, and none of meaning of that song. :) It has the melodic structure of standard Israeli pop. Other than that, I have no clue. :) Would you mind filling us in about it?

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I just did it into English for you. I'm also attaching a link to the original text.

    Hebrew is far from being a melodious language. It really grates on my ears and I'm a native speaker. Amazing how soft they managed to make this song.

    Tender

    Night is over
    Died into the light
    The moon is falling down
    Having been much too high
    Like a pure baby
    You're so far up there
    Aren't you sad on your own?

    So tender it is
    So tender
    Terror is crumbling down inside my heart
    So tender it is
    So tender
    Love is waking up inside my heart

    You're my sun
    My hot fire
    You're burning down
    Alone in your pain

    So tender it is

    When the light turns blue
    And even the moon, ashamed of a never-ending loneliness
    Fades away so nobody can see

    Light
    So tender it is the light, oh World
    So tender it is
    So tender
    So tender is your light

    Here is a link that might be useful: Original Text

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    So, okay, I really can read most of it, but your translation is much better for getting a sense of the poetry. When I was in college we read some modern Hebrew poetry, which was all about reducing it as much as possible to morphemes rather than separate words, and using words with similar shoreshes rather than rhyming. Works great for poetry, not so much for song, but this one is really pretty. Thank-you. Though One Fish Two Fish is very elegant in Hebrew, if I remember right, and it rhymes. :) Blessings to the translators!

    I'm surprised you don't like the sound of Hebrew. English used to have velar fricatives (ÃÂ and ÃÂ with no dagesh (not that ÃÂ is pronounced in Hebrew anymore either)). You can see it in the spellings of lots of old words, and sometimes you can hear it in Scotland and Northern England still, but not much. I like a full range of sounds. :) Of course, I was reared more on the sweetness of Geula Gil than the power of Moshe Dyan. :)

    Back to topic, I hope you've gotten a cooler bag for your lunches?

  • wintercat_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    At first I thought i'd suggest moving over to Conversations, since we seem to be having one :)

    Then I thought better of it & sent you an email on GW. Hope you received it.

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