Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I'm scared to eat the canned beans...

Leopard Girl has me down for "Crappy bean casserole that nobody eats" and a Hubbard Squash Pie for Thanksgiving dinner...

Here I planted...harvested...and canned all those green beans this summer and I am now afraid to eat them... because of the whole botulism thing.
Now granted the lids are not bulging or anything... but like when I ate our first chicken egg ... I am a little nervous. More so with the canned beans. I talked to the Good Doctor about the whole botulism thing and he said that one of the first symptoms was blurred vision...
I asked him how long until "it" sets in...
he said "Oh a couple of hours".

So does this mean that if I cook them for dinner and then go to bed a few hours later I may never wake up... or actually if I do I won't be able to see?

Hmmm... what to do .... what to do?

I have a plan...

#1 I decided that I will be the guinea pig on this experiment.

#2. I will eat a jar of green beans for breakfast.... that way... if the symptoms kick in I will be able to recognize them because I will be awake.... vs... eating the beans at dinner then going to bed.

#3 Write "Check for Botulism" on my hand in case I become disoriented in public and someone calls 911...
#4 I thought about signing up for Twitter so I could give hourly updates as to if I do or don't have any botulism symptoms .... but somehow I don't trust myself to keep my messages short.

#5 I could boil the beans for 10 minutes to rid them of any bacteria.... but somehow I don't think canned beans would taste good after being boiled for 10 minutes... wouldn't they be more like bean mush?
#6 Just leave them in the cupboard ....but then they would stare back at me all winter... and the whole point of growing your own food is to eat it .... right?

#7 Ask for suggestions.....

Have you eaten home canned green beans before?
Are you still alive?


8 comments:

  1. Ahem, I do not have you down for CGBC, I have you down for 'Green Bean Dish'. I would prefer if you made something tasty with them-- like cook them with bacon, etc. so that you won't ruin Thanksgiving dinner with your Crappy Botulism Green Bean Casserole :)

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  2. AND,thank you, now I too am terrified to eat your canned food. :)

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  3. This year was the first I canned green beans. We've been eating them. Only once have we had bouts of vomiting after dinner, two hours and twelve minutes later, to be exact.

    (Just kidding.)

    (About the vomiting part.)

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  4. Question. Which bear is best? Just kidding. My question is how did you can them? Did you use a pressure canner or hot water bath? I forget what you did. If you used the pressure canner, they should be fine. I pressure canned carrots last year and we've been eating them with no problems.

    If you do try them, maybe try them on a Saturday or Sunday when your husband is around to make sure there would be someone to take you to the ER.

    Don't take it lightly. This is what Wikipedia says,

    "Botulism can result in death due to respiratory failure. However, in the past 50 years, the proportion of patients with botulism who die has fallen from about 50% to 8% due to improved supportive care. A patient with severe botulism may require a breathing machine as well as intensive medical and nursing care for several months. Patients who survive an episode of botulism poisoning may have fatigue and shortness of breath for years and long-term therapy may be needed to aid their recovery."

    Eeek. Not to be messed with. I like you too much.

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  5. FYI... I have tears running down my face from your lovely comments of encouragement :)

    I pressured canned them so yes...I SHOULD be fine.... but that's what worries me. Should? Be? Fine?

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  6. Oh! If you pressured canned them, you will be just fine. You'll see. You just need to get past that first dish/helping and you'll realize how smart you were for canning all those beans:-).

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  7. Firsly...you're funny as all heck!!!

    Secondly, yes, I have eaten my home canned veggies.

    This now makes me want to go into my basement pantry & check out the tops of my jars however...

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  8. First of all I want to say you did great with your garden and putting things up. You live in a great place for growing things. I did manage to can some bean from my garden before the drought set in, then the bugs had a feast,.. Oh yea I was going to say just boil those beans 10 minutes-they won't turn mushy- add some chopped onion and bacon if you dare!

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