Worms in Rice, Water Chestnuts... But What Else?

[acerbicacid]

Raw fish has parasitic worms too so it is best to freeze the fish if eating raw. Salmon for gravadlax should also be frozen first.
parasitic worms in fish

 

[Addie]

Raw fish has parasitic worms too so it is best to freeze the fish if eating raw. Salmon for gravadlax should also be frozen first.
parasitic worms in fish

My second husband was a commercial fisherman and he would bring me home about ten or more pounds of Haddock. He fileted then on the boat for that very reason. He knew what to look for and where to look.

 

[CraigC]

Raw fish has parasitic worms too so it is best to freeze the fish if eating raw. Salmon for gravadlax should also be frozen first.
parasitic worms in fish

I would rephrase that to "Some raw fish have". As certain species are more prone to having worms in the flesh. Also, as with ciguatera, larger (older) specimens of certain species are more prone to have them. I've been spearfishing most of my life and have seen this first hand. Warmer water species also seem more prone.

 

[Skittle68]

I used to prep and set up the salad bar in a restaurant. 5 minutes before opening, I was looking at my creation and there on the edge was an inch-worm inching for it's life down the bar. He had made it through multiple rinses, chopping, etc. I let him go outside, figured he'd earned it.

I found a little green worm in the parsley we use for a garnish once- he was on the bottom of the leaf, so it's lucky I'm such a perfectionist, and rearranged the leaves to make them look nice, or I never would have noticed him! "I found a worm in my pasta..." Is not something you want to hear from a guest lol! My worm did not fare as well as yours...

 

[Dawgluver]

I found a little green worm in the parsley we use for a garnish once- he was on the bottom of the leaf, so it's lucky I'm such a perfectionist, and rearranged the leaves to make them look nice, or I never would have noticed him! "I found a worm in my pasta..." Is not something you want to hear from a guest lol! My worm did not fare as well as yours...

I've found little caterpillars in store-bought fresh broccoli, and interesting stuff (mostly apple maggots) in our organically (AKA neglected) homegrown apples.

 

[Steve Kroll]

If any of you ever get a chance, you should go visit a winery during the fall crush. You would likely see some things that would put you off wine for good. First of all, wine grapes are never washed (it waters down the juice and also removes some of the beneficial yeast bloom found on the skins). And so everything that is on the grapes also goes into the fermentation tanks. This includes leaves, bird droppings, nests, caterpillars, spiders, and every other unfortunate creature that made it's way onto the vine. The wine industry even has an acronym for it: MOG, or material other than grapes.

Some winemakers will tell you that all of the material lends a certain je ne sais quoi to their wine. I don't know about that but, fortunately, in the end everything is filtered down to the sub micron level. And with all the alcohol, there aren't any human pathogens that can survive and grow in the bottle.

 

[taxlady]

Gee, thanks Steve. I'm not sure I wanted to know about MOG.

 

[taxlady]

This thread is reminding me of a health food coop back in the '70s. I found insects in something, probably grain or flour, on several occasions. I quietly mentioned it to the cashier and got a "Meh" type answer. I mentioned it to the manager and got the same kind of answer, so I was not a happy camper. I said, in a loud voice, "I'm a vegetarian. When I buy grain and flour I don't want to find animals in my food."

Didn't find critters in the food after that.