How Long Can You Simmer Greens On A Stovetop And Safely Eat Them?

I'm not a poon when it comes to leftovers or cooking something that's been sitting out, but that's sounds sketchy.

IWNEI

That’s kind of what I’m thinking. They’ve been eating on them on and off for days now enough is enough. I’ll gladly buy them some more greens to cook, however, this generation in their 80’s doesn’t believe in throwing anything out. Mom cooked enough greens to feed a small army. I’ve heard of the perpetual Vietnamese broth but never the perpetual pot of greens.

If the temperature is hot enough (let’s say 140), the entire time, they in theory are safe.

Has the burner really been on low the entire time? Were they above lethality temperature the entire time? And what temperature are they when they are simmering on low? That’s the first thing you need to figure out.

If the temperature is fluctuating, bacteria can grow. Lethality temperature only kills a CERTAIN AMOUNT of bacteria. So if the temp is changing, bacteria can be growing, then getting killed, then growing, then getting killed, etc. After a long period of time, you may have too much bacteria for the lethality temp to kill it all (or enough to get you sick).

You also need to worry about bacteria like clostridium botulinum which form spores that will not be killed when you reheat.

Now, if all of this does happen, first there must be bacteria introduced for it to grow. Greens are grown in dirt and bacteria lives in dirt. So yes, there’s a good chance the greens can have harmful bacteria on them. It may be a small amount that doesn’t get you sick, but if that keeps growing for a few days, it could become a large amount.

I’m conclusion, there’s a possibility of harmful bacteria on the greens. It’s unlikely that the perfect scenario will happen, but it can indeed happen. It’s one of those things that may be fine 99 times but bad 1 time. But yes, it can be bad if the cards align.

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Old people are wild as frick

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Lol… No kidding. The roles have reversed. I feel like I’m the parent and they are the kids. It’s getting to the point they really don’t need to be living alone without someone watching over them. Between my dad thinking he can still drive and my mom possibly killing themselves with 3 day old greens. Geez…..

That’s a good temperature and it should be safe, but there are other factors to worry about. I think they are fine but I also know that increasing the time you cook them is increasing the possibility of them not being fine.

It’s one of those things that you’ve done your whole life and you’ve never gotten sick, but…that doesn’t mean it’s always safe and you also get into a more at risk category as you grow older. It’s just not a smart practice. It’s not hard to refrigerate and reheat.

If it’s at 165* for days it’s plenty safe. People tend to forget that modern refrigeration hasn’t been around for very long.

Most bacterial concerns come from restaurants and grocery stores, where they have potentially multiple pots at any given time and shift changes happen where someone isn’t watching it well. For something like home cooking when the same person is monitoring it, the likelihood of it smelling and tasting good but not being safe is incredibly small.

ETA: the real question I have is how good are greens that have simmered for that long? I’m assuming they were already cooked to mush like canned spinich?

Come on man live a little

Take your mask off and eat them

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She swears you can keep those things simmering for days upon days and as long as they are getting low heat with the lid on they will be fine. I tried to find the answer to this on Google and can’t. All it noted was how long you can safely store them in the refrigerator after you cook a pot of them.

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Above 140 degrees, bacteria growth will be minimal and so you should be fine from a health perspective.