flyingiguana Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 My daughter brought some tamales home from a friend's. They'd been unrefrigerated since cooking, which was 2 days before. She's unenthusiastic about eating them. Is this just a thing that people do? The microbiologist in me says no way. Even if they were completely sterilized, it's not like they're sealed up afterwards. But I'm searching the web and getting sites that say it's perfectly acceptable in Mexico -- that people do this all the time. And that people in the US are just crazy with how they refrigerate everything. These are meat filled tamales.Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 I would not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Nope. I'm pretty lax but unless the ingredients were each stable on their own, like salted and preserved beef and cornmeal and NO dairy or veggies of any kind, that's just too long. This is not six hours on a countertop. It might be safe, but I'd not personally want to test that theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Gross. There is absolutely no way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 (edited) I would eat them after I had reheated them. I have eaten them that way. I may well have the ability to do that though because I grew up eating things that were less than ideal by American standards. I'm not advising others to do so necessarily. I freeze mine though rather than leave them out. I do think that Americans in general overuse refrigeration and tend to toss out a lot of edible foods. Edited November 30, 2016 by LucyStoner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Nope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Another "No" vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Well, I don't know. Is your home literally an icebox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Absolutely not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 I love tamales, but no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 With meat! No way. No how! Yuk!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No. But I would cry, because I love tamales. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Not with meat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No. Trash, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 no that's really too long...one day probably because I'm not squeamish, but 2 days yeah nope... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 (edited) My husband would absolutely eat them. He grew up in the US but spent summers in Mexico with his family in a small town. I am amazed (and truthfully appalled at times) at what he will eat that hasn't been refrigerated, has expired, or has been bought from a really sketchy roadside stand. He feels like there is nothing wrong with leaving food out. The funny thing is that he never gets sick from food while I end up getting sick all the time from what I think is food poisoning. He feels it is wasteful to throw out food. He would just look to make sure nothing was crawling around on the tamales, heat them up and eat them up. Edited November 30, 2016 by Nart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 It would bother me, but if I ate them without knowing, they probably wouldn't make me sick. I have been told by poison control (long story) that our food standards are extremely strict, but in reality unrefridgerated foods aren't a huge cause of food borne illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Absolutely no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Ooooo. No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Time to go to bed. I read the title as "Tamales left for 48 hours. Would you eat them?" Well - depends where they have been...??? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Watch the Quncy, MD episode on food poisoning. Nope. Nope nope. I imagine in places where refrigeration is uncommon natural selection has weeded out some of the people most susceptible to food poisoning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No!! Yuck! I feel queasy just thinking about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 I love tamales, but I'd be hesitant to eat those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 I wouldn't if they had meat in them. It is definitely different in some Latin American countries though. My dd married a Costa Rican and they lived there for several years. She was shocked that people didn't refrigerate their leftover meat after cooking it. They just kept it on the counter and slowly ate it over several days until it was gone. We wondered if they just don't have the same bacterial concerns as we do here. Maybe they don't have factory tainted meats like we do that we need to protect against with refrigeration and high heat, or something like that. My son-in-law says he never remembers anyone getting sick from it in his entire life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Nope. I had a bad tamale-related experience that involved food poisoning and throwing up on an airplane on the way to meet my future in-laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 I would never feed them to other people. I might try them myself, though. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 If the tamales are so good that they are worth the chance you might end up with explosive diarrhea, then go ahead and them. If they aren't that good, I would pass. 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted November 30, 2016 Author Share Posted November 30, 2016 Well, they're currently in the freezer. In case the friend wants them back. This seems to be how that family deals with food. So if they don't want them wasted, I suppose they're welcome to them. But my daughter had eaten a couple before she knew the history. She is sick, but it's hard to say if that's the culprit. She's not laid up at home, but she hasn't exactly been able to eat much the past couple days. I would imagine that tamales would be less likely to harbor bad bacteria, given the amount they're cooked. But still.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 No, I wouldn't. Even if there is 98% chance you won't get sick, is food poisoning worth that 2% chance? And food poisoning can have longterm effects. I still have issues a year later from food poisoning from lunch meat I bought at a deli. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Nope, not with meat and cheese at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Well, they're currently in the freezer. In case the friend wants them back. This seems to be how that family deals with food. So if they don't want them wasted, I suppose they're welcome to them. But my daughter had eaten a couple before she knew the history. She is sick, but it's hard to say if that's the culprit. She's not laid up at home, but she hasn't exactly been able to eat much the past couple days. I would imagine that tamales would be less likely to harbor bad bacteria, given the amount they're cooked. But still.... They should go into the garbage. The friend wasted them by leaving them at room temperature for days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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