I had my first loose leaf tea today. Black tea, with pieces of dried fruit in it. As I was throwing the used leaves away, I noticed what seemed to be a dead worm. Is this at all common and safe, or should I get rid of the tea?
121283
I often buy Chinese tea by weight in some local stores and at times I find some inclusions that should not be there. Up to this date I have found:   A human hair Some sand Some white dots (presumably parts of a plant) that always come with Pu'er stones and float on the surface Parts of other plants or a trunk parts of the tea plant that was not meant for tea Some kind of fluff ()   Finding the fluff finally got me and I decided to ask here.  Is it normal for tea to contain various inclusions like that? I understand that tea processing is a complex process performed by humans at factories in huge batches. So is it common for something like that to get into the process?  I ask because, for example, if you consider some kind of grain, there are often inclusions of other things (other grains or something else) too, and this is known and normal for lower quality (cheaper) grain. You don't throw away the pack if there are some other kind of grains and you simply remove them. Various manufacturers differ in quality and you can choose. You know that the more expensive grain should be better processed and have no inclusions, when a cheaper one is ok to have them. Now this is not the case with the Chinese tea. There's no (obvious) choice of the manufacturer, it simply comes from a particular part of China. I can only choose a local vendor and which tea grade to buy (where tea grade tells what part of the tea plant was used in the making, and nothing more, not the quality of the manufacturing).  I have started drinking Chinese tea not so long ago, and I don't have much experience of it. So my question is: are the inclusions that I have described above common and known for tea, or should I consider buying at a different store, from a different vendor? If the tea is coming from China, will it be different, or is it the same in all the shops? What would you do in a situation like this?
49755
Well, a friend of mine sent me this picture of an creepy insect. I'm wondering if the picture is photoshoped or if it is real. It is said the insect lives in Indonesia, but I'm not sure.    Can anyone identify this? Thanks.
72871
I have always heard that you should stay away MSG. For example when buying bouillon crystals we should always make sure that it doesn't contain MSG. Yet I came across  for spinach soup that calls for 1/2 teaspoon of MSG. This got me wondering are there any pros to MSG. Should we stay away from it or should we incorporate it into our diet and if so should we limit how much we ingest? If it is 'bad' then is there something I can replace it with when a recipe calls for it?
17045
Recently all my attempts at sauces are splitting and I'm not sure what's going wrong. Tonight I tried a balsamic vinegar reduction / chicken stock / pan juices recipe to go with my lamb chops, but once again the dreaded split occurred. My wife is patient and forgiving, but I feel like I must be missing something fundamental to get this wrong so often.  Two questions.   What could I be doing wrong to cause these sauces to split? What can I do to recover when it happens again?   UPDATE: The Pan juices contained a tbsp or two of olive oil, and some of the fresh herb rub I'd coated the lamb chops in (thyme, rosemary, and mint). I did not drain the pan before starting the sauce. It has crossed my mind that perhaps there was too much oil / fats in the pan at that point?  For completeness, I should point out that I also sauteed some chopped shallots in the pan juices immediately before adding the vinegar.
107007
I came across the creature shown in the photo below yesterday evening while walking the dogs. At first, I thought it was an earthworm, but a flashlight revealed it to be something I had never seen before.    It is approximately 12 inches (300 mm) in length and about 1/3 of an inch (10 mm) in diameter at its maximum. It is pitch black and very shiny—like piano black. It moves very slowly, using a snake-like motion. It had a very strange head, like a hammerhead shark.  I live in Durban, South Africa, if that helps to narrow down the possibilities.  Can anyone help in identifying this creature?
55565
My wife cut a head of red cabbage in half and found this yellow and white organic mass inside it. We never saw anything like it before. Can anyone tell me what it is? Would it have been safe to eat? Could we have just cut off this portion of it and used the rest? We ended up playing it safe and throwing the whole head away.
80805
I had a tin of golden syrup for a long time - longer than I care to admit. When I opened it up yesterday (to sweeten up some mulled wine), it was granular (a bit like honey can be), and black around the edges.   Is this 'bad', or just different?   Is the blackness the result of some chemical reaction with the tin?  And in general, does it eventually go off, or does it last indefinitely?
54088
I have just dropped a half full latté on my company laptop and am not sure what to do.  Is there a way I can make sure that my laptop is usable again?  What steps must I go through to improve it's chances of survival?
21093
I recently made some potato wedges in the oven. I shared this recipe with my relative, who admonished me for not properly peeling the red potatoes before baking them.  She claims that there are disease and viruses that lie on the skin, so peeling it will get rid of it.  I bake it, so I assume that even the high heat in the oven would kill bacteria and germs. And besides that, I make sure to wash potatoes thoroughly before cooking them.  Am I in the wrong here? Should I have properly peeled the potato wedges before baking them? Personally I feel they add more flavor, and from all the pictures on the recipes online, it seems they also do not peel it.
53455
I love apples. I like to eat them with skin as it has plenty of fiber in the skin. But apples are famous for wax and pesticides on the skin which I don’t want to ingest. I have read many articles on the web and suggestions for removing the wax from the surface.   These suggestions include soaking in vinegar or hot water and other methods. They suggest that soaking apples in vinegar removes the wax that can be seen in the vinegar. I have done that, but never seen any residue of wax in the vinegar.   So I have set aside a new kitchen sink Scotch-Brite scrubber for this purpose and been scrubbing the apple skin under running water before eating. I think this method should remove most of the wax and pesticides. I would like to hear your input.
29749
I'd love some advice in repairing a water-damaged laptop.  My girlfriend spilled a glass of water on her Sony Vaio and now it doesn't turn on...at all...dead! What steps should I go through to work out where the problem is and which part(s) I'll need to replace?  I can't seem to find out what has happened by just looking at the circuit boards. I'm new to electronics but could buy relevant volt-meters etc. I'm just looking for a decent trouble-shooting guide.
118845
I just harvested some scallions from the garden, where it's getting bit chilly (late November in Seattle).  After chopping them, I realized that their insides were covered in a gelatinous, slippery, viscous goo!  What is it? Is it safe to eat?
57899
I put some uncooked stew meat and veggies on this morning and left for 5 hours. When I came home I realized it was only set on warm. Is my meat safe to eat? I have now put it on the stove to cook.
89409
I recently made a large batch of mixed vegetable pickles (cucumber, onion, carrot, peppers, cauliflower, garlic) with a brine of 1 cup white vinegar to 3 cups water and 1/4 cup salt. I used a clean, not sterile method, and didn't process the jars. Ten days later some of the jars are cloudy, and some of the lids are fizzing.  I've pickled a lot in the past, sometimes using a water bath to process and sometimes not. This time I skipped the step thinking the acidity would be enough to prevent nasty things like botulism.  I'm belatedly researching and learning the difference between fermented pickles and vinegar pickles. I had simply assumed the process was similar and adding vinegar would keep it safer by increasing the acidity.   My question now is, will the high acidity and high salt (works out to 1 tablespoon per cup of brine) prevent botulism from growing and keep them safe to eat (as long as they don't smell bad)?   Reading about fermented pickles, I see that cloudiness is a good sign. Can the cloudiness be lacto-fermentation, or would the vinegar disrupt that process?   Another thing that might explain the cloudiness is the iodized salt (I didn't have access to pickling salt).  I want to experiment with fermentation and would definitely do things differently next time, but for now, I'm just wondering if I can salvage anything, and what would be a clear indication that they're unsafe and I should throw out the lot.
121579
I have recently noticed a rather large amount of small worms in the fresh cod I am buying. I have tried to take them out as much as I can and of course have spoken to my fish supplier about them, but he assures me they are harmless. However, I don't believe my customers would be as assured. Is it okay to serve this fish, taking into account I might miss a worm or two?
100193
I am trying to pickle some mangoes the Indian way. I boiled the jar in hot water, dried it and then added the mixture of spices, salt and mangoes to the jars after the mixture had cooled. I made the mixture in a frying pan to try and remove as much water as I could. After it was cooled, I put it in the jar and heated some mustard oil till it just barely started smoking. I let that cool and poured it over the mango spice mixture.  For the first three days it was fine. On the fourth day, I opened it to test the taste and ended up adding more salt. Now, there seems to be gas forming in the jar. I've noticed it a few times now. When I open the jar, I hear a whooshing noise as air escapes. It's quite a lot, since I opened the container about 3 times in a 10 hour period and each time gas escaped. Has this pickle gone bad? Or is this something that's normal?
46081
When for the first time A new question I answer This haiku appears:     Little slab of meat   In a wash of clear jelly   Now I heat the pan   Such a message is Very strange; is anyone Seeing the same thing?  Have not seen again. Came and went like the wind does! Why I am so blessed?