How long will cayenne peppers extend shelf life of cooked ground pork?
I am wanting to make a spicy Korean soup broth and the recipe calls for ground pork.
I was wondering how long the cayenne peppers would extend shelf life of cooked ground pork?
Or is the broth still "bad in 3 days" as most sites suggest when referigerating ground pork?
Best Answer
Opinion and learned knowledge without doing searches for citations to back it up to follow:
Spices, including peppers have a history of being used to extend the life of foods including meats. This is a false reputation and representation of that history, IMO. The spices in reality were used in large quantities to cover up poor quality proteins and produce and hide the deficiencies and early stages of spoilage. It hid these qualities only, it did little to nothing to reverse or slow them. Under poor storage conditions 100 years ago a bite of pork might have turned your stomach to taste it at two days, but spice it up enough with peppers or a stout curry sauce and at four days you still might not have noticed. This does not mean it will still not end up with you locked in the loo for a few hours or worse.
With improved meat and produce quality and storage capabilities today in most of the world (yes, really, even as much as many of us complain), this is no longer necessary. We make things spicy because we are used to the taste and like it. But stories and traditions of it being a preservative continue. Salt for instance is a preservative, but only in the quantities used in curing and pickling and such, not in the quantities we use to spice food. That is for flavor, not to kill bacteria or extend the useful life of the food.
Pictures about "How long will cayenne peppers extend shelf life of cooked ground pork?"
Is cayenne pepper a preservative?
Cayenne has been in use for medicinal purposes for centuries. It has been used both as a culinary spice and a food preservative and has added health benefits.How long does ground cayenne pepper last?
Properly stored, ground cayenne pepper will generally stay at best quality for about 3 to 4 years. To maximize the shelf life of ground cayenne pepper purchased in bulk, and to better retain flavor and potency, store in containers with tight-fitting lids.How long do fresh cayenne peppers last in the fridge?
By far, the best place for fresh cayenne to be stored is in the refrigerator. Place the properly stored cayenne in one of the produce drawers at the bottom of your fridge, and it can last one to two weeks. If it is cut up then it will still last longer in the fridge but only for around four days.How long does red cayenne pepper last?
Cayenne pepper: Fresh cayenne lasts about five to seven days, while ground cayenne pepper lasts about two to three years. Like paprika, cayenne pepper will last longer in the refrigerator, though it's not required. Chili powder: Ground chili powder lasts about two to three years.How Long Does Canned Food Last? Survival Tip
More answers regarding how long will cayenne peppers extend shelf life of cooked ground pork?
Answer 2
Hot peppers and spices, while they have anti-bacterial properties, weren't used, mostly, because they made the food safer. When meat goes bad, it's often not just the bacterial load that makes it bad.
The reason why chili became a staple on long cattle drives is because the spices MASKED the taste of the beef going rancid. While more palatable to those eating it, it wasn't actually more edible. I think when one does not notice the rancid flavor of meat going bad, maybe the assumption is made that it isn't rancid, when it still might be.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Artem Beliaikin, Artem Beliaikin, Nick Collins, Nick Collins