But I once left a half a can of pineapple out and when I came back the can had been etched in two at the liquid level. When I picked it up I had an empty (but extremely sharp) ring of metal in my hand, and the pineapple was still in the half can on the counter. (literally half a can)
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Already done. There's a solvent that is based on citrus fruit. I can't remember the name, but I once put some in a weighing tray made out of polystyrene, figuring "hey it's just orange stuff," and as I picked it up the weighing tray just dissolved into practically nothing.
Later I found out they also make model glue out of the same stuff. Polystyrene was exactly the wrong material to hold it.
(Goes to look up name of stuff)
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d-limonene. I should have remembered that. It's an oil that's found mostly in the skin of an orange.
If you hold an orange peel near a flame, and squeeze the peel, you'll see little jets of flame squirting out of the orange. That's the d-limonene.
BTW, a lot of companies claim that since it comes from oranges, it's non-toxic and non hazardous, but it's actually pretty nasty stuff.
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Um...olives are packed in olive oil, not pickled. If you leave them out, they can go bad. Worst thing is past the shelf life the oil can turn rancid. Get a bad batch of those and it's upchuck city!
It took me almost a year before I could even tolerate the smell of greek olives again after that. And I love those things.
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Correction from dkw -- olives in a can from the grocery store are packed in water with preservatives or some kind of chemical stew (probably including lye). Anyway, they can sit out without going bad.
They might try to get frisky with the lettuce, but hey, it's safe. They've been pitted.
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Correction directly from dkw -- they aren't packaged in olive oil. Period. They can still go bad.
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Took me about ten years before I could eat Planters' cheez balls again. Of course, they weren't rancid . . . I just ate too many. Ewwww. The saddest thing was that when they no longer made me sick, my tastes had matured to the point that I was no longer interested.
I stand corrected. They're cured. But doesn't brining them preserve them somewhat? I'm becoming concerned that my slovenly kitchen habits are going to catch up with me sooner, rather than later . . .
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quote:One need never be without olives. They can be stored for long periods of time in a cool, dark place. If unopened, olives can be stored at room temperature for up to two years. Once opened, olives can be kept at room temperature for up to two weeks, or they can be refrigerated in their own liquid, in a nonmetal container, for several weeks.
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Bah. Humans have survived millennia of tooth-and-claw competition by gobbling down whatever is even remotely edible. A digestive system that can handle fish soaked in lye, uncooked monkey brains, rotted milk, and raw seaweed - to mention just a few delicacies from around the world - isn't going to be fazed by half-rotted olives.
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So, Synnie, you tell us. Are you OK? If yes, then I guess the olives were good to eat. Probably they tasted tinny, though. I mean tinnier than canned olives usually taste.
If you are not OK, then, after you get back from the hospital, let us know, so that we don't try the same thing.
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Well, it doesn't seem so bad... My stomach only hurts a tiny bit... Black olives are so yummy.
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This reminds mne of a poem a friend made up that I laughed over for years, but now have forgotten. Something about cottage cheese, a-starin' up at me.
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Canned olives are stored in brine. So are jarred olives, actually.
Bob, have you been spending much time with Israelis? Many have a custom to rinse jarred/canned olives with water and then store them in oil. There's some deep symbolic reason, I never remember what . . . oh yeah. It's supposed to prevent forgetfulness.
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Ooo.... yum. See... I would have stuck them back in the refrigerator for a bit to cool them down and then eaten them. I loooooove olives. I eat them as snack food. Good stuff.
Edit: (I should really watch out for my verb tense.)
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Olive oil is polyunsaturated and will oxidize, which is why it can turn rancid. The more you expose it to oxygen, the faster it will oxidize.
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quote:Originally posted by Glenn Arnold: I once left a half a can of pineapple out and when I came back the can had been etched in two at the liquid level. When I picked it up I had an empty (but extremely sharp) ring of metal in my hand, and the pineapple was still in the half can on the counter. (literally half a can)
I just opened the pineapple can, and ate half the pineapple. That was easy. Now I'm waiting for the can to etch itself in two.
Not to impugn your your housekeeping, but how long do you reckon I'll need to wait?
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Hey, put some nail polish on and dip your finger in the pineapple juice while you;re at it, and see if it eats it away.
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Fresh pineapple juice. The enzyme is deactivated by the heat of the canning process.
Though, since the enzyme breaks up proteins, the nail is likely to dissolve faster than the acrylic nail polish.
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Um, the can was in the refrigerator, and I honestly don't have the faintest idea how long it had been in there.
I didn't eat the pineapple, but it didn't look like there was anything obivously nasty about it. Just the etched can.
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I also don't remember if the can had a lid or cover on it. Seems like I would have slipped a baggie over an opened can.
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Update on the half-full can of pineapple sitting in my refrigerator:
It has been about 3 weeks, and other than the metal having turned a darker color at the pineapple line, there is no sign of any etching.
Glenn, did this really happen, or were you pulling my leg?
I'll leave the pineapple for a while longer to see if I can get the can to separate into two very sharp halves, but it is a good thing that I'm not holding my breath.
'Cause I'd be asphyxiated by now.
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I'm intrigued by the fact that someone is actually trying to replicate this.
No, I'm not pulling your leg. It really happened. I used the half a can to cut holes in foam rubber to make wheels for a cub scout project. It made a handy hole cutter.
I have no idea how long it took. It was years ago, and I didn't set it up on purpose, so I didn't record how long it took to happen. Also, during that time of my life, I was travelling on business a lot. It very well could have been months. In all likelihood my wife put the can in, and I took it out.
A point of clarification however, since I used to be in the industrial gases business. We used the term "asphyxiate" to describe what happened when someone breathes in an oxygen depleted gas, such as pure nitrogen. Suffocation is what happens when you consume the oxygen in what little air is available to you, such as inside a plastic bag, or by holding your breath. It can take awhile. Asphyxia is usually instantaneous, because when you breathe an inert gas, the oxygen actually diffuses OUT of your blood into the oxygen free gas in your lungs, and with the next beat of your heart, your brain shuts down.
I'm not sure that the difference is recognised by dictionaries, but in the gases business, it was important to recognise, for safety reasons.
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