Safety on KemoNine's Culinary Notebook

Gluten and Grain Tags

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:11:52 +0000

Not all gluten is the same gluten, and not everyone who avoids one grain has to avoid the others. So the recipes here don’t just carry a single “has gluten” label — each gluten grain gets its own tag, and there’s a separate tag for the “it depends on the brand” cases. Here’s what each one means.

The three grain tags

contains-wheat — the recipe needs a wheat ingredient: wheat flour, bread, breadcrumbs or panko, regular pasta or noodles, semolina, couscous, farro, bulgur, seitan, a roux, a wheat-flour tortilla, pie crust, and so on.
contains-barley — the recipe needs barley or something made from it: malt, malt vinegar, malt syrup, or beer.
contains-rye — the recipe needs rye, including rye breads like pumpernickel.

Tagging the grains separately means you can filter for exactly what you react to. If barley is your problem but wheat isn’t, you don’t have to skip every wheat-tagged dish; browse contains-barley and avoid just those. Oats are naturally gluten-free, so an oats recipe is not tagged with any of these — but oats are often processed alongside gluten grains, so those recipes carry a footnote reminding you to reach for certified gluten-free oats if you need to.

Expiration Dates

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

From

https://www.foodandwine.com/sell-by-vs-use-by-8402060

Use-by date

Use-by dates suggest the peak quality of a product, and are not safety dates. According to the USDA , “With the exception of infant formula, if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until spoilage is evident. Spoiled foods will develop an off-odor, flavor, or texture due to naturally occurring spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such spoilage characteristics, it should not be eaten.”

Internal Meat Temps

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Chicken: 165F
Beef: 160F
Fish: 145F
Pork: 160F

Chili Pepper Notes

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Scoville Unit Table

Pepper	Scoville Units
Banana	0 - 500 SHU
Poblano	1000 - 1500 SHU
Anaheim	500 - 2500 SHU
Jalapeno	3500 - 8000 SHU
Fresno	2500 - 10000 SHU
Serrano	10000 - 23000 SHU
Cayenne	30000 - 50000 SHU
Habanero	100000 - 350000 SHU

Storing Jerky

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Once the jerky is completely cool, place it in a bag or airtight container. Failing to do so will make the jerky sweat in the container and encourage mold and bacterial growth.

Always remember:

If you store at room temperature (around 70 F-74 F) leave it in a dark cool place and use it within a month.
If you store in the fridge, you have four to six months to use it.
If you choose to freeze it, you have one full year for consumption.

Always remember to label a jerky bag with the date in which it was prepared and the expiration date that it’d have depending on the method of storage you’re using.