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A few years back, there was a major salmonella outbreak from eating raw cookie dough. Several people died, but most recovered, although i recall one woman who had lots of complications, and will never be right again.
Don’t eat raw commetcial cookie dough, unless you made it yourself.
The last guy who asked the same thing got told to go ahead and try. He hasn’t been heard from since. Some say he’s just not finished trying the infinite variety of cookie dough.
Raw eggs are no problem I’ve seen Rocky
the risk mostly comes from the flour
Sounds like a USA problem.
Come to Germany, here you can even eat raw pork! It’s called Met and it’s delicous.
UHHH
The Bundesinstitut für Risikoforschung (BfR) recommends to not eat raw dough, not because of salmonella but E. Coli and EHEC. Check out this publication: https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/429/010_stec_ehec-infektionen_durch_rohen_teig.pdf
mett, met is honey wine :D
From raw vegan cookie dough? No :)
#govegan
The flour isn’t clean though.
Careful with the flower tho, that can get you e coli. But: you can bake it in the oven on it’s own to sterilize it. Then you’ve got yourself safe to eat raw flower
Lmao yeah the flour is the real reason you don’t eat raw cookie dough
oh pizza, double the reason, thank you for the heads up!
It’s not just salmonella from the egg, it’s also e coli from the raw flour.
If you want to make yourself cookie dough, remember to bake loose flour for a bit first to kill any microbes in that, too.
While some recipes suggest DIY methods to “heat-treat” flour at home, such as baking it in the oven or microwaving it, these methods are inconsistent and may not effectively eliminate all pathogens, including Salmonella, which is particularly heat-resistant in low-moisture foods like flour.
To pasteurize wheat flour (e.g., in 5-lb bags) with different moisture contents (e.g., 11.6 percent and 14.5 percent) using an RF heating process (volumetric heating), the holding time required at a specific target temperature can be predicted by measuring or calculating the high-temperature water activities of the flour samples, and then determining their corresponding D-values for Salmonella. In this case, calculations indicate that the water activities at room temperature for the two batches of flour are 0.43 and 0.64, which would increase to 0.69 and 0.82, respectively, at 80°C. According to the equation shown in Figure 4, the D80 values of Salmonella at these water activity levels are 3.2 and 1.2 minutes, respectively. To achieve a 5-log reduction, the two flour batches must be held at 80 °C for 16 and 6 minutes, respectively.
I think the issue here is not that you can’t pasteurize flour yourself, but that many DIY tutorials are dangerous and they should be regulated.
Also it takes a very long time to heat raw flour and it hardly seems worth the effort. Just make oat flour from rolled oats. You’re eating the dough raw, so what do you need egg or gluten for in the first place?
Yeah, I think if the average person reads that they can heat treat the flour to make it safe, that it will lead some (most?) to then ineffectually heat treat the flour and then assume it’s no longer a risk.
I agree that it doesn’t make sense for most people to pasteurize the flour themselves 😅
And use unsweetened applesauce instead of eggs! If you get the cheap, bland stuff there’s no difference in flavor, and no risk from uncooked eggs!
Protip: do NOT use convection when baking loose flour . If you’re going to eat it raw you don’t need to use eggs at all (you shouldn’t, they don’t add any flavour you want here, and are only added to cookies for their protein which helps it set when cooked).
Oh yeah flour is flammable as hell lol. try not to set your kitchen on fire
If you were making cookie dough to be eaten raw, would you maybe substitute some pectin or gelatin to replace the egg, or are we just going with butter, sugar and flour?
The few times I’ve made it, I didn’t replace it with anything. I wouldn’t bother using pectin or gelatin. When egg is uncooked it won’t have a thickening effect, and that’s what you’re trying to match. So if the mix is too thick for your liking, add some water or apple sauce as others have said. But this is just for texture and thickness, to your liking.
Tumblr’s got you covered:
eating flour straight form the bag lol
Who the hell is rawdogging their flour??
A bit of raw flour dusting on my cake.
If you made me this and it turned out not to be the real thing on the topping I’d be severely disappointed…
Why flour and not powder sugar?
For that genuine e coli taste.
If that’s not love, I dont know what is
Hahahaha that’s awesome
Don’t yuck someone else’s yum!
I once saw an episode of my strange addiction where a lady was eating a bag or two of corn starch every day so I’d expect somebody out there could handle flour. Edit: Here is the episode.
I’ve done it before dont judge me
Do you… do you not?
Crying laughing so hard at this lmao
All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.
I don’t know how people make cakes and cookies witbout eating it raw. It seems to be an american thing. Am I the only Australian eating cake batter and cookie dough?
Haha no you’re not the only one, I don’t do it after I became a chef and had sanitary practices drilled into my brainhole but whenever I’m cooking with someone in the kitchen they go nuts that they get to have all the batter to themselves.
It’s generally pretty safe, especially in Australia. You are still at risk for E Coli from eating the uncooked flour though.
I’ve still eaten things that AFAIK should’ve hospitalized me and I’ve been fine, the risks associated with food have come down a lot in recent years but there is still always a risk.
Cooking times, temps, danger zones etc just guarantee that the food is okay to be consumed but you can usually push the envelope if your adventurous and have no harm done.
Do stay away from old pastas and rices that haven’t kept properly, that shit will kill you.
If you’re making it from scratch (with vaccinated chicken’s eggs) and eating it right away, the risk of contamination is very low. It’s industrial mixes and old (or poorly handled) mix that are a problem.
I have never known anyone to get sick but my possibly not-quite-accurate understanding suggests this may be more of a North American thing because we blast our eggs with chemicals that weaken the shell. While the idea is to kill the salmonella, it also can allow it to permeate the shell and infect the egg, making the chance of getting sick from poorly handled uncooked eggs higher if they have not been kept refrigerated.
“North American”, no, just American. I eat my tartare with raw eggs just fine up here in Canada 😂
I’m Canadian. I’ve also worked at egg facilities here. We treat our eggs the same as the US. Result is the same risk.
I’ve had raw eggs for years, never once got salmonella from them. You know what gave me Salmonella though? A fast food Chinese place… and more than once. The raw egg panic is really overblown.
Also:
“Yes, raw eggs are safe to eat in Canada. Canadian eggs undergo an intense inspection process before they reach grocery stores, and the risk of salmonella contamination is extremely low.”
“IS IT SAFE TO EAT RAW OR SOFT-COOKED EGGS? Yes, as long as the eggs are handled properly: • Always use fresh Canada Grade A eggs that have been kept refrigerated. The Best Before date on the carton will help determine freshness. Ensure that the egg is clean and the shell is not cracked.”
Legit, I’ve never had raw egg issues in Canada and people who harp about it, I find, never even eat raw eggs at all. Québec has a huge tartare culture and many eat raw eggs with tartare, it’s not even comparable to the US. Come on now 🙄
Source to counter the appeal to authority:
https://www.getcracking.ca/question/is-it-safe-to-eat-raw-eggs
Canadians eggs are tested way more than US eggs. Not negotiable. We might have similar processes, but we don’t have the same risk level (which is why saying North America is ignorant, we don’t treat egg safety the same way as the US due to cultural traditions which still involve raw eggs). Get real.
As a kid I often got to lick the Mixmaster beaters when Mum was making biscuits or a cake.
Yeah I did once, like when I was 8. I don’t recommend it, vomitting and shitting sucks a lot.
You can make your own edible cooking dough. You just have to pasteurize the eggs and flour. If I’m not mistaken, I think the flour is more dangerous than the eggs.
There are even shops which sell edible cookie dough pre-made if you’d prefer the convenience.
Wait what
What’s going on with the flour? Fungus?
You’re not going to like this, but the answer is rat poop. Before it’s packaged it’s often stored in large open piles in warehouses.
Raw flour may be contaminated with harmful bacteria such as E. coli.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-handling-flour.html
Eggs are hermetically sealed. As long as they aren’t covered in bird shit when you handle them, pasteurization is not needed.
*unless you are American and your retail eggs must be washed legally, thereby having their protective coating removed.
I would at least rinse off the egg shell before cracking, personally, and when I make raw cookie dough to serve to others, I make sure I follow all food handling best practices since I’d be horrified to give someone food poisoning, as unlikely as it may be.
There’s also this:
While most bacteria including Salmonella are found on the shell itself, Salmonella can sometimes get inside an egg or it can already be inside an egg when it is laid.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/meat-poultry-fish-seafood-safety/eggs.html
The flour is the biggest question mark.
There is never any flour inside the egg when it’s laid.
Hahahahaha, I actually laughed out loud
OK, but it’s still recommended to properly handle eggs, too. It’s not like it’s difficult to pasteurize eggs. You need a pot of water, a stove, and a thermometer.
The egg is only there to help bind it while it bakes so the butter doesn’tmelt and turn it into goo. If you are going to eat the dough just leave out the egg, it doesn’t do anything.
You can eat raw eggs. Raw flour is the question mark.
If your egg is clean on the outside where does the bad bacteria come from? Because its not from inside the egg.
If your egg is clean on the outside where does the bad bacteria come from? Because its not from inside the egg.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Don’t shoot the messenger.
While most bacteria including Salmonella are found on the shell itself, Salmonella can sometimes get inside an egg or it can already be inside an egg when it is laid.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/meat-poultry-fish-seafood-safety/eggs.html
They come out of the chicken with a coating that protects it, but the shell itself is not good enough. If the egg has been washed (which, if you’re in the US and not raising the chickens yourself, they have been) then it’s not totally safe. It’s really stupid that we do this, but we do.
Just skip the eggs entirely for a longer shelf life and more delicious, nutritious butter in your health food.
But it’s more work to make edible cookie dough than cookies, and edible cookie dough has a shorter shelf life, so I personally don’t understand the appeal.
It tastes better to me. 🙃
Leave out the eggs and bake the flour at 350f/177-177C for a few minutes first.
This is true, but also I will always lick the spoon when making coookies.
Me too! And the bowl, and the whisk, and …
I’m shocked that there are shops that sell inedible cookie dough… why would you want such a thing?
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/flour-raw-food-and-other-safety-facts
https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/no-raw-dough.html
Yes, people have gotten sick from Salmonella and E. coli from eating raw flour.
In a flour recall that happened in March 2023, 14 people got sick with 3 hospitalizations.
Here were some others:
- 2021, cake mix recall that led to 16 sick and 7 hospitalized
- 2019, flour recall that led to 21 sick and 3 hospitalizations
- 2016, flour recall that led to 63 sick and 17 hospitalizations
Flour is one of the top ten foods that cause illnesses (source).
What’s even better is raw Brownie batter. That shit is fudgy chocolatey goodness that cannot be contained. I use that instead of chocolate syrup over vanilla ice cream and just… you’ll never believe how amazing it is. you can warm the batter up in the microwave (without it baking into a brownie) and drizzle it on with a fork. Just do it already
Cook the dry ingredients at 350f/176-177C for a few minutes first and do not add eggs if you are doing this to reduce risks.
