Re: parasites linked to berries

[Dick Eney <dickeney@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Dick Eney <dickeney@access.digex.net>


On Fri, 5 Jul 1996, Andreah Harrison wrote:
> 
> Poster: andreah@cpsnet.com (Andreah Harrison)
> 
> Does anyone know if the parasites that have been linked to raspberries and 
> strawberries would be killed if the berries were used for cordials?

Forgive my doffing my Mandarin's cap for my out-of-period medical lab
technologists' hat, but: No.  Not unless you made up the cordial with
straight grain alcohol and, after it had steeped for a due time, cut it to
drinkable level with pure water (or honeyed water, if that's better for
your recipe).  An awful lot of people have gotten cases of Somebody's
Revenge by telling themselves, "Oh, well, alcohol kills germs..."  It
doesn't reliably kill germs in less than 85 percent concentration -- which
is 170 proof, or Strong Enough to Take the Skin Off the Roof of Your Mouth
in a more in-period scale of measurement.

(As I hesitated before referring to Montezuma's Revenge, I wondered if the
Greeks referred to Darius' Revenge or the Goths to Caesar's Revenge?  No
doubt they had some such expression...)

|---------Master Vuong Manh, C.P., Storvik, Atlantia---------|
|Now, let's stop and think: how would Bugs Bunny handle this?|
|----------------(dickeney@access.digex.net)-----------------|


=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org