Guacamole Sitting out?

Guacamole Sitting out? - Woman in Brown Coat Drinking from Red Ceramic Mug

So I find it odd, that every site says "Don't leave guac sitting out more than 2 hours or you'll get sick!"

But a lot of recipes (like alton browns for instance) actually say to let it sit out for a couple of hours at room temp?

Proof: http://altonbrown.com/guacamole-recipe/

I ask because my buddy brought over some Guac for a cook out, and it was sitting in the house (at about 70 degrees so it wasn't super hot). And I think I ate some before we put it back in the fridge (and it had been out for about 3 hours).

(we got it from kroger, it was one of the ones they make fresh or whatever). It's still green and smells fine.)

So whats the deal?...2 hours too much yet a lot call for that. So if you let it sit out for 2 then serve it (and it sits out for 2 hours) thats four hours?

Thoughts?..am I probably ok?

food-safety


Best Answer

Nobody is telling you "or you'll get sick"

What they are telling you that it's unsafe. This is a completely different thing. You can eat unsafe food if you like. The people who publish unsafe recipes do it too. They just count on not getting sick.

2 hours vs 4 hours

The actual "danger zone" time is 4 hours. For foods you buy in their final, perishable state, it's down to 2 hours, because it's assumed that the first two hours got "used up" between producer, transport and seller. So it just so happens that 4 hours for a homemade guacamole (whose clock started ticking when you cut the avocado) is still safe. But this is a coincidence, you probably can find recipes somewhere which say to keep it out longer than 4 hours before serving.

let it sit out for 2 then serve it (and it sits out for 2 hours)

That's not what a recipe assumes. It assumes that you let it sit for 2 hours and then serve it and it gets eaten. The recipe creator assumes that you know enough about food safety to make your own decisions if your process is different.



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Quick Answer about "Guacamole Sitting out?"

Guacamole can only sit at room temperature a short while before it begins to spoil. Outside of refrigeration, guacamole keeps for about two hours before the microbes that lead to foodborne illness begin to multiply to dangerous levels.


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