Bean fiasco last night - did I ruin my chili or save cash?

I was making a big pot of chili for meal prep and dropped the whole bag of dried pinto beans on the kitchen floor. Picked them up quick but some had dust and a few crumbs mixed in. I rinsed them off extra good and cooked them anyway to not waste the $3 I spent. Chili turned out fine but now I'm wondering if I risked getting sick over 3 bucks. Would you toss floor beans or rinse and roll with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucas_carr241mo ago

You said "rinse and roll with it" and honestly, that's what I would have done too. People act like floor germs are some kind of instant death sentence, but your beans were dry and you rinsed them. In my experience, the risk is basically zero unless you had raw chicken juice on that floor like five minutes before. People eat dirtier stuff than that from restaurant kitchens and don't think twice. Your chili is fine, your $3 are saved, and you probably built up a little immunity along the way.

jesse_burns81mo ago

Respectfully gotta push back on @lucas_carr24 here. Dried beans are porous and that rinse might not get everything if the floor had any cleaning chemicals, pet dander, or just plain old grime. I dropped a bag of kidney beans once and found a little pebble mixed in after I picked them up, made me think twice about what else could've stuck to them. You got lucky this time but for $3, I'd personally just grab a new bag next time and skip the worry.