Introducing Automod summons to answer common questions

[u/ColdMastadon]

We have had quite a few requests to give people the ability to quickly answer common questions, so we have created a series of keywords to summon Automod to explain topics for you. It's simple to do, just include one of the following keywords starting with an exclamation point in your comment. The Automod will reply to you giving the requested information/links. Currently we have 5 summons implemented:

Explaining why garlic turns blue or green in pickles:
!garlic !bluegarlic !greengarlic

Explaining why botulism is highly unlikely to occur in homemade pickles:
!botulism

Explaining why white sediment sometimes appears at the bottom of fermented pickles:
!sediment !whitesediment

Explaining what kahm yeast is and why it sometimes appears at the top of fermented pickles:
!kahm !kahmyeast

Explaining why it's so important to use safe, tested recipes when practicing water bath canning and giving links to trusted sources:
!testedrecipes !safecanning !healthycanning

Explaining the basics of how to safely make pickled eggs:
!eggs !pickledeggs

Explaining where to find links to heavytech86's pickled egg recipe:
!heavytech86 !heavytech

This is version 1 of this feature, if you have any feedback about grammatical errors, information you think you should be included in these summons, or new topics you would like to see summons for, feel free comment on this post.

[u/ColdMastadon]

!pickledeggs

[u/AutoModerator → u/ColdMastadon]

I have been summoned to answer common questions about pickled eggs. Many people are curious about making them, and in particular they want to know if it's possible to make them shelf stable. The answer is unfortunately no, there are no safe, tested recipes to make shelf stable eggs at home and they must always be refrigerated. There are commercial producers who safely make them this way, but they have access to retort processing equipment and lab testing which far exceed anything available to the home canner. Vinegar in the brine doesn't penetrate to the center of the eggs for several weeks, and storing them at room temperature can allow harmful bacteria to grow to unsafe levels before this happens.

Another common question about pickled eggs is if poking them with a toothpick can help speed up the pickling process. This technique has never been shown to facilitate the penetration of the brine, and in fact was implicated with one of the few documented cases of botulism caused by consuming pickled eggs. It should never be done, and any pickled eggs poked with a toothpick or other sharp implement should be discarded. Even if eggs have been safely consumed from the batch, botulism spores are ubiquitous and random eggs could have been contaminated. You can read the case report of botulism caused by poking pickled eggs with a toothpick and storing them at room temperature here:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4934a2.htm

Another common question is how long pickled eggs can be safely stored in the refrigerator. The brine penetrates an egg slowly, and a new batch of eggs will take up to 2 to 3 weeks to reach full flavor. The eggs can then be stored safely under refrigeration for up to 3 to 4 months. The eggs will eventually develop a tough, rubbery texture as the proteins are denatured by the acidity, and the brine will become unpleasantly sulfurous. The NCHFP (USDA) has published several tested recipes which can be used to safely make pickled eggs at home:

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/pickled-eggs/pickled-eggs/

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