Bacillus and Clostridium are the bad boys of boiling. They laugh at your 212°F party. Their spores wait, dormant, until the water cools down. Then boom—they revive.
One famous example? Clostridium botulinum. That’s the bug behind botulism, a rare but nasty paralytic illness. It loves canned goods that didn’t get hot enough.
Boiling kills the active bacteria, but not always the spores. That’s why canned food is pressure-cooked at higher temperatures, like 250°F. No spores survive that.
But wait—there’s more! What about viruses and parasites?
Boiling destroys most viruses and parasites easily. Hepatitis A, norovirus, Giardia—all wimps under boiling water. A rolling boil for one minute is usually enough at sea level.
But if you’re up a mountain? Water boils at a lower temperature. At 10,000 feet, it’s only 194°F. Some microbes enjoy a cooler bath. So you need to boil longer—like three minutes—to be safe.
Quirky fact: Everest climbers can’t brew a good cup of tea. The water boils so cold, the tea barely steeps. Priorities, right?
Boiling Soups: Killing Bacteria And Staying Healthy | AnSoup
