You’ve heard people say, “Just boil it; you’ll be fine.” Not always. If your food smells funky, it’s full of volatile toxins. Boiling might even spread them around the kitchen as steam.
Another myth: Boiling equals sterilization. Nope. Sterilization kills everything, including spores. Boiling kills most bacteria but not all. That’s why hospitals use steam autoclaves, not spaghetti pots.
And here’s a wild one: You can kill bacteria on a cutting board by pouring boiling water on it. But if the board is plastic, you might warp it. Now your board looks like a sad museum sculpture.
