Southern sweet tea is a summer staple, a down-south tradition. Made with black tea, vats of sugar, and served with plenty of ice, it’s easy to drink yourself into a diabetic seizure. Sweet tea delivers 25 grams of sugar per glass. A 23-ounce can of Arizona Tea packs 69 grams of sugar. Tea, itself, can be good for you.
Black tea contains natural antioxidants. But the high sugar content makes it a health risk. Some people order sweet tea as an alternative to soda. The reality is, iced-tea can contain more sugar than a Coke.
A To-Go Box Leaves Your Food Out For Too Long
If you’re not heading straight home, you probably do not want to take your leftovers to-go. The temperature of the food needs to stay cold, as in the refrigerator, or remain hot, over 140 degrees F. If not, your meal may be harboring bacteria by the time you eat the rest of it.
The guideline is to toss any leftovers that have been at room temperature for over two hours. If not, potentially deadly pathogens can thrive. Another guideline, according to the FDA, is that leftovers should be consumed in no less than four days.
Beware of Kobe Beef Knockoffs
Kobe beef is a select variety of meat that is known for having the highest quality and the best flavor. The distinctive marbling endows it with a buttery, tender texture and superb characteristics. The high cost of this delicacy is also attributed to rare farming, it comes all the way from Japan. Its unique quality leaves it up for imitation. Due to dubious labeling practices, cheaper offerings of Kobe beef might not be legitimate.
In fact, it is very unlikely you will be served actual Kobe beef since the U.S. banned its sale in 2001 after the mad cow outbreak, and never released the ban. It may take a trip to Japan to taste a true Kobe.
Think Twice About Ordering the Daily Special
Here’s a little-known fact most people have never heard of. Restaurants repurpose leftovers to enhance their daily menu. The ‘special du jour’ may incorporate the bad sellers of the previous day to cut down on waste. Extra bread might become croutons or bread pudding the next day.
Alternatively, surplus pasta from the night before can become pasta salad on the daily menu. Not all food is used for specials, to be sure. Eat This, Not That! estimates that U.S. restaurants waste 11.4 million tons of food each year. That’s a lot. Restaurants often donate excess food or simply dispose of it.
Should You Order a Medium Rare Burger?
Short answer: no. Never. Hamburgers should not be ordered medium-rare. Whereas steaks are fine to enjoy cooked rare, ground beef is totally different. Bacteria or germs can lurk anywhere inside ground meat, but on a steak, pathogens only exist on the surface, which is then seared at temperatures high enough to kill them.
Hamburger meat has come in contact with many surfaces on its way to the bun on your plate, so failing to cook the inside of the burger to an internal heat of 155 degrees F, which is considered medium, can lead to an unpleasant bout of food poisoning. Order your burger medium or medium-well.