Had a jar of pickled eggs explode in my fridge last month - salvage the veggies or toss everything?

I came home from work and found this greenish liquid leaking from my top shelf onto a bag of spinach and some carrots. The eggs were from a batch I made like 3 months ago, so I'm guessing the seal failed or something. My buddy says just wipe down the jars that were nearby and keep the unopened stuff, but my wife thinks any porous veggie that got touched by that liquid is done for. Has anyone dealt with a fridge bomb like this before, and did you end up trashing everything or just the contaminated parts?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason95811d agoTop Commenter

Honestly I saw this YouTube video from a food safety guy who said brine explosions happen when fermentation creates too much pressure and the seal gives out. He said anything porous like carrots or spinach that got directly splashed with that liquid is an automatic toss because the bacteria can get into the moist surfaces and you can't really clean it out. I'd probably keep anything that was sealed tight like unopened jars or bottles with their caps still on, but that bag of spinach is done for. You might be able to save carrots if they're still firm and you scrub them real good with soap, but honestly your wife is right about the porous stuff.

jakeperry11d ago

Yeah, @jason958 is spot on about the porous thing. I had a jar of pickled jalapenos blow up in my garage last summer and lost a whole bag of tortillas that got hit with the brine. You can't scrub that stuff out of anything with air pockets or rough surfaces, it just soaks in. Carrots you might be able to peel and salvage if they're still crunchy, but anything with nooks and crannies like spinach or mushrooms is a goner.