Histamine and the time between steps
The broth spends a day on the stove. The rest of the process moves quickly, from the moment the bones leave the oven to the cooling of each filled portion. Here’s why those transitions matter when we talk about histamine.
Long hot extraction and warm holding
Histamine can form through the activity of microorganisms and their enzymes in food. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland explains that time and temperature influence this process, and that heat does not remove histamine already formed. Continuous extraction near boiling and leaving food lukewarm are therefore different handling conditions. Neither the length of the simmer nor a short recipe can tell you the final histamine concentration. A hot cooking stage does not erase what happened to the raw materials earlier.
From the oven to the pot
I start with Portuguese beef marrow bones and keep them chilled until it’s time to roast. After two hours in the oven, they go straight into near-boiling water. From there the broth stays hot for at least 24 hours of extraction. The long simmer is the one stage I give all the time it needs. — Alexander
From the pot to the fridge
Once the simmer is done, I filter and fill the portions promptly. Cooling has to reach the centre of each portion, so I cool the broth actively and keep it refrigerated from storage through delivery. The time and temperature of each transition are the point of the method. A histamine level is a separate measurement of the finished broth.
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Updated · Alexander Pichugin