The germiest bit of your kitchen

Hadn’t given this much thought, but they’ve got a point.

The last line, though, is a gotcha that left me sputtering a laugh into my coffee.

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The ending of that article is great . . . I originally saw a story on this study written for a US audience and it lacked the humor.

I actually do wipe down my spice jars after use and don’t touch the lids to the raw meat. But I imagine they’re little petri dishes in my cabinets anyway.

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bacteria, like e-coli, do not survive for any length of time on hard dry surfaces.

It actually mentions that…but it was the last line was why I really shared it.

How about all those chefs who in YouTube videos show you how to roast a chicken, and start by shoving a pepper mill into a raw chicken? Do they clean the mill after, and wouldn’t it be safer to do what I do……grind some pepper onto a plate ?

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Watching “cooking” videos makes me bonkers.

I practice mise en place. When I start to cook the first thing I do is measure the spices into tiny ramekins.

This not only ensures that I won’t be getting pathogens on my spice jars, it ensures that I’m not scrambling to measure spices while letting food overcook.

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I ADORE this. I am a member of the congregation that believes regular exposure to assorted germs is essential to maintaining a properly-functioning immune system. I cook only for myself. I ignore use/best by dates, relying on my senses. So far, so good. An occasional bout of the runs can be exhilerating. I vomit perhaps once a decade, if that. TMI, I know. My kitchen is less clean by the year, yet like The Dude, I abide.

The other day, I was about to open a partially-used glass bottle of an expensive brand of Green Goddess dressing mix that’s beyond best by date, when I noticed it contained black specks. They were the corpses of some tiny bugs that had hatched, and perished, therein. Over a decade ago, I had the same experience with the contents of a plastic jar of ranch dressing mix. (Your first guess of brand is correct.) That time, the miniscule freeloaders were still moving. I drew a hard line in both cases. Point is, your condiment containers and other exterior surfaces are far from the only areas of kitchen concern.

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I rarely ever measure anything.

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Now there’s a quote!

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With a dietary sensitivity 30 consecutive days of a normal tummy is even more exhilarating.

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I was just sitting here wondering what its like to measure herbs and spices

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I’m thinking at least some non measures measure, just not with traditional tools.

Every week I make a taco filling that calls for something like 1 Tb Mexican oregano, 2 Tb chilli powder, 1 Tb ground cumin , 1 tsp ground corriander, 1/4 tsp chipotle, etc.

I make the chili powder once every two or three months, weighing the components (so that’s measuring), and grind the cumin and corriander in a coffee grinder once every week or three.

I don’t usually use measure with Tbs etc when I’m cooking this, but I have a sense of what the measures look like, and have it all ready in a little dish, so that when the chopped onion is just beginning to brown around the edges, I can add two or so chopped serranos and 4 or so chopped garlic cloves , and the then the spices , and an ice cube of tomato paste before the garlic starts to burn.

I add salt to taste, and also squeeze what I have of a lime.

I make broiled salmon, and a New York strip steak many if not most weeks. I salt and pepper them in advance, know how the salt and pepper should look, and try to be careful about what touches what .

Isn’t all that measuring?

I’m not afraid of, and welcome routine “germs”, but would like to avoid unnecessary “runs” or other “illness” for me and mine.

Okay, what was this thread about?

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The germiest bit in the kitchen is the human.

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I always heard it was the sponge, but “human” and “sponge” are sorta’ the same…?

doing a new recipe I always measure - simply because I don’t know how the dish is supposed to taste . . .

most of the time I use T or t - because my set is the long narrow ‘spoons’ that fit nicely into the jars . . . less about ‘exact’ measuring, more about ‘no muss no fuss’
and ‘estimating’ into one’s palm is still measuring, eh? me bets cooks who do that get pretty accurate.

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I have to admit that my love for those mussel dishes served in coconut milk that are so popular in Thai restaurants has led to more than a few episodes of the runs.
Some would swear off mussels entirely, but I always kind of looked at it as an unintended but rather effective cleanse, of sorts.

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Me either, certainly not for herbs and spices. I will measure for baking.

That’s why I don’t bake :wink:

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I really rarely do; my first attempt at bread created a loaf with a fabulous crust, which when enthusiastically chomped shattered an admittedly fragile molar which I then had to have crowned. It was a very expensive loaf … I obviously won the Betty Crocker Black Apron Award for dangerous kitchen misadventures. So I’ve left baking, like neurosurgery, to the professionals.

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