How often do you wash your hands while cooking? (vegetable, vinegar, recipe)

[gentlearts]

I wash my hands a lot, since I can't stand the feeling of them being sticky or wet. On thanksgiving or Christmas, My hands are red and chapped by the time dinner is ready.

[kelly237]

I keep a sink of hot & soapy water with a tad of Clorox for throwing my prep utensils in(after rinsing), keeping a dish rag handy & and rinsing my hands..If I handle meat or eggs I do a normal wash but constantly I am rinsing my hands through this sink of water... I replace it with new water if it becomes dirty..

I am open to ideas of why this may be a bad idea...

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by LiLShorty4lyfe

It's the only thing I ever stop to wonder "Is this something like OCD?"

Yes, it is!

I wash my hands after handling raw meat, or if there's stuff stuck to them.

Originally Posted by LiLShorty4lyfe

I DO have dish towels that I have been aiming to use more. It's just a habit to grab a paper towel, but I've been getting better about it.

Move your paper towels out of reach of the sink, and hang dishtowels nearby instead. That will help you break this very bad and wasteful habit. Paper towels have their place, but for me they're not an everyday thing.

Originally Posted by CarolinaWoman

I just don't want to serve up a dish of botulism.

Botulism grows in an anerobic environment and in a narrow temperature range, so everyday cooking isn't likely to breed it. The toxin is killed by cooking food thoroughly.

Originally Posted by kelly237

I am open to ideas of why this may be a bad idea...

Clorox is a bad idea in general, especially in the kitchen.

[tigersfan1]

I find myself using disposable gloves more & more for cooking, esp. for meat. I can shape meatballs or a meatloaf, patty burgers, put chicken pieces on a skewer for kabobs, etc. Then I toss the gloves & move on to the veggies or whatever else I'm preparing. Have to keep in mind if I've touched anything in the kitchen though, as that defeats the purpose of wearing gloves. And if I'm using a cutting board to cut up meat, I usually don't bother with gloves, I find they don't save any time, since I have to wash the board and wipe the counter after I cut up meat anyway, so washing my hands is part of that too.

I also often ask DH to step into the kitchen & put some S & P on something if I'm elbow deep in meat, just so I don't have to stop, wash my hands, add S & P, then continue cooking.

I don't think you're washing your hands too often but I've had food poisoning a few times and wash my hands a lot when I cook, too. Rather spend an extra five minutes washing my hands than a couple days sick!

Edit to add;
I do try to have averything out before I start cooking, and I always, always cut up veggies first before I do anything with meat, even if it's out of order for cooking. That way I wash my hands less (or use fewer gloves), only wash the cutting board once and don't have to worry that the veggies have been exposed to raw meat or juices at all. Saves time in the end imho.

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by LiLShorty4lyfe

I've never measured? But I do know I kill small forests with my paper towel use. I DO have dish towels that I have been aiming to use more. It's just a habit to grab a paper towel, but I've been getting better about it.

The way I cut down my paper towel use was to take the paper towels completely out of the kitchen until I started reaching for the dish towel first.
It took me a couple weeks but now when I am in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, doing dishes etc and I need to dry my hands I rarely reach for the paper towels.

[Delahanty]

Originally Posted by kelly237

I keep a sink of hot & soapy water with a tad of Clorox for throwing my prep utensils in(after rinsing), keeping a dish rag handy & and rinsing my hands..If I handle meat or eggs I do a normal wash but constantly I am rinsing my hands through this sink of water... I replace it with new water if it becomes dirty..

I am open to ideas of why this may be a bad idea...

You won't see any from me.

[kelly237]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Clorox is a bad idea in general, especially in the kitchen.

Why ??

[Delahanty]

Originally Posted by kelly237

Why ??

It's not.

[K-Luv]

Hmmm....

....16 years working in a professional kitchen; current GF is a microbiologist at a well known Federal hospital; last GF was a registered nurse who became a public health official. I only wash my hands as necessary and as necessary is a heckofalot less than you think.

There is also a difference between cleaning and sanitation. Just because you wash your hands often does not mean they are sanitized and washing your hands too often will lead to dry, cracked, skin. Besides, you have fauna on your hands that you need. Hang out back of the house at any restaurant and you will be surprised at how infrequently cooks wash their hands. They do make frequent use of sanitation, though.

At home, I just use gloves or dip my hands in a quick no-rinse sanitizing solution. I usually keep a towel dampened with sanitizer handy to quickly wipe my hands down/surfaces as well. That is not to say I do not wash my hands, I just don't do it every few minutes.

[shh1313]

Lot of obsessed people on this thread.. How do Y'all handle camping out?