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same to me, I often wash my hands during cooking meal. whenever I touch on meat, vegetable even jar of salt, bottle of oil I also wash my hands. I can't suffer from any dirty on the hands.
I would wash my hands before beginning. I would wash my hands if anything got on them during the preparation, and of course after mixing the meatloaf with my hands.
I think OP is going a bit overboard, but not freakishly so.
After a typical Thankgsgiving, or other labor intensive meal. I notice that my hands are actually chapped afterwards.
I think this is the right section, but please feel free to move this if there is a more appropriate section (hopefully not mental health- LOL!)
I am wondering how often others wash their hands during meal prep. I feel like I wash my hands too often but I can't stand the idea of touching something like meat, and then moving to vegetables, even if they're being cooked together. Sometimes its because I need to add seasoning and don't want to contaminate the outside of the container with germs.
Example: Last night I made meatloaf. Washed my hands to begin. Took out the meat, seasonings, bread crumbs, milk.
Emptied the meat into a bowl, washed my hands. Cut open the "cook in a bag" recipe I love, and added seasonings, milk, bread crumbs. Forgot the egg. Washed my hands, got the egg. Mixed it all in by hand. Washed my hands. Chopped onion (for loaf), and potatoes to go with it. Washed my hands. Got out my baking sheet and formed my loaf. Needed to add flour to the bag so it wouldn't stick. Washed my hands. Added flour. Put the loaf in the bag to cook. Washed my hands. Started on the vegetables.
This may be completely correct in how most people cook, but I have no idea. It's the only thing I ever stop to wonder "Is this something like OCD?" I'm a very tidy person but I don't think I typically fall into the OCD category.
Maybe it's poor prep planning, maybe I dislike germs more than some. Maybe I am missing the easier way??
What about you?
I don't think there is such a thing as too often. How often I wash mine depends on how involved the meal is and how much I am touching my food. If I am simply putting a couple of pork chops in a pan, adding a few spices and making a salad and potatoes, probably only in the beginning and maybe another time. If I am dealing with involved meals, I wash hands every couple of minutes. There is no right or wrong.ohe ON
the older I get the more little things I notice ,,,pertaining to sanitation,,,
particularly when eating over at a friends or family house,,,,one thing that drives me insane is kids trying to help ,,,which is good,,,and they sneeze or cough all over the food and mother/parent does not correct them,,,or send them away or replace the spit on foods
ive seen hosts,, pet their dogs while preparing foods,,,,let the dog lick their fingers and think nothing of it,,,when I politely say that dog was just licking its butt,,,they don't seem to mind....
I'm making meatloaf tomorrow and just ran through the steps in my head. It goes like this:
Wash hands.
Cut onions and green pepper, add to a skillet with butter, saute. Add garlic. Let cool. Put big bowl on counter, add cooked vegetables, add egg, spices, worchestire sauce, milk, breadcrumbs and mix all together. Dump in meat and combine by hand.
Wash hands.
Open package of bacon and take out what I'm going need. Put meatloaf in whatever I'm cooking it in. Add bacon on top.
Wash hands.
Put stuff away and then clean up pans/bowl/etc.
Hands get washed as part of cleanup.
I think any more would be overkill. But that's just me.
the older I get the more little things I notice ,,,pertaining to sanitation,,,
particularly when eating over at a friends or family house,,,,one thing that drives me insane is kids trying to help ,,,which is good,,,and they sneeze or cough all over the food and mother/parent does not correct them,,,or send them away or replace the spit on foods
ive seen hosts,, pet their dogs while preparing foods,,,,let the dog lick their fingers and think nothing of it,,,when I politely say that dog was just licking its butt,,,they don't seem to mind....
I wash my hands several times. I also make sure the meat packaging and the egg shells end up in the garbage can outside. I hate dealing with those two
There is a saying in a foreign language that says.: The cleanest person is not the one that cleans the most but the one that makes less of a mess. Being careful when handling food prone to harmful bacteria and not letting it spill is much easier than cleaning everything you infected.
I don't use Clorox every day. Clorox irritates my lungs. I don't need to inhale the extra chemicals every day. Soap will do.
If I have to prepare raw vegetables or a salad I'll wash my hands extremely carefully. I also wash those vegetables very well. I don't trust eating raw food in restaurants. I don't trust cooks. sometimes I have no choice than to eat what someone else cooked. It is what it is.
....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.
Thank you. I was beginning to think I was tempting fate, serving death to my family, because I don't wash my hands after touching every little thing.
Yes, I wash after handling raw meat, after mixing things by hand. But heck, I've been cooking for my family for well over 40 years, and we haven't died or gotten food poisoning yet. My parents and their parents did the same.
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