Food, old wives tales and general b*ll*cks

[oddman]

CypSIdders said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

No!

It's a West Indian thing. Kinda makes sense when the chicken you're about to cook was scratching around in the yard yesterday. Even if you do a good job of plucking and gutting, giving it a rinse to wash away excess blood and st isn't a bad idea.

[21TonyK]

oddman said:

CypSIdders said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

No!

It's a West Indian thing. Kinda makes sense when the chicken you're about to cook was scratching around in the yard yesterday. Even if you do a good job of plucking and gutting, giving it a rinse to wash away excess blood and st isn't a bad idea.

Its also perpetuated in the USA (where it used to be almost normal) by the use of antimicrobial washes in poultry production. Some people wash the chicken to "get rid" of he chemicals, others are trying to "get rid" of salmonella which was/is more common in US poultry.

Its an old practice that at one point had some logic but is now just a way of spraying your kitchen with raw chicken.

[21TonyK]

One to separate the pack...

Organic is healthier.

[Soloman Dodd]

Alickadoo said:

No. The old wives tale about eating carrots to improve vision is a lot older than 46 years.

They were saying it during World War 2.

What?

That was a quote from John "cat's eyes" Cunningham, who was a night fighter pilot and claimed carrots were the answer for night vision.
He was hiding the fact that we Brits had succesfully shrunk down radar and fitted it in aircraft.

[Don Veloci]

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

Erm, I did once drop a decent chicken breast in soapy dishwater! But I'm tight and I was starving so rinsed, dried, cooked, I was fine.

[Cotty]

21TonyK said:

One to separate the pack...

Organic is healthier.

I just assumed it was a way for them to charge more for it. I never really consider it healthier.

[jonsp]

Cotty said:

I just assumed it was a way for them to charge more for it. I never really consider it healthier.

It's healthier for the chicken

[PhilAsia]

oddman said:

CypSIdders said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

No!

It's a West Indian thing. Kinda makes sense when the chicken you're about to cook was scratching around in the yard yesterday. Even if you do a good job of plucking and gutting, giving it a rinse to wash away excess blood and st isn't a bad idea.

My Filipina wife does it too. Food hygiene in PH is non-existent!

[oddman]

PhilAsia said:

oddman said:

CypSIdders said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

No!

It's a West Indian thing. Kinda makes sense when the chicken you're about to cook was scratching around in the yard yesterday. Even if you do a good job of plucking and gutting, giving it a rinse to wash away excess blood and st isn't a bad idea.

My Filipina wife does it too. Food hygiene in PH is non-existent!

For meat slaughtered and butchered by others, not washing is best practice, safer and therefore hygienic

Washing runs risk of cross contamination from meaty water splashing about. Clearly in any culture which is only a generation from slaughtering and preparing your own birds, the old hygiene practices will persist.

USDA gives pretty unequivocal advice

[Cotty]

PhilAsia said:

My Filipina wife does it too. Food hygiene in PH is non-existent!

Just because she does it doesn't mean the people who don't are wrong.

[daqinggregg]

jonsp said:

Cotty said:

I just assumed it was a way for them to charge more for it. I never really consider it healthier.

It's healthier for the chicken

I think someone may be mixing up different methods of food production.

[Shaw Tarse]

Cotty said:

Holding a spoon in your mouth when cutting onions will prevent tears.
I must be immune as I never cry when cutting onions.

Is that a "recent" thing?
Mum was chopping onions the other week & we both said, onions seem different these days.

[Bluevanman]

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

Yes,sort of,take chicken breasts are often 'woody' so I rub some bicarbonate of soda in,leave about 20 minutes and then rinse off under the cold tap,the chemical reaction improves the texture

[daqinggregg]

Cotty said:

Holding a spoon in your mouth when cutting onions will prevent tears.
I must be immune as I never cry when cutting onions.

I’ve never heard of that one, it’s almost like the practical, but not funny, jokes, ‘old lags’ subject young apprentices too.

[simon_harris]

Onions emit a small amount of SO4 and when combined with the water in your eyes makes a very dilute solution of H2SO4 which is why it burns. having an alternative source of water around will help prevent your eyes stinging.

[FiF]

andyA700 said:

silentbrown said:

21TonyK said:

Mussels that are closed after cooking shouldn't be eaten or they'll make you ill / die depending on how important the person telling you wants you to think they are.

I didn't know that was balls! After one bad experience with mussels I now just avoid them - The risk/reward ratio doesn't work for me

The same with me and scallops as well. I had scallops at what was supposed to be the best seafood restaurant in Carlsbad California. About 15 minutes after finishing them, I was in the loos throwing up.
Never again.

Strangely only time I've been that bad with food poisoning was due to scallops in California, Ventura though. Lasted longer than 15 minutes so it was both ends.

I don't eat shellfish these days for various reasons, including seeing what was feeding on a dead body pulled out of the water.

[Mobile Chicane]

PhilAsia said:

oddman said:

CypSIdders said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

No!

It's a West Indian thing. Kinda makes sense when the chicken you're about to cook was scratching around in the yard yesterday. Even if you do a good job of plucking and gutting, giving it a rinse to wash away excess blood and st isn't a bad idea.

My Filipina wife does it too. Food hygiene in PH is non-existent!

If you've bought (any) meat or fish from a dusty market with flies everywhere, you'll want to give it a bit of a rinse before cooking.

[dickymint]

Don Veloci said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

Erm, I did once drop a decent chicken breast in soapy dishwater! But I'm tight and I was starving so rinsed, dried, cooked, I was fine.

Yes the five second rule applies here

[dickymint]

Bluevanman said:

Douglas Quaid said:

I’ve never heard of washing chicken. Does anyone do that?

Yes,sort of,take chicken breasts are often 'woody' so I rub some bicarbonate of soda in,leave about 20 minutes and then rinse off under the cold tap,the chemical reaction improves the texture

I've done that to tenderise cheap steak and it works.

[theplayingmantis]

21TonyK said:

I'll kick it off...

Mussels that are closed after cooking shouldn't be eaten or they'll make you ill / die depending on how important the person telling you wants you to think they are.

It's cr*p, Jane Grigson made it up but it was published and became a repeated "fact".

(Mrs21 often finds me shouting at chefs on the telly who repeat this and other made up stuff)

it should be those that aren't closed before cooking and wont close when tapped. thats the way to the trots! but yes a universal myth.