{"id":24521,"date":"2016-02-23T07:18:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T12:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/?p=24521"},"modified":"2025-01-23T05:07:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T05:07:04","slug":"gross-things-that-turn-people-off-your-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalskyweb.co\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/2016\/02\/23\/gross-things-that-turn-people-off-your-food\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Gross Things That Turn People Off Your Food : The Grocery Game Challenge 2016 #4 Feb 22-28"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0YUCKY KITCHEN MISTAKES EVERYONE WILL NOTICE<\/span><\/h2>\n

You may not even realize that you are doing some of these gross things in the kitchen while you are cooking but your friends and family will, so stop it before no one wants to eat your food. <\/em><\/p>\n

When you go to a party or enjoy the fun of a pot-luck you don’t get to see how the food was prepared which is probably just as well because I’m sure many of you might not want to eat the party food. The same goes with working in a restaurant but at least there are health and safety standards that must be followed or at least put in place for the staff to follow. Not so much with the home chef.<\/p>\n

Some things need to be kept private<\/span><\/h3>\n

For the love of all things food please don’t tell me all of the places you had sex in the kitchen. If you used anything that you will be preparing my meal with during your kitchen adventure at least tell me you tossed it in the bin.<\/p>\n

I’m not joking, a friend told me this happened to him once and I didn’t know how to respond besides, oh that must have been fun. I’m not denying it would be but keep that personal stuff to yourself and please sanitize your kitchen afterwards.<\/p>\n

Kitchen Sins that most people won’t overlook<\/span><\/h2>\n

Cooking may be a passionate moment for you but you get discouraged because no one likes to eat your food or respond to your dinner party invitations. Something must be wrong with either the way you cook or the environment where you are cooking so you must get to the root-cause of the problem.<\/p>\n

Not everyone enjoyed the pleasure of home economics in school nor did they have parents who taught them kitchen basics because they likely didn’t know themselves. I’m not talking about burning food or preparing disgusting food, I’m digging deeper than that today because there’s more to cooking a delicious meal that starts with some must-do basics.<\/p>\n

I want to take a look at a few common mistakes that home cooks make that turn people away from their food. If your guests see or even read about you doing gross things, they won’t be coming over to your house to eat, ever.<\/p>\n

I’m pretty sure that those friends and family have their fingers crossed that you never invite them over even for tea and homemade treats because they are terrified they will be forced to eat food that you prepared.<\/p>\n

Doing any of the following below will certainly get you CHOPPED<\/strong> as the star host\/hostess by your guests so take caution in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Hand washing<\/span><\/h2>\n

From a young age we teach our kids to wash their hands before and after dinner. As we get older we are supposed to do this on our own BUT so many people do not do this, especially after going to the washroom.<\/p>\n

If I see you go to the bathroom and not wash your hands on your way out you can bet 100% I will NOT be going to your house for dinner. If I can’t see you not washing your hands I’ll just have to hope for the best even though most people just put it out of their head. Out of sight out of mind means that they don’t know any better but when you see it you must take action.<\/p>\n

If you are handling meat or fish make sure you are washing your hands with soap and water before you start touching other foods otherwise you’ll start cross-contamination and make everyone ill. Any reason you need to be washing your hands in the kitchen…do it!<\/p>\n

Hand washing is a basic habit that needs to be forming, forever.<\/p>\n

Food Safety<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you cut your finger, lick off the blood and keep on cooking I may just look for the quickest exit out of your dinner party. It takes mere minutes to properly care for a cut so your food is kept safe from any blood.<\/p>\n

Another thing you’ll want to watch for is leaving meat on the counter for hours to defrost or preparing food in advance and just leaving it to sit on the counter most of the day until the guests arrive. If something needs to be refrigerated then get it into the cold so no bacteria starts forming.<\/p>\n

If you are using a cutting board please make sure that you have more than one and that they are designated for fish, meat, vegetables and fruits. A huge kitchen sin is using the same cutting board that you just butchered your meat on to cut vegetables. Gross things happen in the kitchen and that’s one of them.<\/p>\n

Tip:<\/strong> Clean all of your cutting boards in hot soap and water and then disinfect with white vinegar and a bit of chlorine bleach to keep them nice and clean.<\/p>\n

Foreign Objects<\/span><\/h2>\n

Just about everyone I know gets a bit grossed out when they find a long strand of hair in their food, even more so if it’s caught in their teeth like floss. What if you find the absorbent pad from underneath a packet of beef mixed in your chili, toothpicks, other packaging, shells or dirt still enveloping mushrooms you are about to put in your mouth?<\/p>\n

Ewe…but these are some of the gross things that turn people off from your food so it’s so important to make sure that you are aware of your surroundings and what is going into every dish you make.<\/p>\n

Touching Your Body<\/span><\/h2>\n

The last thing I want to see is a cook picking his\/her nose, touching their mouth, face, picking the corners of their eyes, fingering an ear or touching other parts down below while they are in the kitchen cooking food that I will eat.<\/p>\n

There are gross things and then there are really gross things and I’m sure many of you will agree they are all wrong. Making sure you wash your hands often in the kitchen is paramount to keeping everyone safe from food poisoning and other illnesses. Even if you wear gloves that doesn’t mean you can still touch yourself and prep food. It doesn’t make it any safer.<\/p>\n

Are you getting squeamish yet? haha! Someone has to talk about this stuff, might as well be me.<\/p>\n

Dirty Kitchen<\/span><\/h2>\n

Everyone has a certain organizational style to the way they keep their kitchen which is fine. On top of our refrigerator you will find boxes of crackers, cereal, baby snacks, Pasta bins and a few other bits. On the counters you will find everything from a toaster, cutting board to spices and oils.<\/p>\n

We tend to use our space well in the kitchen which makes it look a bit crowded as we lack a proper pantry. There’s nothing wrong with that though as it makes a kitchen unique.<\/p>\n

What drives people mad is when they see gross things like food on the floor, dirty floors, dirty counters, dishes piled high that have been there for days, mold, stove-top is filthy, ashtrays, overflowing garbage bins, filthy appliances and I can go on and on.<\/p>\n

Keeping a kitchen clean is essential not only for a homeowner but for a restaurant which you would expect if you ate out. The same would apply if you invited guests to eat at your house because they won’t say anything to your face, they just won’t come back the next time. Do you blame them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Insects and rodents<\/span><\/h2>\n

If I’m at your house and I see a mouse, rat or any other type of insect running across your floor, counter-top or hanging out lounging on a chair, I’m NOT eating at your house.<\/p>\n

Same goes if I see animals walking around your counter-tops or eating off plates that I have to eat dinner on. I’m sorry but that just doesn’t sit well in my stomach. I know some people have no issues with that which is their prerogative but not this guy.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you may even find that your food gets infested with bugs in the pantry or cupboard because of improper packaging, expired product or flour mites that invade.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> How to keep flour mites out of your kitchen<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s imperative that you inspect your kitchen for bugs at least once a month and for heaven’s sake always watch what you are cooking. The last thing you want to do is serve pasta that is riddled with bugs because you didn’t bother checking the food you had stored in your pantry before serving it.<\/p>\n

It’s the gross things that make people run…don’t let this happen to you.<\/p>\n

Under-cooked food<\/span><\/h2>\n

I can handle a burnt steak or eggs that have been cooked until they are well-cooked but what I can’t stomach is food that is under-cooked. Runny eggs that still have the whites swimming around or raw meat will make me turn my nose away. I’d prefer that the animal I’m eating not look like an animal that was just slaughtered on my plate.<\/p>\n

Under-cooking chicken is the worst enemy of them all as that can make you really ill. If you’re a fan of al-dente vegetables at least make sure they are slightly cooked and not half raw and heated up then served on a plate. There is a right way to cook vegetables and then raw…take your pick.<\/p>\n

Smoking while you cook<\/span><\/h2>\n

Lastly, one of the worst things you can do while cooking is cook with a smoke hanging out your mouth, in your hand or even near you in the kitchen. I’m not a fan of smoking in the house and I will avoid eating at anyone’s house where they smoke in the house.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> How we quit smoking to save our health and budget<\/a><\/p>\n

I will run even faster if I see my dinner party host smoking and stirring a pot on the stove. It’s just wrong on so many levels. You wouldn’t expect that kind of service from a restaurant so why do it at home. Gross things like this top the list of “I’m busy I can’t make it to your dinner party<\/strong>” replies.<\/p>\n

What other gross things have you seen go on in the kitchen which turn your stomach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

February Grocery Game Challenge posts 2016<\/span><\/h2>\n

Join in the 2016 Grocery Game Challenge (GGC) fun and post your grocery shop in the comment section of each GGC blog post. Here are the rules<\/a> to get you started and where you\u2019ll also find a link for the updated 2016 GGC schedule. Please feel free to download, save and even print the schedule so it\u2019s handy. Thanks to Mary for putting this together for us again this year. If you need any help please let me know.<\/p>\n

New monthly prize:<\/strong> $10 President\u2019s Choice Gift Card for Canadian residents only BUT <\/strong>If you want to play from outside of Canada<\/strong> and have PayPal and you win I will pay you $10CDN. I use a random online generator to pick the winning ballot every month.<\/p>\n

If you missed any grocery game posts for the month I will post the line-up each week below for you so you don\u2019t have to go looking for past GGC posts for the month. Alternatively, just click on the \u201cGrocery Game Challenge\u201d tab on the blog side-bar to see past posts.<\/p>\n