Okay, but WHY can't I eat it?
May 1, 2020 2:16 PM Subscribe
I am lazy cook. I'll cut any corner I can cut, if I can still get the same outcome. But I grew up with a whole bunch of Things You Never Do, and I want to know why not? Like, what's the big deal if you don't rinse your lentils first?
Or if you don't rinse your rice first? Or beans?
So what if a little bit of eggshell goes into your batter?
What if you don't pop out the tiny brows spots you see in the eyes of potatoes? (Not the big ones, I get that.)
I'm sure there are more, and I'm glad to have warning-answers in case I'm missing anything. As someone who never rinses lentils or rice or beans and always takes out the tiny eggshell bits and feels stupid doing it, I just want to know whether my laziness is a problem or not.
Or if you don't rinse your rice first? Or beans?
So what if a little bit of eggshell goes into your batter?
What if you don't pop out the tiny brows spots you see in the eyes of potatoes? (Not the big ones, I get that.)
I'm sure there are more, and I'm glad to have warning-answers in case I'm missing anything. As someone who never rinses lentils or rice or beans and always takes out the tiny eggshell bits and feels stupid doing it, I just want to know whether my laziness is a problem or not.
I never rinse my rice. At least for regular long grain, basmati, and jasmine rice, it always turns out fine. I tried it once and found it to be such a hassle that I never did it again. (Getting the little bits unstuck from the sieve, ugh!) I think the grains end up a bit more separate when you do rinse, but I don’t care about that.
posted by pocams at 2:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by pocams at 2:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
So rinsing rice the benefit there is in removing excess starch which can make it cook up gummy or to a texture that people don't like.
Beans rinsing is there just to clean them and generally to make sure that there's just beans and not any rocks or small particles that you don't want. I've pulled some out of my bags in the US and I know one person who had to go to the dentist because some debris caused them to crack a filling (or something, I don't remember exactly what dental problem it was).
I almost always soak my beans with salt though as it helps them cook up quicker and the salt helps make them tender.
Eggshell in the batter just means that the person who finds it in the dough will have a crunch bite, I guess potentially could hurt your gums a bit.
posted by Carillon at 2:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [14 favorites]
Beans rinsing is there just to clean them and generally to make sure that there's just beans and not any rocks or small particles that you don't want. I've pulled some out of my bags in the US and I know one person who had to go to the dentist because some debris caused them to crack a filling (or something, I don't remember exactly what dental problem it was).
I almost always soak my beans with salt though as it helps them cook up quicker and the salt helps make them tender.
Eggshell in the batter just means that the person who finds it in the dough will have a crunch bite, I guess potentially could hurt your gums a bit.
posted by Carillon at 2:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [14 favorites]
For what it's worth, I don't think I've ever rinsed my fruit under the sink in my whole adult life, except for occasionally grapes or berries to get rid of seeds and stems floating around, and I'm still alive.
posted by Melismata at 2:26 PM on May 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:26 PM on May 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
If you don't take out the eggshells, then you (or whomever you are cooking for) is going to bite into eggshells. It's kind of disconcerting, but other than that not harmful.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:28 PM on May 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:28 PM on May 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
I haven't found any rocks or debris in beans in a number of years--maybe the packaging process has gotten better?--but I've found them enough times in the past that I go ahead and put them in a bowl and look through them anyway. I don't usually bother rinsing.
I take out tiny brown spots in potatoes because I don't want to eat them. My mother never bothered.
posted by telophase at 2:35 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I take out tiny brown spots in potatoes because I don't want to eat them. My mother never bothered.
posted by telophase at 2:35 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Rinsing rice uses an insane amount of water, so I never bother.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:40 PM on May 1, 2020
posted by Thorzdad at 2:40 PM on May 1, 2020
Ever since I found out about the exceptionally high levels of arsenic found in US-grown rice, I have been washing rice thoroughly. This removes a significant amount. Jasmine and basmati rice grown outside the US are better.
posted by demonic winged headgear at 2:41 PM on May 1, 2020 [27 favorites]
posted by demonic winged headgear at 2:41 PM on May 1, 2020 [27 favorites]
I am a hippie food co-oper and the worst offenders are rocks, especially in black beans. Eating a rock won't hurt you but you may break a tooth is you bite down hard on one.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:41 PM on May 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:41 PM on May 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
Man, one bite into a pebble when you're expecting a pinto bean - you'll comb through dried beans long and thoroughly for ever after. I just (finally) got a shipment of 25 pounds of beans from Rancho Gordo yesterday, and looking at all the pretty colors of the beans... there was a dirt clod, right in the midst of my flageolets(for real). It happens. Rinsing isn't that hard, it takes thirty seconds?
You know how in a cafe or something there will be weird scolding signs on things - "please don't drink the half and half from the jug" or "please no playing of amplified instruments" - and you think now why do they need a sign like that? It's because at some point it happened, and it was traumatic, and so henceforth there is a warning about it. Some with little food rituals. Something happens; it's unpleasant; it becomes a thing.
posted by niicholas at 2:43 PM on May 1, 2020 [42 favorites]
You know how in a cafe or something there will be weird scolding signs on things - "please don't drink the half and half from the jug" or "please no playing of amplified instruments" - and you think now why do they need a sign like that? It's because at some point it happened, and it was traumatic, and so henceforth there is a warning about it. Some with little food rituals. Something happens; it's unpleasant; it becomes a thing.
posted by niicholas at 2:43 PM on May 1, 2020 [42 favorites]
I cook frequently and fairly well, but I agree that not everything needs doing just to do it.
- Eggshells: I would be pretty horrified by the texture shock of biting into an eggshell, so I guess it depends on who you are feeding and how they feel about things.
- Rice: I never rinse it. I like my rice more sticky.
- Fruit: I rarely rinse it, but am slightly concerned about my potential pesticide intake.
- Lentils/split peas: Probably worth looking through for small rock bits since dentists are expensive. I just found little rocks in some split peas a couple weeks ago.
- Tiny potato eyes: Looks like fiber to me (I often don't peel potatoes either).
- Peeling cucumbers: When slicing for eating raw, I'll often peel or partially peel because I have a texture preference.
- Grapefruit: I recently realized that it is very, very worth it to me to segment a grapefruit even though it's a pain.
- Oranges: Honestly, I usually don't eat them because I'm lazy and they are a high-maintenance fruit to peel.
- Peaches: Some people I know eat them with the skins on. I hate the fuzz and also find peeling tiresome so I usually eat nectarines instead.
- Banana threads: I usually pick those out because I hate the texture. I have over time been eating increasingly less ripe bananas because they have less grit and less mess.
- Green/colored pepper seeds: Always pick those out. I worked as a sandwich artist so this is a matter of professional pride.
- Onion: I always take of the outer layers, but when dicing I only do cuts straight down and then slice (no cuts through the middle to make it a proper dice). The sizing is a bit wonky piece to piece, but that's fine with me.
- Garlic: I hate dealing with the papery skins. I buy pre-diced in a jar and just put more in.
- Peas: I do cut the ends and pull the little peel ends because I don't like the texture. I periodically debate if I like peas that much while doing this.
- Green beans: I do cut off the ends, because I think that'd be unpleasant to leave on.
- Celery: I never bother to take a peeler to the thick ribs. What kind of crazy prep do people think I have time to do?
- Carrots: I usually use halved baby carrots and I do love the shredded carrots that come in a bag. When using big carrots, I rarely peel them.
- Chicken: We have a meat thermometer, but I usually find it easier to cut the biggest piece in half in the pan when I think it's done.
posted by past unusual at 2:48 PM on May 1, 2020 [15 favorites]
- Eggshells: I would be pretty horrified by the texture shock of biting into an eggshell, so I guess it depends on who you are feeding and how they feel about things.
- Rice: I never rinse it. I like my rice more sticky.
- Fruit: I rarely rinse it, but am slightly concerned about my potential pesticide intake.
- Lentils/split peas: Probably worth looking through for small rock bits since dentists are expensive. I just found little rocks in some split peas a couple weeks ago.
- Tiny potato eyes: Looks like fiber to me (I often don't peel potatoes either).
- Peeling cucumbers: When slicing for eating raw, I'll often peel or partially peel because I have a texture preference.
- Grapefruit: I recently realized that it is very, very worth it to me to segment a grapefruit even though it's a pain.
- Oranges: Honestly, I usually don't eat them because I'm lazy and they are a high-maintenance fruit to peel.
- Peaches: Some people I know eat them with the skins on. I hate the fuzz and also find peeling tiresome so I usually eat nectarines instead.
- Banana threads: I usually pick those out because I hate the texture. I have over time been eating increasingly less ripe bananas because they have less grit and less mess.
- Green/colored pepper seeds: Always pick those out. I worked as a sandwich artist so this is a matter of professional pride.
- Onion: I always take of the outer layers, but when dicing I only do cuts straight down and then slice (no cuts through the middle to make it a proper dice). The sizing is a bit wonky piece to piece, but that's fine with me.
- Garlic: I hate dealing with the papery skins. I buy pre-diced in a jar and just put more in.
- Peas: I do cut the ends and pull the little peel ends because I don't like the texture. I periodically debate if I like peas that much while doing this.
- Green beans: I do cut off the ends, because I think that'd be unpleasant to leave on.
- Celery: I never bother to take a peeler to the thick ribs. What kind of crazy prep do people think I have time to do?
- Carrots: I usually use halved baby carrots and I do love the shredded carrots that come in a bag. When using big carrots, I rarely peel them.
- Chicken: We have a meat thermometer, but I usually find it easier to cut the biggest piece in half in the pan when I think it's done.
posted by past unusual at 2:48 PM on May 1, 2020 [15 favorites]
I rinse my rice because it bothers my Japanese MIL when I don't. She says it makes a better texture, and that it washes away impurities.
When no one's looking I don't rinse it and it comes out about the same. But I think a lot has to do with the appliance. We have an old school rice cooker, but I can imagine the rice might come out stickier on a stove top.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:50 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
When no one's looking I don't rinse it and it comes out about the same. But I think a lot has to do with the appliance. We have an old school rice cooker, but I can imagine the rice might come out stickier on a stove top.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:50 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Lentils sometimes arrive with a fine layer of dirt on them and if you don’t rinse it off your dish will taste kind of muddy. Nothing terrible will happen, it’s just a shame to put the work into making food and have it taste bad because of an easily-avoidable reason. But not everyone cares about the taste of food to the same degree. If it doesn’t bother you, you’re fine.
posted by corey flood at 2:54 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by corey flood at 2:54 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
I don't rinse things like beans or lentils if they look clean. I always at least watch carefully while I'm pouring from the package or measuring to see if there are any small rocks because I find it incredibly incredibly disconcerting to find one in my mouth (and I have, before, in the US. As recently as last week, although I think that was from canned beans.) I feel the same way about getting an eggshell in my mouth--the texture and sensory experience when I'm totally not expecting that will often ruin my appetite for the rest of a dish because I'll be on edge about whether that's gonna happen again in another bite. (Tip - the easiest way to fish out a tiny piece of eggshell that has fallen into a cracked egg is to use a big piece of the shell like a spoon to scoop it up. It cuts through the egg more easily than anything else.)
I've gotten lax on washing quinoa (which will be bitter if the saponins aren't washed away) because everything I'd bought recently had been cleaned enough before being packaged. But I just bought a cheap 10-lb bag from a restaurant supply store and it's bitter if I don't wash it, so now I am back to washing it.
posted by needs more cowbell at 2:54 PM on May 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
I've gotten lax on washing quinoa (which will be bitter if the saponins aren't washed away) because everything I'd bought recently had been cleaned enough before being packaged. But I just bought a cheap 10-lb bag from a restaurant supply store and it's bitter if I don't wash it, so now I am back to washing it.
posted by needs more cowbell at 2:54 PM on May 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
You don’t want to eat green potato spots because they contain solanine, which is toxic, so an excess of that is bad. Wikipedia say Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmares, headache, dizziness, itching, eczema, thyroid problems, and inflammation and pain in the joints.
I don’t rinse rice but do beans and vegetables. Once there were tiny slugs in my strawberries and many times I’ve found ctritters in my salad greens. I dump them in a bowl of water and let them sit a while so the critters can float to the top, Swish things around so slugs are hopefully detached then I remove the greens from the water and put them in the spinner. Dumping the water and greens together through a sieve would not help with this problem. Slugs probably aren’t toxic but I don’t want to at them. Oh, and once there was a giant orb weaver in my home grown bag of lettuce that survived being refrigerated a couple of days. She was released back to the wild. She may have done me in if I swallowed her.
posted by waving at 2:56 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don’t rinse rice but do beans and vegetables. Once there were tiny slugs in my strawberries and many times I’ve found ctritters in my salad greens. I dump them in a bowl of water and let them sit a while so the critters can float to the top, Swish things around so slugs are hopefully detached then I remove the greens from the water and put them in the spinner. Dumping the water and greens together through a sieve would not help with this problem. Slugs probably aren’t toxic but I don’t want to at them. Oh, and once there was a giant orb weaver in my home grown bag of lettuce that survived being refrigerated a couple of days. She was released back to the wild. She may have done me in if I swallowed her.
posted by waving at 2:56 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Boiling rice like pasta (a) results in perfect rice, (b) seems to reduce the arsenic content, and (c) probably means you can get away without rinsing it, though I still do.
I find biting into eggshell extremely unpleasant.
posted by FencingGal at 2:56 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I find biting into eggshell extremely unpleasant.
posted by FencingGal at 2:56 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
The question of rinsing rice is a really easy one to test. Make a pot without rinsing your rice and see how it tastes. Then make a pot with rinsed rice and see how it tastes. You may decide you can't taste the difference or don't care. When I tried it, I could taste the difference and did care.
Even tiny bits of eggshell can be unpleasantly obtrusive. I always pick eggshell bits out.
You may not need to rinse your beans or lentils, but the consequences of not checking for stones are bad enough that I always, always check for stones. [upon rereading your post: the consequences aren't "eating a teeny rock", the consequences are "broken teeth and emergency dental appointments".]
A lot of these things are matters of personal preference, and you should try the different ways to see what you think. There are things I care about and am willing to take care and do fussy maneuvers to address (like rinsing rice or taking out the green sprouted bit if the garlic's gotten old), and there are things I don't care about and take shortcuts on (if I'm cooking for myself I don't bother to de-stem cilantro; my spouse dislikes the texture of cilantro stems so I de-stem it if he'll be eating what I'm making).
posted by Lexica at 3:01 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Even tiny bits of eggshell can be unpleasantly obtrusive. I always pick eggshell bits out.
You may not need to rinse your beans or lentils, but the consequences of not checking for stones are bad enough that I always, always check for stones. [upon rereading your post: the consequences aren't "eating a teeny rock", the consequences are "broken teeth and emergency dental appointments".]
A lot of these things are matters of personal preference, and you should try the different ways to see what you think. There are things I care about and am willing to take care and do fussy maneuvers to address (like rinsing rice or taking out the green sprouted bit if the garlic's gotten old), and there are things I don't care about and take shortcuts on (if I'm cooking for myself I don't bother to de-stem cilantro; my spouse dislikes the texture of cilantro stems so I de-stem it if he'll be eating what I'm making).
posted by Lexica at 3:01 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Lentils sometimes arrive with a fine layer of dirt on them and if you don’t rinse it off your dish will taste kind of muddy.
I usually didn't wash lentils (and I eat a lot of them), but once we had a batch of red lentils that ended up becoming the muddiest, grittiest, nastiest dal ever made. Now I wash my lentils.
Also, I'm not really sure what being in the US has to do with it - especially if you buy your beans from a bulk food store/section, there's likely to be some debris in there that you may not want to eat.
posted by blerghamot at 3:07 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I usually didn't wash lentils (and I eat a lot of them), but once we had a batch of red lentils that ended up becoming the muddiest, grittiest, nastiest dal ever made. Now I wash my lentils.
Also, I'm not really sure what being in the US has to do with it - especially if you buy your beans from a bulk food store/section, there's likely to be some debris in there that you may not want to eat.
posted by blerghamot at 3:07 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I think the rinsing rice thing also has to do with type of rice you're making. If you're just doing some medium/long grain white rice it usually won't be an issue, but if you're trying to make a nice short grain sticky rice rinsing can be the difference between sticky but individual grains vs a gummy clod of rice.
posted by Ferreous at 3:21 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Ferreous at 3:21 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
Depending on where you're getting your rice and what the rest of your diet is like, rinsing it may be counter-productive. Lots of rice is fortified with micronutrients, and rinsing removes much of that.
If you're trying to eat cheap, using rice as a staple, and don't have a lot of variety in your diet, skipping the rinse might actually be better for you.
If you're working as a high-end sushi chef, rinse the rice. But you knew that.
posted by sourcequench at 3:24 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
If you're trying to eat cheap, using rice as a staple, and don't have a lot of variety in your diet, skipping the rinse might actually be better for you.
If you're working as a high-end sushi chef, rinse the rice. But you knew that.
posted by sourcequench at 3:24 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I find the occasional little crunch of eggshell to be kind of delicious. And I have never rinsed rice in all my born days.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 3:35 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Sing Or Swim at 3:35 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't know if this is still true (a web search did not immediately make it clear) but in the past some types of white rice were processed with talc. It was a good idea to rinse the rice to get rid of remaining talc before cooking and eating it.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 3:44 PM on May 1, 2020
posted by Winnie the Proust at 3:44 PM on May 1, 2020
Kind of related: sometimes I skip browning the meat when I'm doing something like a stew or braise, to save time and to avoid smoke/grease spatters. I'm always surprised at how good it tastes without the browning step that is always described as essential.
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 4:08 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 4:08 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I don't rinse my rice because it diminishes the nutritional value. I try to buy non-US rice due to the arsenic issue. I would always sort through dried beans for any errant rocks. I have often found rocks and other types of beans/grains in with mine. Swallowing a tiny rock, probably no big deal, but cracking a tooth on one would be a bummer.
I don't like biting into eggshell, but it wouldn't hurt you.
posted by purple_bird at 4:47 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't like biting into eggshell, but it wouldn't hurt you.
posted by purple_bird at 4:47 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have never rinsed quinoa and have never encountered bitterness. YQuinoaMV.
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:05 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:05 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I also don’t usually rinse broccoli or Brussels sprouts or cauliflower if I’m about to roast them in a 450 degree oven. I figure the heat’ll kill any nasties and I want them to caramelize, not steam. (This may be wrong and bad, but I haven’t gotten sick yet.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:08 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:08 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I hardly ever peel things like carrots or potatoes or parsnips.
posted by Grandysaur at 5:16 PM on May 1, 2020
posted by Grandysaur at 5:16 PM on May 1, 2020
We rinse our rice but just do it in the bowl of our rice cooker; add the rice, add some cool water, swirl it around, tip out as much of the cloudy water as you can, and repeat until the water runs clear (3 times is usually good for us).
You don’t need that much water and you don’t need a strainer.
posted by stellaluna at 5:18 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
You don’t need that much water and you don’t need a strainer.
posted by stellaluna at 5:18 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
I do rinse fruit and veg and beans because I assume there could be residual dirt.
I crack eggs into a cup because I've gotten a couple of bad eggs in decades of baking. Often I can replace an egg, but have just enough cocoa or brown sugar for one batch of whatever is in the bowl.
Tiny eggshell bits in food don't bother me.
I don't rinse rice.
I don't peel cucumbers or potatoes. Carrots are 50-50: often I'll just scrub off the dirt and roots.
I do care about green potatoes, because that's a poison.
posted by JawnBigboote at 5:39 PM on May 1, 2020
I crack eggs into a cup because I've gotten a couple of bad eggs in decades of baking. Often I can replace an egg, but have just enough cocoa or brown sugar for one batch of whatever is in the bowl.
Tiny eggshell bits in food don't bother me.
I don't rinse rice.
I don't peel cucumbers or potatoes. Carrots are 50-50: often I'll just scrub off the dirt and roots.
I do care about green potatoes, because that's a poison.
posted by JawnBigboote at 5:39 PM on May 1, 2020
I've noticed a texture different when I don't rinse rice, and it's enough to make a real difference, depending upon the type of rice and application.
I've also found tiny rocks in dried beans. I remember seeing some video once about how packaging facilities sort dried beans for packaging and eliminate dirt and rocks; it struck me that, if I saved all of the little rocks I found in my bags of dried beans, I'd have a select set of rocks proven to foil those systems. There's some sort of cozy heist^H^H^H^H^Hcaper that could use that as a plot point, I'm sure.
I've eaten baked goods from cafes that had little bits of eggshell left in them. When I wasn't expecting them, the weird, fragile *crunch* screamed "glass!" into my brain, before I figured it out and stopped spitting brownie into my napkin.
posted by pykrete jungle at 6:16 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
I've also found tiny rocks in dried beans. I remember seeing some video once about how packaging facilities sort dried beans for packaging and eliminate dirt and rocks; it struck me that, if I saved all of the little rocks I found in my bags of dried beans, I'd have a select set of rocks proven to foil those systems. There's some sort of cozy heist^H^H^H^H^Hcaper that could use that as a plot point, I'm sure.
I've eaten baked goods from cafes that had little bits of eggshell left in them. When I wasn't expecting them, the weird, fragile *crunch* screamed "glass!" into my brain, before I figured it out and stopped spitting brownie into my napkin.
posted by pykrete jungle at 6:16 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
Like a lot of things related to food, many instructions are intended to get you the best possible results. There's a percentage that are for real explicit health reasons, like green potato bits. Some of them are more edge cases that just may give you sub-optimal results but then again they might not, or you might not care because it's a negligible difference to you. But for fruit and vegetables where you eat exposed surfaces...I mean, if you're comfortable licking stuff that sat out in the open at a grocery store, go for it. I grow a lot of things to eat, and aside from the occasional snackin' tomato (which I still usually wipe off on my shirt, and I only snack on the ones I know I haven't used soap or oil on) I wash all that too because outside is full of animal excretions and particles of burned houses and the soaps and oils I use for pest control and just, like, dirt. No dirt tastes better than dirt.
But the food police aren't going to come if you don't, especially if you're just cooking for you. I would rather not feed people rocks and eggshells, and I am more vigilant when I'm cooking for others where I don't mind being a little slapdash for myself.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:24 PM on May 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
But the food police aren't going to come if you don't, especially if you're just cooking for you. I would rather not feed people rocks and eggshells, and I am more vigilant when I'm cooking for others where I don't mind being a little slapdash for myself.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:24 PM on May 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
I rinse fruit, but I suspect that is more ceremonial than anything, it's not like I'm scrubbing and washing them thoroughly. And, I've never rinsed rice in my life, though I have no problem believing it makes a difference.
Other than the clearly health-related items, most of it is just personal preference (yours and whomever you are cooking for). Some people won't eat potatoes with skins on, some people don't care.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 PM on May 1, 2020
Other than the clearly health-related items, most of it is just personal preference (yours and whomever you are cooking for). Some people won't eat potatoes with skins on, some people don't care.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 PM on May 1, 2020
When I was a teen, I used to work in the kitchen at a sushi restaurant and we rinsed our rice SO much. Until you could run your fingers through it underwater and the water would still stay perfectly clear. And it always came out really lovely and separated and then you add the sushi seasoning to it and it was great. At home if I'm going to make sushi, I still do it like that.
But, sometimes I don't, and I used to not rinse basmati or jasmine at all, until I realized the foam from cooking them gets into the vent in my rice cooker and is a pain to clean, so now I rinse them both pretty good so that the cooking water foams less, but that's just a trade off of lazy for which job I like less.
-Cookies really do come out slightly better if you chill the dough for at least a half an hour but up to a day before baking. But sometimes I don't bother with that either.
-I usually buy yukon gold potatoes and don't peel them or claw out their brown bits, just give them a little rinse, but if you rinse shredding potatoes for hashbrowns, they'll come out less gluey.
-we get our vegetables and fruit from a local farmer coop now, and everything has SO MUCH DIRT on/in it.
posted by euphoria066 at 7:04 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
But, sometimes I don't, and I used to not rinse basmati or jasmine at all, until I realized the foam from cooking them gets into the vent in my rice cooker and is a pain to clean, so now I rinse them both pretty good so that the cooking water foams less, but that's just a trade off of lazy for which job I like less.
-Cookies really do come out slightly better if you chill the dough for at least a half an hour but up to a day before baking. But sometimes I don't bother with that either.
-I usually buy yukon gold potatoes and don't peel them or claw out their brown bits, just give them a little rinse, but if you rinse shredding potatoes for hashbrowns, they'll come out less gluey.
-we get our vegetables and fruit from a local farmer coop now, and everything has SO MUCH DIRT on/in it.
posted by euphoria066 at 7:04 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I do pretty much all the fussy things, but I only peel ginger if it has a hippo-like hide.
posted by neroli at 7:22 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by neroli at 7:22 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Salt the water for pasta. Like never.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
The reason I rinse fruit and veggies is because I (used to, in the before times) see other people handling them at the store, sometimes after wiping their nose or otherwise doing gross everyday human things, and I don't like the thought of other people on my produce.
I've bitten down on a rock in peas before and it was electrically painful. So now I rinse all my legumes. I think I'd be kind of grossed out by an eggshell in anything, but I wouldn't expect it to be painful.
I've often heard that the reason you brown meat is to "seal in the juices," but I'm pretty sure that's been debunked. A lot of times I'll sear one side to get that nice deep flavor but not the other.
I never peel carrots if I'm going to cook with them, even though recipes usually tell me to do so.
posted by DingoMutt at 7:26 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I've bitten down on a rock in peas before and it was electrically painful. So now I rinse all my legumes. I think I'd be kind of grossed out by an eggshell in anything, but I wouldn't expect it to be painful.
I've often heard that the reason you brown meat is to "seal in the juices," but I'm pretty sure that's been debunked. A lot of times I'll sear one side to get that nice deep flavor but not the other.
I never peel carrots if I'm going to cook with them, even though recipes usually tell me to do so.
posted by DingoMutt at 7:26 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
What I learned just a few weeks ago (although it's an article from 2013): start pasta in cold water instead of waiting for it to come to a rolling boil. It's FINE.
While there's a lot to be said for chopping and sauteing and caramelizing and creating a fond, Marcella showed us that you can skip all that for this pasta sauce.
I usually don't rinse rice, but I've found it's better for some dishes, such as congee, where rinsed rice seems to stick less to the bottom of the pot.
OTOH, I always rinse beans and lentils, because experience, and I am meticulous about taking off all the weird growths and spots on potatoes, although I rarely peel them.
posted by maudlin at 7:33 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
While there's a lot to be said for chopping and sauteing and caramelizing and creating a fond, Marcella showed us that you can skip all that for this pasta sauce.
I usually don't rinse rice, but I've found it's better for some dishes, such as congee, where rinsed rice seems to stick less to the bottom of the pot.
OTOH, I always rinse beans and lentils, because experience, and I am meticulous about taking off all the weird growths and spots on potatoes, although I rarely peel them.
posted by maudlin at 7:33 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I almost never sift flour before I use it for baking. There are times when I will depending on what is being baked, but for a regular batch of brownies or something equally unfussy, nah. If I'm adding baking powder or soda to the flour before mixing all ingredients together, I'll give it a whisk to make sure it's dispersed before adding it to the wet ingredients, but that's about it. I've never encountered bugs in my flour (I think that's a big issue some places?) and I go through flour quickly so it's usually pretty fresh.
I always sift cocoa though, it's so notorious for those annoying little cocoa boulders that won't break up when being mixed.
posted by BeeJiddy at 7:42 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I always sift cocoa though, it's so notorious for those annoying little cocoa boulders that won't break up when being mixed.
posted by BeeJiddy at 7:42 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I rinse my rice because my Chinese mother would faint if I didn't. However, I grew up in a house without a colander or strainer and had the daily chore of making rice in the rice cooker for dinner. You can rinse the rice straight in the pot -- just fill it from the tap, swirl your hand around until the water turns cloudy, then pour out most of the water and repeat. I was taught to do it 3 times, I usually do it 1-3 times depending on how lazy I'm feeling.
posted by serelliya at 8:03 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by serelliya at 8:03 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm a lazy cook. I don't peel root vegetables including potatoes. I don't dig all the eyes out though I toss potatoes that are visibly green. I give them a rinse because they generally have dirt on them.
I eat the skin on peaches and apples.
I don't boil the water for bullion cubes (just hot water out of the tap) if I'm using it for things that are going to boil anyways or in the instapot. I just use a whisk to break the cube up. Paste bullion is even easier.
I'm done with whole garlic unless it's coming out of my mother's garden instead using the canned diced Costco garlic for everything.
I'm generally willing to tolerate one pot versions of generally complicated food. I love my instapot for just this reason. All sorts of recipes that are acceptable if not the greatest that only use the one pot.
posted by Mitheral at 9:14 PM on May 1, 2020
I eat the skin on peaches and apples.
I don't boil the water for bullion cubes (just hot water out of the tap) if I'm using it for things that are going to boil anyways or in the instapot. I just use a whisk to break the cube up. Paste bullion is even easier.
I'm done with whole garlic unless it's coming out of my mother's garden instead using the canned diced Costco garlic for everything.
I'm generally willing to tolerate one pot versions of generally complicated food. I love my instapot for just this reason. All sorts of recipes that are acceptable if not the greatest that only use the one pot.
posted by Mitheral at 9:14 PM on May 1, 2020
Rice: I am native Asian and not rinsing is simply unthinkable, like not brushing your teeth before bed. We are taught as children how to do it as kiddy household training.
Rinsing removes dust, chaff and helps to detect pests. We normally eat organic rice but our finances took a big hit so my father tried buying a bag of cheap rice. It turned out to be infested with pantry moth larvae and I wouldn't have detected it if dead larvae hadn't floated up to the surface when rinsing. They were small and white so not readily detectable by the eye.
Beans: Besides the dust and plant matter, there might be tiny rocks and/or pests. Cheaper beans might be processed in places where they don't take much care in storage. I generally find more pricey organic beans "cleaner".
Eggshell is edible (some people powder them as calcium supplements) but I don't like crunching on them and worry for my teeth.
Potatoes: I remove green parts because of fear of food poisoning as explained above.
I also rinse vegetables and fruits. I've had a tiny beetle somehow survive a long sea journey in a sealed packet of flower tea from another country so you really never know what is in them.
I'm pretty meticulous about cleaning food before cooking but I do use stock cubes and other lazy shortcuts when I'm actually cooking. I don't have the money or time to make gourmet meals right now especially since getting groceries is tricky because of the pandemic.
posted by whitelotus at 9:27 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Rinsing removes dust, chaff and helps to detect pests. We normally eat organic rice but our finances took a big hit so my father tried buying a bag of cheap rice. It turned out to be infested with pantry moth larvae and I wouldn't have detected it if dead larvae hadn't floated up to the surface when rinsing. They were small and white so not readily detectable by the eye.
Beans: Besides the dust and plant matter, there might be tiny rocks and/or pests. Cheaper beans might be processed in places where they don't take much care in storage. I generally find more pricey organic beans "cleaner".
Eggshell is edible (some people powder them as calcium supplements) but I don't like crunching on them and worry for my teeth.
Potatoes: I remove green parts because of fear of food poisoning as explained above.
I also rinse vegetables and fruits. I've had a tiny beetle somehow survive a long sea journey in a sealed packet of flower tea from another country so you really never know what is in them.
I'm pretty meticulous about cleaning food before cooking but I do use stock cubes and other lazy shortcuts when I'm actually cooking. I don't have the money or time to make gourmet meals right now especially since getting groceries is tricky because of the pandemic.
posted by whitelotus at 9:27 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I never had a problem with beer that was cold, then warm, then cold again. Used to be that you would be warned about skunk beer. To me, as Jimmy Buffet says, "The warmest beer I ever had was just cold enough."
I was told by my mother to put the Ketchup/Catsup and the mustard in the refrigerator after opening and using, but since they never do that at the hamburger joints I frequent(ed), I often leave them out on the counter overnight and nothing bad has ever happened to me.
I will sometimes buy a dented can (dented in) and nothing bad has ever befallen me because of it.
I did not know I was even supposed to rinse my rice. Even Uncle Ben's?
I have friends that eat the shells on peanuts. I used to eat the shells on what my father called "Indian nuts" but I think they are pine nuts. Never had a problem.
I always eat a few frozen Tater Tots when I was making them for my kids.
posted by AugustWest at 10:38 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I was told by my mother to put the Ketchup/Catsup and the mustard in the refrigerator after opening and using, but since they never do that at the hamburger joints I frequent(ed), I often leave them out on the counter overnight and nothing bad has ever happened to me.
I will sometimes buy a dented can (dented in) and nothing bad has ever befallen me because of it.
I did not know I was even supposed to rinse my rice. Even Uncle Ben's?
I have friends that eat the shells on peanuts. I used to eat the shells on what my father called "Indian nuts" but I think they are pine nuts. Never had a problem.
I always eat a few frozen Tater Tots when I was making them for my kids.
posted by AugustWest at 10:38 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Some of these are worse, or more necessary, than others. But hell, a lot of received wisdom regarding cooking is nonsensical or actually harmful, like "cold water boils faster" or that whole weird thing about washing raw chicken in the sink.
Rinsing fruit and legumes is probably a pretty good idea tho.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:43 PM on May 1, 2020
Rinsing fruit and legumes is probably a pretty good idea tho.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:43 PM on May 1, 2020
You didn't ask about washing fruits & vegetables, but several people have brought it up.
FYI here is what the CDC says:
FYI here is what the CDC says:
Sometimes raw fruits and vegetables contain harmful germs that can make you and your family sick, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, CDC estimates that germs on fresh produce cause a large percentage of U.S. foodborne illnesses.posted by flug at 11:07 PM on May 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
The safest produce is cooked; the next safest is washed. Enjoy uncooked fruits and vegetables while taking steps to avoid foodborne illness, also known as food poisoning. . . .
Wash your hands, kitchen utensils, and food preparation surfaces, including chopping boards and countertops, before and after preparing fruits and vegetables.
Clean fruits and vegetables before eating, cutting, or cooking, unless the package says the contents have been washed.
- Wash or scrub fruits and vegetables under running water—even if you do not plan to eat the peel. Germs on the peeling or skin can get inside fruits and vegetables when you cut them.
- Cut away any damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating.
- Dry fruit or vegetables with a clean paper towel.
My nephew once got a tapeworm from eating unwashed produce, I think a tomato. My SIL didn't think it was as important to wash it when it came directly from the the organic farm. Since then I have done all the washing all the time, except for with raspberries. I can't make myself wash raspberries.
I rarely peal potatoes, and I cook them with the little black things, and then don't eat them.
Rinsing rice depends on what I am going for. They are more delicious when rinsed, but if I'm serving them with a very wet stew, I don't care so much.
I always rinse beans and lentils, and when I can't be bothered, I open a can instead. Yes, they are better and cheaper when made from scratch, but a can of beans won't break my budget and if I'm lazy they are a good choice for many preparations.
posted by mumimor at 1:25 AM on May 2, 2020
I rarely peal potatoes, and I cook them with the little black things, and then don't eat them.
Rinsing rice depends on what I am going for. They are more delicious when rinsed, but if I'm serving them with a very wet stew, I don't care so much.
I always rinse beans and lentils, and when I can't be bothered, I open a can instead. Yes, they are better and cheaper when made from scratch, but a can of beans won't break my budget and if I'm lazy they are a good choice for many preparations.
posted by mumimor at 1:25 AM on May 2, 2020
If using tinned beans or lentils, I understood the reason for rinsing was to reduce flatulence.
Agree with BeeJiddy about not sifting flour, but sifting cocoa.
posted by paduasoy at 1:25 AM on May 2, 2020
Agree with BeeJiddy about not sifting flour, but sifting cocoa.
posted by paduasoy at 1:25 AM on May 2, 2020
I eat sunflower seed shells. I was shocked when I found out that there were people meticulously shelling a whole bag of tiny sunflower seeds before eating them.
posted by Weeping_angel at 1:36 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Weeping_angel at 1:36 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Rinse lentils or beans:
Depending on the source, the amount of dust, dirt or other contamination can vary. Make a test: cook a handful of rinsed beans and a handful of not-rinsed ones side by side in small pots. Now, of course the dirt that accumulates on top of the water in the un-rinsed pot does not all enter your beans, but some will. Rinsing is easy, so why not do it? I also find small stones easier that way, they do in fact still appear in dried beans on occasion.
So the reason in this example is assessing quality and cleaning, a part of which is obviously taste-related at the end.
Rinse your rice:
Some rice used to be storage-treated in weird and unknown ways, but the more important reason today is to wash off excess starches which makes many kinds of white rice impossible to cook to fluffy non-gooey results. Then again, brown rice can (like beans above) contain an amazing amount of weird dirt. I don't rinse risotto rice because the water prevents it from toasting in the first cooking step.
Here, it's just as much about reaching satisfying and consistent culinary results as about spotting pests or getting rid of dirt.
So what if a little bit of eggshell goes into your batter?
You like the crunch? Leave them in. This is only about refinement in cooking, which is a great thing in cuisines all over the world, but has frequently no deeper-seated can-I-eat-it-or-keel-over reason.
What if you don't pop out the tiny brows spots you see in the eyes of potatoes? (Not the big ones, I get that.)
Same here, you want tiny (or big for that matter) black bits in your mash, by all means leave them in. Green potatoes are another thing, they're (or can be but who's to know) mildly toxic and need to be tossed.
posted by Namlit at 1:59 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Depending on the source, the amount of dust, dirt or other contamination can vary. Make a test: cook a handful of rinsed beans and a handful of not-rinsed ones side by side in small pots. Now, of course the dirt that accumulates on top of the water in the un-rinsed pot does not all enter your beans, but some will. Rinsing is easy, so why not do it? I also find small stones easier that way, they do in fact still appear in dried beans on occasion.
So the reason in this example is assessing quality and cleaning, a part of which is obviously taste-related at the end.
Rinse your rice:
Some rice used to be storage-treated in weird and unknown ways, but the more important reason today is to wash off excess starches which makes many kinds of white rice impossible to cook to fluffy non-gooey results. Then again, brown rice can (like beans above) contain an amazing amount of weird dirt. I don't rinse risotto rice because the water prevents it from toasting in the first cooking step.
Here, it's just as much about reaching satisfying and consistent culinary results as about spotting pests or getting rid of dirt.
So what if a little bit of eggshell goes into your batter?
You like the crunch? Leave them in. This is only about refinement in cooking, which is a great thing in cuisines all over the world, but has frequently no deeper-seated can-I-eat-it-or-keel-over reason.
What if you don't pop out the tiny brows spots you see in the eyes of potatoes? (Not the big ones, I get that.)
Same here, you want tiny (or big for that matter) black bits in your mash, by all means leave them in. Green potatoes are another thing, they're (or can be but who's to know) mildly toxic and need to be tossed.
posted by Namlit at 1:59 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
I didn't used to bother with rinsing rice, but after trying it I now do. The estimable Alex Andreou pointed out that if you reserve the water you've rinsed the rice in and use it to make stew, the starch thickens the stew. I've not tried that yet but intend to, as I'm fundamentally evil and need all the tiny moral pick-me-ups I can get.
posted by Grangousier at 3:39 AM on May 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 3:39 AM on May 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
I was today years old when I found out you're supposed to rinse rice before you cook it.
posted by mccxxiii at 7:12 AM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by mccxxiii at 7:12 AM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
How much effort are you willing to put into being lazy?
Eggs: You could learn to crack eggs against a flat surface the way pro chefs do to prevent getting shells into the food. (Doesn't work for me!) Or, you can crack the eggs into a separate bowl (custard cup?) where stray shell can be seen and get eliminated.
Quinoa: We had a bag that was labeled "no rinse necessary", apparently pre-washed.
Many fruits and vegetables in the super market have been given a wax coating. I believe they are washed first. Washing again would be only be for what might have attached while being displayed in the store.
Vegetables such as celery and some lettuces often have actual dirt on the root end. These need to be washed or trimmed. You can choose your kind of lettuce to avoid this issue.
Fruits and vegetables purchased from a farm stand or farmer's market may not have been washed at all since picking. I think they should be at least rinse since they may carry traces of what has been sprayed on them including pesticides. (I'm sure all these things are rated as safe for human consumption, but they are not an amenity.)
Fresh blueberries often carry sand. Wash them.
When I want the zest from a lemon, I rinse it and give it a rubdown with a paper towel.
The folks at Bon Appetit recoiled at the notion of rinsing/washing meat, even chicken. They are of the opinion that any bacteria on the meat is less likely to get spread around the kitchen if you just take the meat from its wrapper and plop it in the pan.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:13 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Eggs: You could learn to crack eggs against a flat surface the way pro chefs do to prevent getting shells into the food. (Doesn't work for me!) Or, you can crack the eggs into a separate bowl (custard cup?) where stray shell can be seen and get eliminated.
Quinoa: We had a bag that was labeled "no rinse necessary", apparently pre-washed.
Many fruits and vegetables in the super market have been given a wax coating. I believe they are washed first. Washing again would be only be for what might have attached while being displayed in the store.
Vegetables such as celery and some lettuces often have actual dirt on the root end. These need to be washed or trimmed. You can choose your kind of lettuce to avoid this issue.
Fruits and vegetables purchased from a farm stand or farmer's market may not have been washed at all since picking. I think they should be at least rinse since they may carry traces of what has been sprayed on them including pesticides. (I'm sure all these things are rated as safe for human consumption, but they are not an amenity.)
Fresh blueberries often carry sand. Wash them.
When I want the zest from a lemon, I rinse it and give it a rubdown with a paper towel.
The folks at Bon Appetit recoiled at the notion of rinsing/washing meat, even chicken. They are of the opinion that any bacteria on the meat is less likely to get spread around the kitchen if you just take the meat from its wrapper and plop it in the pan.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:13 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
You soak your beans before cooking them because while you could always cook them from dry it would take a lot more time and fuel. But when the beans are soaking they can ferment a little bit and there can be chemical changes that create saponins. You know where there are saponins in your bean water because it gets a surface film that could be invisible, but if you agitate the water you can produce foam. That foam is the saponin, and saponins are not great for the digestive system. Basically it's rather like eating soap. It won't kill you but there's no nutrition in it, and it will make you feel crummy. Eating it regularly could make you chronically sick.
So you soak and rinse your beans and change the soaking water, and in many cultures you actually change out the cooking water too. Changing out the cooking water reduces the naturally occurring oligo-saccharides which are not going to poison you, but require a good complement of healthy digestive system bacteria to break down. And the process of breaking them down produces a lot of gas. If you don't rinse out the oligo-saccharides you may become quite uncomfortably bloated and annoy yourself and everyone around you when you pass the gas.
Green potatoes contain solanine. Actually all potatoes contain solanine but most of us can handle the trace amounts in a potato that hasn't turned green just fine. As a rule the greener the potato the higher the amount of solanine in the potato. But this is not hard and fast; neither is the solanine limited to just the green part of the potato. It is concentrated in the surface, but scraping potatoes does not remove all the solanine. You're pretty much safe to eat cooked potatoes that have been peeled unless they were a bright deep green. Otherwise peeling them reduces the solanine down to levels we can handle without getting sick. I believe that the solanine content of potatoes has been dropping over the years, as breeders prefer strains with less tendency to go green and become impossible to sell. Two hundred years ago if you ate potato skins you were eating pig food and pitied accordingly. Of course we have better refrigerated sleepers now than they did then so it may be that the potatoes were more likely to have green skins and higher solanine content.
I don't worry about removing brown bits from inside my potatoes after realising I had been eating them in commercially prepared potato products. They might contain a tape worm egg, of course, but once they are cooking that worm egg is just protein.
There are big differences in how we experience our food. One person is a super taster and anything bitter permeates the whole dish so it tastes nasty. Someone else adds something bitter whenever they can to add an extra nuance of flavour. Some people can taste two green pepper seeds in the sandwich and like it about as much as chewing on an acetaminophen tablet. Other people have a bottle of angostura in the cupboard to lace the drinks with. Some of the apparently unnecessary steps we go through in cooking are meant to protect people who are sensitive to ingredients that don't bother us.
If you are making dog food you really don't need to worry about a fragment of shell going in with the eggs. If you are making meringue a couple of pieces of shell will mean a great deal more whipping and difficulty shaping the result for baking. Egg dishes are often light and fluffy so a bit of shell is a strong textural contrast. And of course if the person eating the souffle has chosen something light and fluffy because they have chronically sore teeth and chewing tough food hurts biting down on a fragment of shell can cause a painful twinge. A lot of your choices will be personal preference, but at the same time you need to be aware of food intolerances and food poisoning and toxins. You may not rinse your rice but you probably don't defrost your pork chops over night on the kitchen counter. It sounds like your decisions are ones that work for you, in your kitchen and with the people you are feeding.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:31 AM on May 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
So you soak and rinse your beans and change the soaking water, and in many cultures you actually change out the cooking water too. Changing out the cooking water reduces the naturally occurring oligo-saccharides which are not going to poison you, but require a good complement of healthy digestive system bacteria to break down. And the process of breaking them down produces a lot of gas. If you don't rinse out the oligo-saccharides you may become quite uncomfortably bloated and annoy yourself and everyone around you when you pass the gas.
Green potatoes contain solanine. Actually all potatoes contain solanine but most of us can handle the trace amounts in a potato that hasn't turned green just fine. As a rule the greener the potato the higher the amount of solanine in the potato. But this is not hard and fast; neither is the solanine limited to just the green part of the potato. It is concentrated in the surface, but scraping potatoes does not remove all the solanine. You're pretty much safe to eat cooked potatoes that have been peeled unless they were a bright deep green. Otherwise peeling them reduces the solanine down to levels we can handle without getting sick. I believe that the solanine content of potatoes has been dropping over the years, as breeders prefer strains with less tendency to go green and become impossible to sell. Two hundred years ago if you ate potato skins you were eating pig food and pitied accordingly. Of course we have better refrigerated sleepers now than they did then so it may be that the potatoes were more likely to have green skins and higher solanine content.
I don't worry about removing brown bits from inside my potatoes after realising I had been eating them in commercially prepared potato products. They might contain a tape worm egg, of course, but once they are cooking that worm egg is just protein.
There are big differences in how we experience our food. One person is a super taster and anything bitter permeates the whole dish so it tastes nasty. Someone else adds something bitter whenever they can to add an extra nuance of flavour. Some people can taste two green pepper seeds in the sandwich and like it about as much as chewing on an acetaminophen tablet. Other people have a bottle of angostura in the cupboard to lace the drinks with. Some of the apparently unnecessary steps we go through in cooking are meant to protect people who are sensitive to ingredients that don't bother us.
If you are making dog food you really don't need to worry about a fragment of shell going in with the eggs. If you are making meringue a couple of pieces of shell will mean a great deal more whipping and difficulty shaping the result for baking. Egg dishes are often light and fluffy so a bit of shell is a strong textural contrast. And of course if the person eating the souffle has chosen something light and fluffy because they have chronically sore teeth and chewing tough food hurts biting down on a fragment of shell can cause a painful twinge. A lot of your choices will be personal preference, but at the same time you need to be aware of food intolerances and food poisoning and toxins. You may not rinse your rice but you probably don't defrost your pork chops over night on the kitchen counter. It sounds like your decisions are ones that work for you, in your kitchen and with the people you are feeding.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:31 AM on May 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
Rice - The FDA thinks you should rinse rice before and during cooking. Rice crops are irrigated; the water brings out arsenic in the soil, most rice has unsafe levels of arsenic, an actual carcinogen. This has screwed up my risotto-making, but I def. rinse plain rice.
I had baked potatoes for breakfast and barely looked for imperfections, they were nice and clean and I might not have washed them. Depends on the processor; some potatoes come with enough dirt to start a garden. I seldom peel potatoes for potato salad, home fries or mashed.
Until recently, recipes used to say to preheat the oven for 10 - 15 minutes; my oven beeps when it hits the temp, usually 5 minutes. Old ovens used to take longer. Sifting flour used to be because grain moths & larvae were common. They are less common these days, and most people probably just discard the flour/rice/etc. Sifting fluffs the flour and affects measuring.
Every tv cook swears you must add pasta cooking water to your sauce to make the sauce stick to the pasta; this is bogus. Give the pasta a minute in the colander to get dry, use sufficient fat in the sauce. You cannot get onions cooked in 5 minutes, this is the worst recipe lie ever. 10 - 15 minutes, at least, for transparent, longer for golden.
Articles (written by McCormick or other spice companies) say to discard herbs and spices after 6 months. Herbs are harvested annually, I mistrust this wildly. I try to use up herbs and spices in a couple years, but if it still smells nice, I'll probably use it. Canned goods last far longer than the best by date, quality may be affected over time, but they're quite safe. Frozen, too.
After reading this, I will be more careful of stones in beans.
Remove the stem end of green beans, leave the tail, cook them whole.
Carrot peel tastes nasty, yes, I can tell.
I do not like the hard bits in the apple core and am very fussy about peeling apples for pie or crisp.
I like the flavor from browning meat, but I don't skim the foam from stew.
Pre-washed lettuce and greens are a fantastic advance in civilization.
My brother was shocked when I simmered a chicken carcass for an hour or so and called it stock. Longer cooking yields more and maybe better stock, but sometimes time is short.
posted by theora55 at 7:48 AM on May 2, 2020
I had baked potatoes for breakfast and barely looked for imperfections, they were nice and clean and I might not have washed them. Depends on the processor; some potatoes come with enough dirt to start a garden. I seldom peel potatoes for potato salad, home fries or mashed.
Until recently, recipes used to say to preheat the oven for 10 - 15 minutes; my oven beeps when it hits the temp, usually 5 minutes. Old ovens used to take longer. Sifting flour used to be because grain moths & larvae were common. They are less common these days, and most people probably just discard the flour/rice/etc. Sifting fluffs the flour and affects measuring.
Every tv cook swears you must add pasta cooking water to your sauce to make the sauce stick to the pasta; this is bogus. Give the pasta a minute in the colander to get dry, use sufficient fat in the sauce. You cannot get onions cooked in 5 minutes, this is the worst recipe lie ever. 10 - 15 minutes, at least, for transparent, longer for golden.
Articles (written by McCormick or other spice companies) say to discard herbs and spices after 6 months. Herbs are harvested annually, I mistrust this wildly. I try to use up herbs and spices in a couple years, but if it still smells nice, I'll probably use it. Canned goods last far longer than the best by date, quality may be affected over time, but they're quite safe. Frozen, too.
After reading this, I will be more careful of stones in beans.
Remove the stem end of green beans, leave the tail, cook them whole.
Carrot peel tastes nasty, yes, I can tell.
I do not like the hard bits in the apple core and am very fussy about peeling apples for pie or crisp.
I like the flavor from browning meat, but I don't skim the foam from stew.
Pre-washed lettuce and greens are a fantastic advance in civilization.
My brother was shocked when I simmered a chicken carcass for an hour or so and called it stock. Longer cooking yields more and maybe better stock, but sometimes time is short.
posted by theora55 at 7:48 AM on May 2, 2020
I read most of the comments and did not see the following:
Rinsing the rice makes it wet and it requires less water to cook to the same doneness than dry rice. For my self, a cup of rice roughly requires 1 1/4 cup of water. But a cup of dry rice subsequently rinsed needs only 1 cup of water because about a 1/4 cup of water remains on the grains (they are wet). For my tastes.
(Pet peeve.
People keep saying I didn't rinse the fruit (or whatever) and I'm still alive.
Not rinsing leaves more pesticides on the surface. Pesticides are a non-zero additive to your human body that may have a cumulative effect. Like saying I drank 24 units of alcohol and I'm still alive. Sure but do that every day for a few decades and there is a cumulative effect on liver and such. Similarly with pesticides, there are diseases that seem to be related to cumulative pesticide exposure - Parkinson's for example. Same thing when microwaving plastic, sure once won't kill you, dozens of times won't kill you, but there may be a cumulative effect. Same thing with sun damage - one time with no suncreen will not result in skin cancer, but every day for 50 years?
I'm mean if you don't mind pesticide exposure then eat unrinsed fruit/veg, I sure do sometimes, but don't confuse not rinsing fruits/vegetables with not causing immediate death as meaning that it is safe.
Related: We didn't have car seats for babies when we were babies and are all still alive.)
posted by RoadScholar at 8:36 AM on May 2, 2020 [9 favorites]
Rinsing the rice makes it wet and it requires less water to cook to the same doneness than dry rice. For my self, a cup of rice roughly requires 1 1/4 cup of water. But a cup of dry rice subsequently rinsed needs only 1 cup of water because about a 1/4 cup of water remains on the grains (they are wet). For my tastes.
(Pet peeve.
People keep saying I didn't rinse the fruit (or whatever) and I'm still alive.
Not rinsing leaves more pesticides on the surface. Pesticides are a non-zero additive to your human body that may have a cumulative effect. Like saying I drank 24 units of alcohol and I'm still alive. Sure but do that every day for a few decades and there is a cumulative effect on liver and such. Similarly with pesticides, there are diseases that seem to be related to cumulative pesticide exposure - Parkinson's for example. Same thing when microwaving plastic, sure once won't kill you, dozens of times won't kill you, but there may be a cumulative effect. Same thing with sun damage - one time with no suncreen will not result in skin cancer, but every day for 50 years?
I'm mean if you don't mind pesticide exposure then eat unrinsed fruit/veg, I sure do sometimes, but don't confuse not rinsing fruits/vegetables with not causing immediate death as meaning that it is safe.
Related: We didn't have car seats for babies when we were babies and are all still alive.)
posted by RoadScholar at 8:36 AM on May 2, 2020 [9 favorites]
I rinse broccoli ever since I found a dead slug in the middle of my dinner as a teenager. I probably eat significantly less broccoli than I otherwise would just due to that incident, and think about it every time I go to cook broccoli.
posted by gregoryg at 8:50 AM on May 2, 2020
posted by gregoryg at 8:50 AM on May 2, 2020
I dont rinse rice unless I'm making sushi. I do scrub potatoes and carrots and usually leave the skin on. Salted pasta water? Yes, always.
I dont rinse quinoa or lentils, but I get mine in bulk from an organic store and they are always clean (maybe I've been lucky?) I might if I got a bag from somewhere else and it seemed like they needed it.
I rinse fruit unless I've picked it myself and know its clean, or i plan to peel it anyway. Greens always get rinsed because dirt and also slugs.
I brown meat for the added flavor, plus I think it's fun. Meat does not get rinsed. Fish does.
I dont sift flour unless absolutely necessary. Or cocoa, but I do give it a good hammering with a whisk to break up clumps. I find if I shake the bag or box well before measuring, there arent many clumps anyway.
posted by ananci at 9:17 AM on May 2, 2020
I dont rinse quinoa or lentils, but I get mine in bulk from an organic store and they are always clean (maybe I've been lucky?) I might if I got a bag from somewhere else and it seemed like they needed it.
I rinse fruit unless I've picked it myself and know its clean, or i plan to peel it anyway. Greens always get rinsed because dirt and also slugs.
I brown meat for the added flavor, plus I think it's fun. Meat does not get rinsed. Fish does.
I dont sift flour unless absolutely necessary. Or cocoa, but I do give it a good hammering with a whisk to break up clumps. I find if I shake the bag or box well before measuring, there arent many clumps anyway.
posted by ananci at 9:17 AM on May 2, 2020
Reading this thread and some of the (lack of) food rinsing habits is horrifying. This is like learning that some people stand up wipe.
posted by chuntered inelegantly from a sedentary position at 9:18 AM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by chuntered inelegantly from a sedentary position at 9:18 AM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Rinsing isnt optional. Rinsing rice is not only about removing starch. It's a way to remove dust, pesticides, animal excrement, pebbles, etc. Same deal with rinsing fruits and veggies. Potato eyes contain a lot of solanine, which is poisonous. On the other hand, most fruits and veggies don't actually need to be peeled; that comes down to preference.
posted by sid at 9:25 AM on May 2, 2020
posted by sid at 9:25 AM on May 2, 2020
Last summer our friend who cooked dinner didn't bother to remove the tiny eyes from some tiny red potatoes. It was gross when I bit into one that had obviously been moldy, judging from the taste. Sure it didn't kill me, but I don't want disgusting flavors in my food.
And eating the common mold Aspergillis flavin means eating the carcinogen aflatoxin; each individual instance will increase the lifetime risk of cancer only by an insignificant tiny amount, but it's not a good habit to persist in.
posted by chromium at 9:54 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
And eating the common mold Aspergillis flavin means eating the carcinogen aflatoxin; each individual instance will increase the lifetime risk of cancer only by an insignificant tiny amount, but it's not a good habit to persist in.
posted by chromium at 9:54 AM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
About rice: Uncle Ben's is parboiled (converted), so it's an option if you want someone to rinse your rice for you before you buy it,
posted by SemiSalt at 10:20 AM on May 2, 2020
posted by SemiSalt at 10:20 AM on May 2, 2020
It is my understanding that you soak or ferment grains, beans, nuts, and seeds before use to reduce the phytic acid content.
posted by aniola at 10:23 AM on May 2, 2020
posted by aniola at 10:23 AM on May 2, 2020
Haven't read other answers, there are too many already, but:
Where I'm from rice, millet and other grains are threshed by hand on the ground outside or on mats on the ground outside or on a slab of concrete that has been brushed but is also outside. Naturally you're going to rinse the grains out before cooking. Beans, lentils, melon seeds etc, you have to pick over seed by seed. It's a quicker job than you'd expect and you will have a little pile of husks, insects and small stones at the end of the job: enough to break a tooth or two if you hadn't done it. When I was in boarding school it was one of the organised chores for the whole school to pick over the uncooked rice for the weekly dinners. That rice, being chosen for its relative cheapness, was absolutely full of little stones and gravel. It would have been an impossible job for the 5 cooks to pick it over.
Rice that has had a certain amount of factory processing is more expensive and won't have the same quantity of detritus but you'd still be well advised to give it a quick check and a rinse before cooking, especially considering it's been displayed in heaps in the market before being sold to consumers. Wholesale, it comes in sacks. Where have these sacks been stored? There's no such thing as insect-proof in the tropics imo except for the depths of a freezer. I would have thought that similar circumstances are recent enough in the developed world for people to currently be influenced in their kichen habits by a previous generation who knew they had to take precautions. And I suspect that if you could see large-scale storage of grain anywhere it is kept in sheds, it is moved about by industrial machinery and people with boots on, carrying shovels, and it has to come from the farm in the first place and farms are chock full of earth, beatles, worms and chaff and other organic untidiness.
Actually at home people don't just rinse their rice, they parboil it, rinse it out again and then add salt and more water and cook it for real. I prefer just to rinse before cooking not parboil, because I read some story about a group of officers in a POW camp who got beri-beri after being mainly fed rice, while their orderlies who didn't eat the rice but drank the water it was cooked in, didn't get that disease.
And I absolutely hate the crunch of shell in the middle of enjoying a yummy omelette, so there's that.
posted by glasseyes at 1:08 PM on May 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
Where I'm from rice, millet and other grains are threshed by hand on the ground outside or on mats on the ground outside or on a slab of concrete that has been brushed but is also outside. Naturally you're going to rinse the grains out before cooking. Beans, lentils, melon seeds etc, you have to pick over seed by seed. It's a quicker job than you'd expect and you will have a little pile of husks, insects and small stones at the end of the job: enough to break a tooth or two if you hadn't done it. When I was in boarding school it was one of the organised chores for the whole school to pick over the uncooked rice for the weekly dinners. That rice, being chosen for its relative cheapness, was absolutely full of little stones and gravel. It would have been an impossible job for the 5 cooks to pick it over.
Rice that has had a certain amount of factory processing is more expensive and won't have the same quantity of detritus but you'd still be well advised to give it a quick check and a rinse before cooking, especially considering it's been displayed in heaps in the market before being sold to consumers. Wholesale, it comes in sacks. Where have these sacks been stored? There's no such thing as insect-proof in the tropics imo except for the depths of a freezer. I would have thought that similar circumstances are recent enough in the developed world for people to currently be influenced in their kichen habits by a previous generation who knew they had to take precautions. And I suspect that if you could see large-scale storage of grain anywhere it is kept in sheds, it is moved about by industrial machinery and people with boots on, carrying shovels, and it has to come from the farm in the first place and farms are chock full of earth, beatles, worms and chaff and other organic untidiness.
Actually at home people don't just rinse their rice, they parboil it, rinse it out again and then add salt and more water and cook it for real. I prefer just to rinse before cooking not parboil, because I read some story about a group of officers in a POW camp who got beri-beri after being mainly fed rice, while their orderlies who didn't eat the rice but drank the water it was cooked in, didn't get that disease.
And I absolutely hate the crunch of shell in the middle of enjoying a yummy omelette, so there's that.
posted by glasseyes at 1:08 PM on May 2, 2020 [4 favorites]
Speaking about cooking in England, I don't rinse rice here. As much flavour as rice can have, I like to keep it. But cooking rice in Nigeria you will notice that the water of the first few rinses gets quite dirty. Salad veg and fruit if bought from the market would get a to rinse in potassium permangenate solution or milton. Cholera is endemic in many places in the tropics, it would be careless not to. But fruit from my own garden I would just rinse. And I never bothered to rinse fruit/salad if bought in UK, until lately one of the grandkids started to get a bit picky.
posted by glasseyes at 1:20 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by glasseyes at 1:20 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
It's been mentioned above but I just want to say, the TLDR on who cares if you eat dirt is that dirt, plant surfaces animals have touched, etc often contains animal excrement or small bugs that can carry disease. E.g. you can get deadly parasites from eating certain slugs or snails, some animal excrement (I think raccoon?) has been in the news recently as carrying a type of roundworm in it that can be dangerous or deadly in humans, etc. Is it 100% going to kill you every time? Of course not. But how hard is it really to rinse off your lettuce? And some of these habits probably developed in a time when the risk level was much higher.
posted by Lady Li at 1:48 PM on May 2, 2020
posted by Lady Li at 1:48 PM on May 2, 2020
Two questions stemming from comments above.
1. Carillon, I was taught the opposite about beans and salt: that you mustn't add salt (or onion) until the beans are soft because salt retards this. I wonder which of those is right? I've eaten enough hard, farty beans in my time.
2. mumimor, I thought tapeworm was a two-stage thing for humans in that you don't get it directly from ingesting the eggs but from eating undercooked meat with tapeworm cysts in it. But I know the worm sheds segments which pass out through the body of the host so with faecal contamination of produce ...eurgh.
and 3. When making a pilau you start by soaking the rice then draining it then frying with oil and spices, so with that particular method wet rice does indeed get toasted and very nice it is too.
I think if we were not so removed from the production of our food we would all be a bit more concerned about rinsing the dirt off and sifting for impurities, far more so than about whether food has spoiled sitting for a couple of hours at room temperature.
posted by glasseyes at 3:06 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
1. Carillon, I was taught the opposite about beans and salt: that you mustn't add salt (or onion) until the beans are soft because salt retards this. I wonder which of those is right? I've eaten enough hard, farty beans in my time.
2. mumimor, I thought tapeworm was a two-stage thing for humans in that you don't get it directly from ingesting the eggs but from eating undercooked meat with tapeworm cysts in it. But I know the worm sheds segments which pass out through the body of the host so with faecal contamination of produce ...eurgh.
and 3. When making a pilau you start by soaking the rice then draining it then frying with oil and spices, so with that particular method wet rice does indeed get toasted and very nice it is too.
I think if we were not so removed from the production of our food we would all be a bit more concerned about rinsing the dirt off and sifting for impurities, far more so than about whether food has spoiled sitting for a couple of hours at room temperature.
posted by glasseyes at 3:06 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
But I know the worm sheds segments which pass out through the body of the host so with faecal contamination of produce ...eurgh.
Yup. We don't talk about it. Just rinse our fruit and vegs well, always.
posted by mumimor at 3:50 PM on May 4, 2020
Yup. We don't talk about it. Just rinse our fruit and vegs well, always.
posted by mumimor at 3:50 PM on May 4, 2020
I was taught the opposite about beans and salt: that you mustn't add salt (or onion) until the beans are soft because salt retards this
Adding salt doesn't affect how the beans cook (but does improve the flavor), and lots of recipes include onions. As far as I know, it's true that adding acidic ingredients like tomatoes early in the process will result in crunchy beans.
posted by Lexica at 5:16 PM on May 4, 2020
Adding salt doesn't affect how the beans cook (but does improve the flavor), and lots of recipes include onions. As far as I know, it's true that adding acidic ingredients like tomatoes early in the process will result in crunchy beans.
posted by Lexica at 5:16 PM on May 4, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Mchelly at 2:18 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]