Sanitation?

[CraigC]

So one last question how are you supposed to sanitizes a pasta machine if you believe olive oil isn't a good cleaner and water can't be used ?

The only thing I have ever had to BRUSH off our pasta machine is flour. It never gets washed. If you don't use enough flour to dust the dough it may stick, but adding flour and running it through on the same setting will clean it off.

 

[sam111]

My pasta machine (manual Atlas) never - ever sees water or oil. I brush it clean with a dry pastry brush and figure the pasta gets boiled.

Here's a link to some cleaning instructions - note the directions to brush but also there's a mention of lubing up the rollers if needed with vaseline or mineral oil

Ok by your above comment ,you can actually not clean it and let it have germs because you are sanitizing the pasta when you cook it.

Or olive oil for making the machine itself less germy

 

[justplainbill]

Well dried pasta dough should not create a health hazard.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Ok by your above comment ,you can actually not clean it and let it have germs because you are sanitizing the pasta when you cook it.

Or olive oil for making the machine itself less germy

NOT olive oil, food oils go rancid and harbor bacteria. Mineral oil and Vaseline do not go rancid.

 

[jennyema]

Ok by your above comment ,you can actually not clean it and let it have germs because you are sanitizing the pasta when you cook it.

Or olive oil for making the machine itself less germy

Olive oil will not make it less germy and may even make it MORE germy. It will also go rancid. Not a good idea.

 

[CraigC]

Feeding the wildlife can be dangerous.

 

[Mad Cook]

If that is true about the cast iron pan then what about a stainless steel pan or any pan in general?

If heating on the stove is enough then it should be enough to clean anything by heating it on the stove (or heating it in the dishwasher without soap/water i.e turning it to the dry setting or in the oven) (as long as the temperature does not destroy the item and is over the 160F say 350F or so then no real germ,virus , bacterial can live ... this is what sanitation is really)

Another thing is a boiling pot of water (for along enough time) just spilled out and dried is sanitized anyway.

My question is then why do we clean the dishes if we could do it with just heating to a specific temperature and scraping off debris.

All these sanitation liquids seem not necessary in many cases with the proper heat. Obviously one can't heat everything to that temperature without destroying though. So I understand why we have soaps,disinfectants ,...etc
But those are more for bathroom and house cleaning I would imagine most food dishes can be sanitized with enough heat (even hot enough water if the hot water/boiler is turned up enough ).

Correct me if I am wrong.

I wipe my pasta machine down with olive oil which is suppose to be an extremely good natural cleaning agent (and won't rust the gears )

One of the reasons for washing dishes is to remove the taste of the food you've just cooked in it - not many people would want their custard to taste of onions!

In fact, some recent research has confirmed what out predecessors knew, that although you need hot water and detergent to remove grease, friction, ie rubbing or scrubbing, is as efficient or more so at removing germs than the heat of the water. Let's face it, if you tried to wash your hands in water hot enough to kill bacteria you'd be in the Accident and Emergency Department being treated for serious scalding!

I must say I'm inclined to be a bit sceptical of detergents such as washing up liquids which have anti-bacterial agents in them and the recently introduced (in the UK at least) laundry detergent which incorporates an anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent so your clothes will be "hygienically clean" and you won't catch nasty diseases such as 'flu the next time you wear them.

An obsessive attention to germ killing can cause its own problems. I had a friend when I was younger and whenever I visited her house the reek of bleach and disinfectant hit you when she opened the door and made your eyes water and your throat seize up. Her family, both adults and children, had more time off work and school with stomach upsets than any other family I have ever come across probably because they were kept so germ-free at home that when they went out they had no natural immunity and the germs had a field day.

 

[CatPat]

I only just clean everything very, very thoroughly.

With love,
~Cat

 

[Addie]

People of my age group don't get as sick as the younger generations. We were exposed to every germ that was around during our younger days. The only immunization required to get into school was for smallpox. There weren't any changes until the DPT serum came along. It wasn't until I was in the first grade that I got that shot. And a booster in the second. The scourge at that time was polio. The serum for that didn't come along until the late 50's. I got my injection in the late sixties when I first became pregnant with my third child. By that time the measles vaccine was available also. So I got that one at the same time.

I have never had the Flu, any childhood disease, or even a sore throat during my early school years. I have never received the Flu vaccine. It wasn't until I was in the sixth grade that I had my tonsils removed to help prevent more ear infections.

Other than when canning, we didn't live a sterile life. We wiped off the table, fridge, and other appliances in the kitchen. We used soap and hot water with the dish cloth. For stuck on dirt, Brillo was our friend. I do the same today in my own home. I make sure any of the surfaces I touch on a daily basis are clean. Not germ free. Just clean. Having spent my early years on a farm with chickens, pigs, etc., I was exposed to every kind of germ there was. Mothers of today are so germ phobic that when one comes along, their child can't fight it. My kids used some of my best spoons to dig in the back yard. And they survived it. They lived by the five second rule if their ice cream or candy fell to the ground. Much to my horror! But they survived that also. What they didn't miss out on was the Measles epidemic that hit this state really hard. My oldest child lost her vision for about a month. She had the measles in her eyes. Spike had his heart damaged and today can say he has had eight heart attacks because of the measles. My third child had her kidneys severely damaged. Until the day she died, she spent more time in the hospital than out. My fourth child had only a mild case until he was 14 y.o. He then got them a second time and it was touch and go if he would survive it. None of them had received the measles vaccine because they had already had the disease.

With four kids, I didn't have time to worry about germs. As long as the house was reasonably clean, they survived it all.