Mixing with one's hands

[ella/TO]

I have something that bugs me no end!....watching the cooking shows, most people have their rings on, and into the food the hands go. Kneading, mixing, etc. etc. Just interested to know what folks here think....thanks for your answers.

 

[jennyema]

Sometimes I take them off soetimes I don't. But I always wash hands w. antibacterial and Purell them before touching any food and especially if I am going to hand mix.


Edited to add that I wash before and after and conceptually the ring thing doesn't bother me. I also dip my finger in food to taste it when I cook for my self and immediate family. When cooking for others, I use clean spoons.

 

[GB]

Well I have to admit that at home I do not take my ring off (I do scrub very well though), but in a professional kitchen I would fully expect that the rings were not on the fingers.

The cooking shows are famous for do as I say, not as I do type things though. How many of them handle raw chicken and then touch everything in the kitchen and never wash anything. Drives me crazy!

 

[Alix]

Speaking as a confirmed AR handwasher EWWWWW! I take my rings off.

 

[ronjohn55]

Sometimes I do, usually I don't. But when I think about it, I hardly ever take my ring off, which means it's seen time inside my hockey gloves..

I guess I probably should (will from now on)

John

 

[Michelemarie]

for me - rings come off - always.

 

[Andy M.]

I leave my ring on and taste with my finger when cooking for the two of us. When cooking for guests, I always use the two spoon tasting procedure.

My hands get washed a lot during food prep.

 

[GB]

taste with my finger when cooking for the two of us. When cooking for guests, I always use the two spoon tasting procedure.

Yep same here

 

[auntdot]

Continually wash my hands while cooking. But I plead guilty to not taking off my ring when mixing with my hands.

As for tasting, will generally just quickly wash the spoon for the next dip.

 

[pdswife]

I'm bad.. I never take my ring off
and I taste with my fingers... oh my MIL would kill me if she knew!

 

[BigDog]

Very interesting. Frankly I never thought about this, and I always cook with my ring on. Then again, as I look back on how I cook for others, I wash my hands including under and around the ring frequently. Especially when hand mixing things, I wash over, under, and around the ring. My ring comes off fairly easily, and the soap makes it that much easier.

My only catch that I can think of now is that my ring has 5 small diamonds totaling 1/4 karat. I wouldn't want to chomp down on one of those if it fell out!

Hmmmmm, maybe I ought to remove the ring as well, or at least get a solid band . . . . . . .

 

[Robo410]

no rings, hands washed, side sink or small plastic bucket with soapy water for a quick clean up. Hands are the best cooking tool there is!

 

[ella/TO]

I'm all for using hands for cooking and tasting....It's just the rings that bother me...no matter how much one washes, there's stuff underneath, or, the rings get gucked up. Oh well, just a bugaboo of mine....I'm sure all will do whatever they've been doing, as will I....LOL.....thanks everyone for your input

 

[Constance]

I used to take my rings off. Then one night when I was having a beer and making fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, I did something really dumb.
After I was finished dealing with the meal, I reached up onto the windowsill to put my ring back on, and found a beer tab. My husband immediately dumped the garbage can out onto a plastic bag, and I picked my ring out of the potato peelings. Ooops!

I constantly wash my hands while cooking. My rings consist of a one karat oval solitaire and plain band, so there's not a lot to catch germs.

 

[kadesma]

Depends on just what I'm fixing, anything ground like sausage or meat loaf or some sort of tuna or chicken patty,or bread dough, I take off my rings,cleaning rings is not as easy as cleaning my hands. The rest of the time I leave them on. But to be honest, I'm not sure which makes me feel worse ...Rings on or someone cooking with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth with long ashes getting ready to fall

kadesma

 

[grumblebee]

The cooking shows are famous for do as I say, not as I do type things though. How many of them handle raw chicken and then touch everything in the kitchen and never wash anything. Drives me crazy!

Ugh.. that drives me crazy too!

 

[AllenOK]

I will admit that I leave my ring on. It's a carved band, no stones or setting. I wash my hands constantly while cooking.

Now, many places, especially bakeries, will only allow employees to wear ONE ring, a plain wedding band. No necklaces, or earrings. I think of that as extreme, but, if something falls out, the food is ruined.

 

[kitchenelf]

The last time I took my rings off to mix up hamburger someone stole my wedding band - of course they aren't invited back ...so I still take my rings off to mix stuff (most times anyway but especially with hamburger).

 

[ironchef]

I never wear my ring at work; it's platinum and has a matte finish so it gets really scratched easily. The first month that I had it I took it back to the shop 4 times to get it polished and they told me that if I kept doing it, the metal would eventually wear down.

That being said, I very rarely use my hands to mix anything. I almost always use a pair of tongs, a slotted mixing spoon, etc. Partly for sanitation but mainly because I don't want to be wiping and washing my hands every time I finish mixing or prepping something. If it's an item that can cause cross contamination, then sure. But the safest way is just to not use your hands period. In all of the kitchens I worked in, you never see people mixing things with their hands as often as you do on television. If they are, most of the time they are wearing (or should be wearing) disposable latex gloves.

 

[LeeAnn]

I haven't worn rings since last summer, but I've always taken them off when I've done any cooking. I don't like the idea of the bacteria that is trapped under the bands. And I almost always clip my hair up also, cannot stand the thought of hair hanging over the food and falling in. Yuck!