What's up with a messy cook?

[luvbing]

i just have a hard time accepting that being messy in the kitchen is just part of the process. maybe I am to stickler about "cleaning as you go" but it makes things feel more streamlined and in flow versus all over the place and cluttered! I love cooking and maybe I just treat it the way I do out of respect and intention, I mean Pollock made amazing paintings and they were messy and wild, so I see that it works but still man...wipe down the counter..


ok-rant over!

thanks!

 

[WhateverYouWant]

I guess it depends on the dish. Some that are pretty much everything in one or two places are easy to clean up while working. Others that require many steps and careful timing not so much. Get the dish right and clean up everything involved later.

 

[karadekoolaid]

If you´ve done mise en place, then there´s no need for a messy kitchen.
If your dish involves peeling, skinning, maybe a couple of dishes with different proteins and veg, then a messy kitchen risks cross-contamination.
If the dish involves, say, frying something then making a stew, the risk of a pan full of oil on the stove is that you might accidentally spill the oil on the stove.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I say - wrap it up in foil, and throw it into the campfire, no cleanup required, except to dispose of the foil. Boil your water in paper cups. We did that in scouts.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Cooking Goddess]

My best friend back home is a messy cook. Her hubby is a clean-as-you-cook guy. By the time his meal is ready, almost every prep tool is clean and put away. Meanwhile, after one of her dinners is over, my friend flops in her chair, sighs deeply, and says she is beat. Voila, hubby does the clean up.

It's not a scam on her part, since she has a number of medical issues. But you have to have the right spouse for this to work. Much as I love my guy, I'd probably have to get up from my death bed to clean up the mess before EMS showed up. [emoji38]

 

[taxlady]

I like to wash things and put them on the dish rack to dry, as I use stuff. But, more than once, I have washed the chef's knife and cutting board, forgetting that there were a few more things, for another dish, that need to be cut or chopped up. Darn, that's extra work for no benefit. I even have to dry them, which I generally manage to avoid.

When I have been stir frying or sautéeing something, that stove will be a bit of a mess and I will be taking that frying pan off the heat right before serving a meal. That mess has to wait until some time after supper.

 

[WhateverYouWant]

If you´ve done mise en place, then there´s no need for a messy kitchen.

I suppose that depends on how you define a messy kitchen. I prepare mise en place for any recipe that involves timing. The first that comes to mind was a meal I prepared last week for my gracious hosts during the Caldor fire evacuation. This involved frying noodles and then shrimp, preparing a sauce while the shrimp was frying, transferring the fried shrimp to that finished sauce for a quick toss and immediately serving.

This left me with a skillet of oil, another skillet coated with sauce, and the better part of a half dozen small bowls/ramekins used for the mise en place... all of which could not be cleaned before serving without affecting the quality of the meal.

To me, that is a messy kitchen… and one that is most likely not addressed until the following morning.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

But that's a happy mess, Scott! Leaving clean-up to share food and good times with friends is always worth tackling later...or the next day.

 

[roadfix]

I don’t mind being around messy cooks as long as they don’t spill or splash liquids and sauces on the floor.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I suppose that depends on how you define a messy kitchen.

Absolutely correct, I´m with you on that. "Messy" doesn´t mean that you haven´t got loads of stuff around ready for what you´re going to serve, and if you have to serve it straight away, then the mess stays there until it´s plated and served. I hate to serve cold food, and if that means leaving a few pans of oil or anything else waiting around, then so be it.
That´s not a messy kitchen - that´s a conscientious cook!

 

[karadekoolaid]

I don’t mind being around messy cooks as long as they don’t spill or splash liquids and sauces on the floor.

Ideally, yes - but sometimes it happens. I can remember serving a five-course meal for 170 people, and the floor was a mess, because we were focussed on getting everything plated properly, on time, and still hot enough to eat. That , to me, is a different issue. Stuff gets spilt, even in the best kitchens.

 

[roadfix]

Ideally, yes - but sometimes it happens. I can remember serving a five-course meal for 170 people, and the floor was a mess, because we were focussed on getting everything plated properly, on time, and still hot enough to eat. That , to me, is a different issue. Stuff gets spilt, even in the best kitchens.

Yeah, I can see that happening.

But I’m talking about one person casually taking their time preparing a no rush meal for a family of 4, for instance…

 

[GinnyPNW]

As mentioned before...the dishwasher is a great place to put dirty dishes! I'm so happy to have one. I do manage to put most of the prep dishes into the dishwasher, as I cook. Well, most of them, most of the time. DH does the dishes after dinner, but I don't want to leave him tooooo much to do. As for a messy stove, things that can be very messy (frying or simmering without cover), I like to do on the island. I have various electric skillets and pots, and I even have a standalone burner that I can use on the island. (The standalone burner lives in the RV, but I can grab it for house use too.)

I have a stack of measuring cups from tablespoons up to 8 cups, that can be put to good use, lined up for the actual cooking process. Simplifies the process and helps insure that I don't forget something! Then, as used, the dishwasher gets loaded. But then, I have a relatively small kitchen. It is open to the great room and dining room, seemingly huge then. But in reality, it is a one butt kitchen. No room for a sous chef! All I need do is turn around and the dishwasher is right there.