Wayne Seidl on fri 19 aug 05
Interesting. This thread appears over and over. It is a sign of
the times, folks.
I have maintained for some time that if people wash their dishes
_PROPERLY_, dry and store them (again) _PROPERLY_
there is little to no chance of catching anything from pottery,
crazed, uncrazed, even cracked through and re-glued from pieces.
I think more of us ate from those types of pottery as kids than we
would like to let on. Still here folks, still at it.
The problem with most folks now is that in Nord Amerika at least,
(there's a little Esperanto for you language lovers) with the advent
of the automatic dishwasher, few people take the time to hand wash
anything, with the possible exception of themselves. Like any other
skill, if it's not used, it's going to pass from existence. And so
it is.
Time was when all kitchens were in the "rear" of a house, with a
window over the kitchen sink so that "the wife" could watch the kids
playing in the back yard (and keep an eye on the little monsters)
while she did the dishes from the "family meal". Now, everything
gets thrown into the machine, soap added, and run quick back into
the living room so as not to miss the latest episode of whatever
passes for family entertainment (assuming the family even eats
together or watches TV together anymore).
Don't get me wrong. I love my dishwasher. I wouldn't be without it.
I joke with my dinner guests that I've named it "Lilly the Maid" and
SHE does the dishes, but that the b*tch won't vacuum .
Personally, I would much rather iron clothes than wash dishes, which
I attribute to having had dishwashing be "my job" while growing
up...no small task in a family of 5 kids.
Still, the machine appears to be a necessity these days, since no
one knows how to wash the damn dishes properly any more. And yeah,
since you didn't ask, here's how:
Hot soapy water, almost too hot to stick your hand in, (120=B0F might
keep you safe, but it's NOT hot enough for dishes, so get that
kettle boiling!) scrape the food off first, not in the water. Feed
the scrap to the pigs or chickens, or the dog, or your spouse!)
Wash the items that enter your mouth first, that's the flatware,
then the silver, then the serving utensils. (Don't let me catch you
washing silver with flatware, it tarnishes the silver!) Then come
the plates, salad bowls, THEN soup bowls. After that, the serving
pieces, and THEN the pots and pans. Set it all on the drainboard.
No drain board? What kind of kitchen do you have, anyhow?
Separate HOT rinse water, change both pans of water as needed to rid
grease, banish germs etc. A teaspoon of bleach in the rinse water
to be absolutely sure. And don't dry them, let them air dry.
Then put them away. Don't let them sit there overnight! Don't make
me come over there!
And I find the discussion on Clayart quite amusing. "Ooooh! We're
gonna catch some awful disease from a crack in crockery!!!" yet
these same folks are the ones eating fast food from god knows who
and how it was prepared at a fast food joint, or worse yet...a
grocery store "baked chicken", or a salad that has sat out in some
"case" somewhere all day, with improper refrigeration, and god knows
who pawing through it. Did Juan have a bad day and put a booger in
there? Who's finger is that? Did Carmella forget how to read
instructions and put floor wax in the potato salad instead of mayo?
How long did that egg salad sit there anyhow?
Hmph!
There is a whole different issue about durability of cracked and
crazed pottery that I won't go into. That's a rant for a different
time.
Crazy potters? Love 'em. The more the merrier, let's party!
There...I feel better. Don't you have some dishes to do?
Best,
Wayne Seidl
"Madge! You're soaking in WHAAATTT????!"
(and there's a reference no one gets any more)
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