Sampling someone else’s homemade food

JAS_OH1 said:
Yeah I wouldn't admit that I'm a germophobe but honestly I know some people are negligent about handwashing and if there are cats (cats often jump on counters) and/or children in their house I'm extra wary. I'd politely decline without giving a reason. I became very aware of pathogens while attending massage therapy school 30+ years ago and I've been an avid handwasher ever since. I see people in public restrooms who don't adequately wash their hands, if they don't do it properly in public, how well are they washing up at home? The first thing I do before handling food is to thoroughly wash my hands and I often use food prep gloves.

I also have a weird phobia where I won't eat chips/crisps if someone else had their hand in the bag. When my kids were little I had my own loaf of bread and my own box of cereal, my own bag of chips, etc. I won't eat salads at a restaurant usually (hot foods only in general) and prefer restaurants with open kitchens where I can see how food is being handled. Also, I keep sanitizer in my purse and after looking at the menu or touching condiment bottles, salt shakes, etc. I sanitize.

Sorry, that was long-winded!
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You are definitely a germophobe! But on more sober note, there are some people for whom it can be a serious mental condition which prevents any kind of normal life and in which all the precautions you take are exaggerated to the point they are unable to leave the house (for example).
 
Morning Glory said:
You are definitely a germophobe! But on more sober note, there are some people for whom it can be a serious mental condition which prevents any kind of normal life and in which all the precautions you take are exaggerated to the point they are unable to leave the house (for example).
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It's really hard for me when I go to large parties and cookouts. I have to drink alcohol to handle it and sometimes I will eat something before I go. Hamburger buns are a problem unless I get the first bun out of the bag so I'll eat the burger without it usually, and forget touching serving spoons! Buffets are not in my world. Unless I've been consuming alcohol, then I can deal with it. Which is why when we go to Mexico I stay drunk most of the time!
 
Germs actually don't worry much. Milk protein and anaphylactic shock does, so I bale politely unless I know for definite that someone understands the technical difference between vegetarian and vegan, and sad to say, most don't. Plus they also don't appreciate that milk finds its way into so many everyday stuff that they don't expect.

When we were in the UK last year seeing a long time friend we watch as she made a crumble and put it on to the apples from her garden. She and her partner are both cealiacs, so she had checked that the ingredients in the mix were dairy free. What she hadn't checked was the margarine she was using. It had dairy in it. She was so upset that she had come within a whisker of me ending up needing to use my epipens. She's a judge and KC (barrister) and a good friend who thought she knew enough about cooking. Checking her muesli over, she was horrified to find that had skimmed milk powder in it as well.

So I typically decline unless I can check packaging material etc.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Germs actually don't worry much. Milk protein and anaphylactic shock does, so I bale politely unless I know for definite that someone understands the technical difference between vegetarian and vegan, and sad to say, most don't. Plus they also don't appreciate that milk finds its way into so many everyday stuff that they don't expect.

When we were in the UK last year seeing a long time friend we watch as she made a crumble and put it on to the apples from her garden. She and her partner are both cealiacs, so she had checked that the ingredients in the mix were dairy free. What she hadn't checked was the margarine she was using. It had dairy in it. She was so upset that she had come within a whisker of me ending up needing to use my epipens. She's a judge and KC (barrister) and a good friend who thought she knew enough about cooking. Checking her muesli over, she was horrified to find that had skimmed milk powder in it as well.

So I typically decline unless I can check packaging material etc.
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I wrote a long and detailed response to this, too long and too detailed!
So instead I’ll keep it to - I so understand, allergies are such a difficult thing to navigate.
So difficult that in my case it fractured one family relationship beyond repair!!
 
My son is highly allergic to shrimp/prawns, so we really have to watch it because he can't distinguish; he'll just eat anything.
At dinner service Friday night, I had (a) vegetarians (b) dairy issues (c) gluten issues and (d) capsaicin allergy. First time I've had all 4 at the same time, but fortunately, there was something for everyone there.
As I mentioned before, I'll try almost anything except lumps of meat.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
But you make it sound so appealing 😂
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“I can’t have these lumps of meat…ugh! I miss me mum’s home cooking, though. No lumps of meat in our house, no sir! We always had flesh…in blobs. Now, blobs of flesh, I can really get behind that!” :wink:
 
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