- Joined
- Jan 31, 2023
There was a fascinating article about this last year (found here). A woman whose mother is from Belize and father is from Nigeria both brought the practice of washing chicken back with them from their own countries. This might make sense for meat that you purchase from a wet market in countries like Belize and Nigeria.
There is also the argument that food for slaves was left in dirty buckets and other unsanitary conditions, so it made sense to wash the meat before cooking it, and this ritual was passed down through generations.
Even though it is a relatively even-handed article in which she fairly quotes experts and chefs who argue against the practice of rinsing chicken, she nevertheless sees it as a necessary cultural norm and ends by saying that she will teach her son to wash chicken before cooking, but going forward she will be careful to bleach all of the surfaces in the kitchen more thoroughly to avoid the increased risk of contamination.
There is also the argument that food for slaves was left in dirty buckets and other unsanitary conditions, so it made sense to wash the meat before cooking it, and this ritual was passed down through generations.
Even though it is a relatively even-handed article in which she fairly quotes experts and chefs who argue against the practice of rinsing chicken, she nevertheless sees it as a necessary cultural norm and ends by saying that she will teach her son to wash chicken before cooking, but going forward she will be careful to bleach all of the surfaces in the kitchen more thoroughly to avoid the increased risk of contamination.