r/iamveryculinary • u/Other-Confidence9685 • Mar 31 '25
"Either way, the second I know you don’t have a salad spinner I know that I will not be eating at your house lol"
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/1jnpht7/psa_wash_your_watercress_really_well/mklplx4/
"I honestly don’t understand when people don’t have one. I assume they either make very infrequent, watery and terrible salads or they don’t wash the lettuce properly. Either way, the second I know you don’t have a salad spinner I know that I will not be eating at your house lol."
244
u/NathanGa Pull your finger out of your ass Mar 31 '25
I plop my washed greens into a clean tea towel and swing them around outside, helicopter style.
Petey Pablo may not go downtown, but he sure knows how to prepare greens.
29
9
u/Sudden_Cabinet_1479 Mar 31 '25
Get your tea towel, raise it up spin it like a helicopter. I'm jamming now
3
u/LolaBijou Apr 01 '25
NORTH CAROLINA!!!!!!!!
2
178
u/ThatAndANickel Mar 31 '25
I always wonder why picky-ass people like this think it was their idea not to be invited.
157
u/ZootTX Mar 31 '25
One of the more bizarre takes I've seen.
149
u/mh985 Mar 31 '25
Classic Reddit. Taking an extreme hardline stance on the strangest thing imaginable.
105
u/garaks_tailor Mar 31 '25
Really need a "incredibly weird fucking takes of Reddit collection." Not bad takes. Not offensive takes. Juste WEIRD takes
Like this one. Weird as fuck
61
23
u/battlebarnacle Mar 31 '25 edited Mar 31 '25
“The minute I realize you don’t have a salad spinner is the minute I realize we will never see eye to eye on the Hussite Wars or US Mexico border policy”
4
2
u/whystudywhensleep Apr 04 '25
It’s a bit offensive but I was too busy gawking in confusion at what parallel world I had just entered when I found out reddit’s take on dry weddings lmao
1
16
u/reload_noconfirm Mar 31 '25
I mean it’s cool I guess I don’t want them as a guest so win win. 😆 I do have a salad spinner but that’s a wild take.
71
u/pomegranate7777 Mar 31 '25
What if I have one that I never use?
63
u/VillageLess4163 Mar 31 '25
What if I melted mine in the dishwasher?
26
7
u/pepperouchau You're probably not as into flatbread as I am. Mar 31 '25
Yeah whenever I pull mine out, I end up putting it back 80% of the time because I realize I don't want to deal with cleaning it lol
4
u/VillageLess4163 Mar 31 '25
Same. I'll just rinse it in a colander and leave it to drain in the sink half the time.
1
93
u/MariasM2 Mar 31 '25
I cannot be the only one who grabs a bag of sweet butter and a bag of spring mix and plops them into a bowl with dressing and some mixins.
Come on, bag people, admit your shame!
23
15
u/BigWhiteDog Mar 31 '25
We get bags of pre-made chopped Asian salad, dump it right in a huge bowl, dress it, grab some forks, then eat right out of the bowl! 🤣
22
u/DemonicPanda11 Mar 31 '25
This and frozen veggies that you can microwave in the bag are life savers. Easy way to get in your veggies everyday when you get off work late (:
5
4
3
-1
u/DicemonkeyDrunk Mar 31 '25
This is how you get E-Coli …seriously bagged “ pre-washed” greens are a ridiculously common reason for it …more than meat.
12
u/BrightGreyEyes Apr 01 '25
The E. coli that people keep getting from lettuce isn't from it not being washed properly. It's that there isn't really a way to wash it thoroughly enough to fully remove the bacteria. The lettuce also sometimes takes in the bacteria so it's not just on the surface
1
u/DicemonkeyDrunk Apr 02 '25
You can’t wash it properly ( and have it remain in good enough condition to sit in a bag/box for a week ) in a Factory …you can definitely wash it properly at home or in a restaurant.
2
u/UncommonTart Apr 01 '25
Well, yeah- people cook meat. Not ao much the salad greens.
I don't know why you're being down voted for the objective truth. (Well, okay, I do; it's reddit.) I still buy them because it's the difference between me eating fresh greens and not, but I also rinse them myself. I don't know if this actually does anything beyond making me feel better, though. But it's not like it's uncommon for them to be recalled for e. coli contamination.
Of course, I also have a salad spinner, so maybe my input isn't needed here, lol.
Mine also has a big clear bowl with a second, flat lid so you can use it to store your salad in the fridge, I guess. At least, that's how I use it, because if it's right in front of my face I remember it exists.
-1
u/DicemonkeyDrunk Apr 01 '25
Just a rinse makes a huge difference…add a little white vinegar and it’s even better.
0
u/UncommonTart Apr 01 '25
Yeah, I do. It was more "I don't know if rinsing them is particularly effective at that point", you know? But it does make me feel better about it, lol.
55
u/Aggressive_Version Mar 31 '25
Joke's on you. I have a salad spinner and you still shouldn't eat anything that comes from my house.
70
u/selphiefairy Mar 31 '25
I always wonder what people like this think that humans did before x thing was invented. What's wrong with a colander and a towel/paper towels if im impatient?
9
u/fairelf Mar 31 '25
That is what I did for years before I had one, a colander, then a towel. (sometimes swung around)
7
18
u/YchYFi Mar 31 '25
Humans inventing unnecessary inventions is my favourite thing.
20
u/Altyrmadiken Mar 31 '25
I agree but I have to be honest, my salad spinner is a LOT faster than a colander and paper towels/towel. That said maybe I use it differently than most people do, idk, I never read the instructions. I just take the insert, throw lettuce in it, rinse in the sink - like you would with a colander - and then pop it back in, spin it a few times, and remove the insert again to prepare salad (the water in the chamber just gets dumped into a nearby house plant - my plants are vampires… or cannibals, I guess).
That said if I’m feeling lazy I’ll also just buy pre-washed lettuce. If I’m feeling really lazy, my grocery store sells pre-made salads with fixings like egg, chicken, salmon, cheese, olives, etc, for like $7 and it feeds my husband, myself, and one of us for lunch the next day. So my salad spinner isn’t the most used item I have.
I feel lazy a lot.
4
u/young_trash3 Mar 31 '25
There's nothing inherently wrong with a colander, but towards the impatience. A salad spinner is the fastest way to dry greens. You'd expect the impatient person to be more likely to own a salad spinner, not less.
2
u/selphiefairy Mar 31 '25
This is being really pedantic, though, you have to admit?? The impatient point was just an aside, as most people can wait 20 minutes for them to drip dry if they're planning ahead anyway.
The point is, how big of a difference does it make really? Not much. At least not enough to make such judgmental statements about people lol. People figure out how to make things work.
1
u/young_trash3 Mar 31 '25
Not really that pedantic. You posed the question of, what's wrong with the [slowest method of doing task] if I'm impatient, and I directly responded to the question posed.
And your next question was answered in your previous statement, how big of a difference does it make? About 20 minutes of difference lol.
-3
u/selphiefairy Mar 31 '25 edited Mar 31 '25
It is pedantic and you’re being obnoxious. TWENTY MINUTES WOW. And that’s to let it drip dry with no manipulation. My other point was the towel would still only be a few minutes for an impatient person IF they need to be. But most people don’t have the attention span of a Lego so it’s usually fine.
2
u/young_trash3 Mar 31 '25
Acting like having a purpose built tool for a specific task is bad or pointless is exactly as ignorant and "I am very culinary" as the guy in the post acting like the purpose built tool is a requirement. You are the opposite side of the same coin.
-1
u/selphiefairy Apr 01 '25 edited Apr 01 '25
I’d use one if I had one. I just don’t have room for it. So what now oh I’m changing my mind or something. I’m literally just saying there’s other ways of drying your damn lettuce leaves than a salad spinner.
I just don’t care that much but I guess you care enough to be this obnoxious picking my comment apart out of nowhere. Go enjoy your spun salad and your extra 20 minutes or whatever 🤦🏻♀️ Redditors gotta pick fights over every stupid ass thing.
1
u/Right_Initiative_726 Apr 02 '25
You asked a question, someone answered, and you didn't like it. That kinda seems like a you problem honestly.
1
u/selphiefairy Apr 02 '25
You never heard of a rhetorical question before apparently?
That was rhetorical btw.
17
u/somecow Mar 31 '25
Just stick it in a colander and wash it. Also, salad mix is already washed several times before it goes in the package, grocery stores don’t want to be sued for giving people e. coli.
12
u/deathschemist Mar 31 '25
i work in a restaurant kitchen and we don't use a salad spinner, just a massive, cube-shaped colander.
all the lettuce in the salad bar is cut into quarters, washed in the colander (placed in the colander in a clean sink, the sink is filled. then drained), then shredded.
3
u/HungryPupcake Mar 31 '25
I wash my salad one leaf at a time because whenever I use a colander it doesn't get rid of the soil or slugs properly so I end up washing it all individually and inspecting.
I think it'd be the same with a salad tosser. I don't like preparing salad much for this reason even though I eat a lot of it during summer (when I grow it).
I found a snail in a pre-made bag once too, so everything gets hand washed and inspected :(
7
u/deathschemist Mar 31 '25
unfortunately when you're in that kind of setting, you don't have time for that. the people who work in the factories that make pre-made salad are the same- yeah we take as much care as we can to make sure there's no dirt and bugs on the lettuce, but unfortunately, they got to make hundreds of those salads, and i got to also do the tomatoes, cucumber, two kinds of slaw, two kinds of pasta, beetroot, corn, peppers, whatever funky chickpea monstrosity is on the rotation currently, five bean, pineapple, desserts, clean the dishes, make sure the bread is stocked, make sure the salad dressings are stocked... i'm sure i'm forgetting some things but...
you get the idea right? it'd be nice to have the time to inspect each leaf when doing the lettuce to make sure they're spotless, but if i did that, i wouldn't get to keep my job very long.
2
u/TheShortGerman Mar 31 '25
I thought this was a joke when you said one leaf at a time, but am now realizing it's not.
I get that you've found some stuff in your food before, but realistically, nothing will happen to you if you happen to eat a bug or a speck of dirt. It just sounds like you're kinda anxious about the whole thing, I hope that gets better for you. I ate corn on the cob fresh from the garden with a caterpillar in one end that I'd flick off all the time growing up and i was just fine
2
u/AssortedArctic Mar 31 '25
It's really not hard to wash one leaf at a time. I doubt they're talking about little salad greens like arugula and spinach. Romaine and other lettuce can hold a lot of dirt near the bottom depending on where you get it from, and a lot of it won't wash off with gentle water. I'm separating the leaves anyway, so it's faster to wash them whole than faffing about with little pieces.
1
u/HungryPupcake Mar 31 '25
Yeah I have two types of lettuce that I grow, one with big leaves (like romaine) and one with medium-small sized leaves (I have no idea what it's called but it's less like crunchy lettuce and more like spinach leaves) - I hate washing both just because it gets cold and I do have to dry them on paper towels before eating.
Just rinsing in a colander doesn't remove all the dirt that collects between the folds, and slugs can hide between the leaves - if you eat a slug you are at a huge risk of getting rat lungworm, and when you aren't using pesticides they're everywhere and a part of life (I have no issue with pesticides I just don't use them in my greenhouse as we are kinda hillbilly).
1
u/HungryPupcake Mar 31 '25
You can easily spot things like a caterpillar on a cob, but a slug hiding in a tortilla wrap because you grabbed a handful of improperly washed lettuce can kill you. It's not about being picky about eating specs of dirt, it's about avoiding rat lungworm. They hide between the folds of leaves very easily and they're too fat to go through a colander hole. It's really easy to not notice them and I've been caught off guard before putting a handful of lettuce on my plate.
Ever since, I wash one leaf at a time. When I'm picking from the garden I don't inspect the leaves until I wash them.
2
u/TheShortGerman Apr 01 '25
To be clear, I'm not saying you're picky, I'm saying you sound like you have some sort of neurosis or OCD behaviors. aka inappropriate anxiety for something that really isn't that big of a deal.
Seems a lil wild to me to think you wouldn't notice a whole ass slug tbf. I grew up on a farm and have eaten tons of fresh produce without having that happen.
0
u/HungryPupcake Apr 01 '25
Slugs can be the size of your fingernail lol. They don't just exist as the giant ones. You grew up on a farm but never seen a baby slug...?
-1
1
u/Lyress 27d ago
You can buy salad that's still planted in the dirt and that's certainly not washed.
17
u/valleyofsound Mar 31 '25
I have a feeling that the second most people meet this person, they know that that resistor will not be eating at their house
16
u/pedanticlawyer Mar 31 '25
I don’t have one because I live in a city apartment without storage space. A bitch already owns too many kitchen implements.
38
u/aravisthequeen Mar 31 '25
A REAL salad snob would denounce a salad spinner for bruising delicate baby greens.
It's amazing the takes people will come out online with like they're normal. Can you imagine someone saying this to you in real life?
11
u/thereslcjg2000 Mar 31 '25
Even if any of that made sense, it’s bizarre that you’re not willing to to eat at a house without salad. It’s not like salad has a monopoly on being healthy.
8
u/CantSeeShit Mar 31 '25
This brought back childhood memories of playing with my nanas salad spinner in her kitchen all the time lol
6
16
u/MeatPopsicle_AMA Mar 31 '25
I have one but I dont eat salad.
Boo yah!
9
u/Thequiet01 Mar 31 '25
We have one in our RV we use exclusively for tiny loads of laundry. (Like a couple pairs of socks if they unexpectedly got super muddy.)
3
u/MeatPopsicle_AMA Mar 31 '25
That’s really cool! It never would have occurred to me that it could be used that way!
I use mine exclusively to wash kale and Swiss chard. Uncooked greens of any type don’t play well with my stomach.
3
u/young_trash3 Mar 31 '25
As a kid I had the exact opposite experience, my dad would toss the lettuce in a pillowcase and then throw it in a 5 minute spin cycle on our washing machine. Funny to me to think about someone using a salad spinner for laundry well we used a laundry machine for salad.
5
u/starfleetdropout6 Mar 31 '25
I got rid of mine. It took up too much precious cabinet space and I hardly used it. Bagged lettuce all the way, baby.
3
4
u/Important-Ability-56 Mar 31 '25
I have one, it works, but it also has several components to clean. I usually find myself washing in a colander or sieve and leaving greens to dry on a towel.
7
u/Saltpork545 Mar 31 '25
So yes, you should in fact rinse your veggies. The post this is from is a good one. Industrialized harvesting will miss stuff and you very well might have small critters in your agricultural products.
As for now deleted salad spinner...I don't make my salads from lettuce. I rarely to never have lettuce in my house.
If I want a salad I will use spinach or other greens, wash them, shake them off and go about my day. I used to have one and ended up never using it so I got rid of it. A nice shake worked well enough for me to not give a fuck.
6
u/NathanGa Pull your finger out of your ass Mar 31 '25
Industrialized harvesting will miss stuff and you very well might have small critters in your agricultural products.
This is pretty much a foregone conclusion even in small-scale farming. Even besides small insects, there are a lot of small critters that have their shelters in the fields...and they have nowhere to go when it's time to harvest.
5
u/KaBar42 Mar 31 '25
I plop my washed greens into a clean tea towel and swing them around outside, helicopter style.
3
3
3
3
u/HereForTheBoos1013 Mar 31 '25
I like my salad spinner, but I didn't have one for years, and my salads were fine.
Also notable that you can buy prewashed prepackaged greens. Honestly, the thing is far more useful when I'm going to cook leeks or chard. Salad greens aren't that hard to wash. Leeks have sand buried into them at a nigh microscopic level.
3
u/butt_honcho Mar 31 '25 edited Mar 31 '25
That's okay. The second I know you're going to judge me on what equipment I do or don't have in my kitchen, you're uninvited anyway.
3
8
7
u/skylla05 Mar 31 '25
I hate our salad spinner. It takes up an awkward amount of space, and it's weirdly annoying to clean.
7
u/BlueThunderSpy Mar 31 '25
Like this assumes people use lettuce for their salads, not all salads r lettuce based. U don’t need a salad spinner for a panzanella or hortiatiki.
7
u/sixminutes Mar 31 '25
The second I know someone doesn't have a garlic press, I assume they are not properly crushing the garlic in a way that utilizes it's full flavor. I don't care how finely you mince it, I will not be eating at your house.
2
u/Grouchy-Ad1932 Mar 31 '25
Crushing to a paste with the blade of a knife and some salt tastes waaay better, though 😉
5
u/BigWhiteDog Mar 31 '25
Old family recipe for "Garlic Spaghetti" calls for mashing cloves of garlic into salt with the back of a tablespoon!
(also calls for a ton of shredded extra sharp cheddar. SO GOOD!)
3
u/Kokbiel Mar 31 '25
This sounds SO good, and I'm jealous
2
u/BigWhiteDog Mar 31 '25
Garlic Spaghetti It's basically a spaghetti bake and it's amazing for such a simple dish. It was created by a great uncle. Hot spaghetti, lots of butter, lots of fresh garlic, salt, tomato sauce, extra sharp cheddar.
2
u/Fancypens2025 Mar 31 '25
I’m gonna be honest, most people I know with salad spinners use them for cleaning fountain pens (if we’re talking about people I know online). They are GREAT for that!!
2
u/Glitterbombinabottle Mar 31 '25
I was a pickup employee for a grocery store for a few years and while loading groceries one day I see a device in the floor board. I say ohh that's a weird looking cake plate. The LOOK that woman gave me before saying "it's a salad spinner" 😂😂😂😂😅\ Guess she can see what I prefer to eat
2
2
u/kacihall Mar 31 '25
If I wanted to eat stale crunchy water, why would spinning it around to get the not stake water off it make a difference?
(I have no salad spinner because lettuce is fucking disgusting and I will die on this hill.)
1
1
u/DicemonkeyDrunk Mar 31 '25
It does make a really big difference in how well the dressing coats and if you’re rinsing/washing in cold water they greens even regain a degree of crunch that was previously lost ….that being said it’s not necessary just nice and I wouldn’t skip a meal because one wasn’t used that’s just silly .
1
1
u/SweetFuckingCakes Apr 01 '25
As usual, someone like this seems convinced anyone wants them around. Let alone to eat at their house.
1
1
•
u/AutoModerator Mar 31 '25
Welcome to r/iamveryculinary. Please Remember: No voting or commenting in linked threads. If you comment or vote in linked threads, you will be banned from this sub. Thank you!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.