Exception to the rule - 5 foods that should not be washed before cooking

Since childhood, many of us have been taught that before putting something in our mouth, we must wash it. However, some foods cannot be washed immediately before cooking. The list includes: raw meat, fish, eggs, mushrooms and pasta. Rinsing these products with plain water will do more harm than good.

Washing meat and poultry

First of all, it is not recommended to wash raw meat and poultry before cooking:

• chicken;
• beef;
• pork;
• lamb;
• veal

Bacteria, which many people try to wash off, are not removed with ordinary water. They are firmly attached to the surface. To neutralize them, heat treatment is needed - the temperature inside the meat must reach 75 degrees Celsius.

Washing meat is not only a useless task, but also harmful. Together with splashes of water, some bacteria, including salmonella, campylobacter and listeria, end up on the edges of the sink, hands, clothes and table. All of them cause intestinal infections. Therefore, if you are not happy about the prospect of ending up in a hospital bed, it is better not to wash meat and kritsa. Instead, dry the product with a disposable paper towel and boil or fry well. If you need to make broth, after boiling the water needs to be drained and new water added. This will clean the meat much better.

Washing eggs

There is absolutely no point in rinsing eggs before cooking. Firstly, there is a risk of simply breaking them - the raw shell is very fragile.Secondly, during cooking, bacteria located on the surface will still die. Thirdly, the protein and the entire edible part of the egg are reliably protected from the penetration of microbes by the shell and film. It makes sense to wash eggs only when you plan to cook scrambled eggs: when breaking dirty shells, bacteria can get into the whites. And, as you know, sometimes it remains damp in scrambled eggs.

Washing fish

The rule regarding meat also applies to fish. It's not sterile either. Washing with plain water will not kill bacteria but will result in cross-contamination of nearby surfaces.

The fish is cleaned of entrails and scales, the fins are cut off - and that’s all. How to clean fish correctlyso that the scales can be easily removed? You just need to pour boiling water over the carcass in the kitchen sink, and then transfer it to a newspaper and run a knife from the tail to the head. Scalded scales can be easily removed. The waste is thrown away along with the newspaper, and the fish is immediately cooked.

Washing mushrooms

Clean champignons and oyster mushrooms with a slightly damp cloth before cooking. Particularly dirty places can be scraped with a knife. Forest varieties are usually soaked, and some are cooked immediately.

Mushrooms cannot be washed. The thing is that almost all of them have a porous structure, so they quickly absorb liquid and become watery. In water, mushrooms darken, oxidize and lose nutritional value.

An amendment needs to be made here - mushrooms intended for drying and frying should not be washed before cooking. Before preparing soup, broth, or salting, they are still washed.

Washing pasta

Many people still have the habit of washing pasta from the times of the Soviet Union. Then they were of poor quality and, without washing, stuck together into one lump.Today, pasta is made primarily from durum wheat, so it does not need to be washed either before or after cooking. Water deprives the product of starch, thanks to which the sauce is better absorbed. For the same reason, couscous is not washed. It is a cross between porridge and pasta and is made from wheat cereal.

There are different ways to cleanse foods. Washing is a primary treatment and is recommended for almost all products. However, there are exceptions to any rule. At least 5 foods should not be washed immediately before cooking. Use alternative cleaning methods and remember that harmful microorganisms die only during heat treatment!