# British vs US: 2 kitchen questions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996 "2005-10-26T14:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/21 "2005-10-27T00:05:39Z")
I learn so much about those freaking Canadians reading this board. My boyfriend is Canadian. I am not. I’m 9-ish hours from the border, in fact. But I visit as often as I can. And on my last visit, I stared in wide-eyed horror ( :eek: ) at the sudsy dishes placed on towels to drip-dry after washing. [trembly voice]yyy-ou don’t… RINSE them??[/tv] … No, do you? I was very hesitant to use any dishes at their house after that, but I did. I didn’t die. I don’t even recall any intestinal distress. Still is creepy, though. 10th generation Canadians, they say. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/22 "2005-10-27T00:54:57Z")
ehhh… The dish comes out of dirty soapy water. And it doesn’t get rinsed? Aren’t there still some chunks on it that float around in the wash water? I hand wash most of the bigger pots and pans. Everything else goes in the dishwasher. When I do hand wash something, I don’t even fill up a sink. Just a little warm running water and soap on a sponge. Wash, rinse, dry on a towel, put away. I suspect (another WAG) that not covering foods is not important to some Europeans since the tendency is to go to the market more often, and refrigerators are sometimes much smaller. So, say a block of cheese may be used up in a few days, instead of carved on for a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/23 "2005-10-27T01:00:00Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The dish comes out of dirty soapy water. And it doesn’t get rinsed? Aren’t there still some chunks on it that float around in the wash water? The whole purpose of detergent is to hold dirt away from surfaces - if the not-too-concentrated detergent drains away (as I claim), then the dirt goes with it. > [@](#): > > I suspect (another WAG) that not covering foods is not important to some Europeans since the tendency is to go to the market more often, and refrigerators are sometimes much smaller. So, say a block of cheese may be used up in a few days, instead of carved on for a few weeks. True in some parts of Europe. But in Britain at least, few people frequent a market, or a greengrocer, or a butcher. Tesco is well-set for Wal-Mart-type domination. And refrigerators get bigger as soon as people get into houses capable of taking them. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/24 "2005-10-27T01:07:12Z")
The “not keeping foods long” theory may well be right, but I wouldn’t put something uncovered in the fridge for an hour, much less a day or two. Cheese dries up and cracks, veggies shrivel, and as **AskNott** mentioned, flavors get transferred. Yes, the fridges tend to be smaller, but cling film (see, I have picked up the lingo) doesn’t exactly take up space. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/25 "2005-10-27T01:14:50Z")
Vegetables _don’t_ shrivel!! Or, at least if you’re going to claim this, tell us which veggies with which we’re not noticing the shrivelling process! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/26 "2005-10-27T01:21:09Z")
I don’t rinse. Neither does Mum, neither did either of my grandmothers. I can’t think of a friend or family member who does. Double sinks are fairly common around these parts (although mostly in later homes and kitchens) so someone must, but I don’t see people dying in the streets of Soap Sud Consumption and I certainly have never noticed a “sudsy” taste from my dishes (then again, I guess I wouldn’t). Perhaps we just use less of the stuff than you do? ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/27 "2005-10-27T01:29:07Z")
I think veggies do shrivel, although I just realized that I am thinking of cut vegetables, like the half cucumber I just put back in the fridge. Mushrooms do, even if not cut, but otherwise, ones with skins on and uncut I wouldn’t wrap. My MIL doesn’t wrap anything, cut or not. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/28 "2005-10-27T01:33:44Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > I don’t rinse. Neither does Mum, neither did either of my grandmothers. I can’t think of a friend or family member who does. I’d certainly agree with that. The common practice with which I’m familiar is just to dry the dishes straight from the soapy water, even where there are double sinks. That’s what I do. Rinsing the dishes separately seems to me to be a dreadful waste of water. ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/29 "2005-10-27T02:08:15Z")
I knew a British person who followed typical British habit of not rinsing silverware after washing them. (I’ve known many Brits who would rinse dishes, but not forks and knives.) After spending time in the States, and seeing people rinse off the silverware, she tried it. Her reaction was that food suddenly tasted MUCH better! As for wrapping, I–as an American–am somewhat lax in wrapping/sealing leftover food, especially if it’s going into the fridge. I will often just leave a cut-up tomato on a plate and stick it in the fridge. Same with a cut canteloupe, or half a banana. After all, there aren’t _that_ many germs in the fridge, and that’s the kind of thing that is either hard to wrap, or will be used up within a day, or both. I _do_ wrap food that might dry up too much to be edible, like cheese or some meats. Some leftovers go into plastic containers only because someone intends to take them to school/work for lunch. Chips, though–it depends on how quickly we are likely to eat them. Most bags of chips seldom last long enough to go stale. Same with crackers. Breakfast cereal, on the other hand, I tend to seal up–mainly because it is only eaten sporadically, and there is a High Risk that it will be stale before it is used up if I don’t seal it up. Most crackers and cookies will be fine in the open for a day or so. But I’ve also known people who don’t really seem to be able to tell when crackers or cookies are too stale to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/30 "2005-10-27T10:19:30Z")
plenty of people don’t rinse. Double sinks are not the norm here. You’ll eat a peck of dirt before you die. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/31 "2005-10-27T10:55:08Z")
The non anal approach to dishes seems to be a ‘British and SOME of their colonies’ thing. My mother has hosted foreign language students for about 4 years. Dishes are the only point of conflict. She has hosted Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilians, Austrians, Germans, Swiss and Saudi Arabians. All of those seem to be appalled at the non rinsing method yet very keen for dinner. Not one has suffered from sudsy-tummy-itis. To them we say “Jeeeez man suck it up, it’s only bubbles” Honestly if you are on drying duty and a Russian is washing then kiss the night goodbye! The idea of washng the dishes is to make them clean…nothing dirty about a bubble! Rinsing glasses makes sense, rinsing pots or plates is just stretching out a job. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/32 "2005-10-27T11:52:01Z")
Brit here - we rinsed glasses but nothing else. I never noticed a soapy taste, although maybe I was just used to it. Some things would be wrapped, e.g. cheese. Fruit and vegetables were not kept in the fridge, generally, except salad things - they were not wrapped unless they had been cut (and only then if they would dry up, e.g. half a lettuce would not be wrapped). As for covering leftovers, what are they? “Waste not want not”, was the usual refrain. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/33 "2005-10-27T13:03:59Z")
Another forum discussion on the same topic: > **[eG Foodblog: ms. victoria - Tea for three](https://forums.egullet.org/topic/42073-eg-foodblog-ms-victoria-tea-for-three/)** > > In real time, I was passed the torch by balmagowry on Thursday, I believe. But with the schedule being off due to Stinger’s truncated blog, I got to ruminate on my fate for a few days. One would think this would give me plenty of time to think of a... ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/34 "2005-10-27T16:28:33Z")
> [@Mk VII](#): > > plenty of people don’t rinse. Double sinks are not the norm here. > You’ll eat a peck of dirt before you die. I don’t mind eating a bit of dirt - to us Ren Faire folks, dirt is seasoning. 😃 I **DO** mind eating soap. At home, I’ve got a single-bowl sink, so hand-washing is fairly inefficient. But that’s what the dishwasher is for. And it runs quite a few rinses on the dishes. Of course, it’s still using a lot less water than I’d use in the sink. And you’ll never (I hope!) catch a commercial establishment not rinsing the dishes. The last time I was in commercial kitchen that had no automatic dishwasher, we actually had two rinses. The first was plain hot water and the second was hot water with a dash (IIRC, about a quarter cup in 20 gallons of water, not much more than what’s already in our drinking water) of bleach for sanitizing. No soap was going to survive that process. The rinses were changed about once an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/35 "2005-10-27T16:43:49Z")
Hmmm…dishwashers. That brings me to a whole new take on this. Do dishwashers in the UK and Canada rinse the dishes? If so, why? How about restaurants? Seems to me if rinsing is not needed at home with handwashing, it shouldn’t be needed in dishwashers or at restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/36 "2005-10-27T16:45:51Z")
Well, gosh, there does seem to be a lot of Brits who don’t rinse. I guess I only know the dish washing habits of about 20 or so families but all of them were rinsers. (even the ones that let their cats walk over the food preparing surfaces, which is just nasty). Thank OG lots of people have dishwashers nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/37 "2005-10-27T17:39:39Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Hmmm…dishwashers. That brings me to a whole new take on this. Do dishwashers in the UK and Canada rinse the dishes? If so, why? How about restaurants? Seems to me if rinsing is not needed at home with handwashing, it shouldn’t be needed in dishwashers or at restaurants. Huh? You don’t rinse soap off your hands either? Oh, never mind, handwashing dishes. But what about when you wash your hands? ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/38 "2005-10-27T20:20:13Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Hmmm…dishwashers. That brings me to a whole new take on this. Do dishwashers in the UK and Canada rinse the dishes? If so, why? How about restaurants? Seems to me if rinsing is not needed at home with handwashing, it shouldn’t be needed in dishwashers or at restaurants. As I recall from my days in the pub and restaurant trade, most places had double sinks and rinsed their dishes. But I was of the understanding that was because they would be air-dried, rather than immediately hand dried, which takes care of any left-over suds, IME. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/39 "2005-10-31T21:18:23Z")
For what it’s worth, here is the response I got from the good people at Colgate. Seems to be a luke-warm endorsement of the rinsing method. Thank you for contacting the Colgate-Palmolive Web Site regarding PALMOLIVE Dish Liquid. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us with your comments. Although there is not bacteria in the detergent, we recommend that you wash your dishes with dish detergent and water then rinse with water. We trust this information is helpful to you and we thank you again for contacting us. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996/40 "2005-11-01T00:17:49Z")
**LionelHutz405** , how dare you contaminate this nice IMHO thread with facts! Kids these days. \ 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-vs-us-2-kitchen-questions/327996.md?page=3)