I’d like to buy some cheese.
I consulted on this matter with an eminent British microbiologist who lived through the entire soap-detergent changeover.
The answer is that soap is a much more effective biocide than detergent. Soap washed dishes certainly have far less live bacteria, viruses, and viable fungal spores than detergent washed dishes.
The remnant soap film also remains active and prevents re-contamination. The film itself is extremely thin and has no effect on perceived taste.
What does she use these days? Soap.
Oh, I see. I thought you were complaining about the Bazouki music. 
What is the difference? I’ve wondered for years. I know what a soap is, but I’ve never found an explanation for detergent that gave a chemical definition.
Oh, heaven forbid: I am one who delights in all manifestations of the Terpsichorean muse!
…Sorry?
I think the thing that makes me laugh the most about this topic (the dishwashing one, not cheese) is the notion that we are washing ‘filth’ or ‘hordes of bacteria’ off our plates.
I mean, I know we’ve also discussed the ‘British food is terrible’ myth in this thread, but the stuff we’re washing off our plates is (although it may not seem like it to you) food. It’s not elephant droppings. It’s not cultured Anthrax - it’s the remnants of the meal we just ate.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t wash it off (so we do), but come on folks. It’s not level 4 biohazard we’re dealing with here.
Just adding to the anecdotal shite:
Born 1974.
Brit.
Washing up involved a sink full of hot water and a dash of Fairy Liquid. Once washed plates were dipped in a bowl of cold water to remove residue. Once the wet work was done everything was immediately tried with a tea towel. If the cold water showed signs of soapiness then I’d take the opportunity to refresh both the hot water and the cold water.
British, always rinse and my family always has. Most washing-up liquids contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. I think not rinsing may be a working class thing, like wearing shoes in the house.
Our cheese and beer is some of the best in the world! Our chocolate is pretty crap, but still better than Hershey and Oh Henry bars, etc. Overall, British food is bad, and you can’t claim we have a food culture in the way France, Italy, Turkey, China, Thailand, etc do.
Fairly Liquid? No wonder why you Brits didn’t bother rinsing your plates. You’d wash off the magic.
(Unless that Fairy Liquid came from said Fairy drinking too many warm beers).
Well, it would be pretty sanitary, wouldn’t it?
Ok, I’ll use paper plates when you guys come to visit.
Cocktail Recipe: Fairy Piss
2 oz Malibu Coconut Rum
3 oz Sprite/7up
2 splash(es) Grenadine
Fill Highball with ice, add Malibu, then Sprite, top with a bit of Grenadine for colour.
Just the thing for revving zombies
I like a nice tune, you’re forced to!
So he can go on playing, can he?
Mmm… 6% alcohol + heartburn/diabetic coma.
Seriously, an American is criticising another nation for a lack of native food? Is this deep irony fortnight or something?
I’m not sure what decade you’re basing your stereotypes on now, but frankly it doesn’t matter. Much could be written about the effects of 15 years of rationing on UK cuisine, and the damage it did to UK cuisine. You could also write a fair bit about the effect the rise of the US as a cultural influence on the UK that then saw some very poor attempts to copy in the UK, but suffice to say that up to about the mid 80s you’d probably have had a point about both poor standards of food, and a lack of national cuisine. But that was 30 years ago, so here’s a few pointers for food in the UK in the current millenium:
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It’s actually very good. Of course you can find shite restaurants wherever you are, but that’s something you can find any city in the world. Assuming you do a modicum of research though before heading out, you can find fantastic restaurants in any city in the UK, usually for a wide variety of cuisine. For example,this listing of the world’s best restaurants has two London venues in the top 10.
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Well done for spotting we like food from lots of different countries. This is a bad thing, in your mind? From a native of a country that’s inherited pretty much its entire cuisine from other countries (obviously, considering the relative youth of the country) this would be a surprising mindset.
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That said though, traditional UK cooking is making a resurgence, and no I don’t refer to fish & chips or other cliches. Shit, a series where people compete at baking is one of the most watched programs in the country.
In short, you’re talking nonsense. Please stop.
How do you knock the cuisine of the country that gave us the ploughman’s lunch?
Count me as an American that enjoys British food (and beer), even if it does have a bit of soap.
The ploughman’s lunch is just an unassembled sandwich, isn’t it?
As far as I remember, the modern ploughman’s lunch, as found in a British pub, is a faux-traditional concoction dreamt up as a means of increasing sales of cheese.
But is it Stilton?