Last night a group of us went out to dinner, and when I asked for water the waiter asked if I wanted lemon in it. Just last week I had read an article (in Discover, I think) discussing how filthy lemons were, and how a significant percentage of lemons in water at restaurants had fecal and other bacteria. Umm, yummy!
Well, daredeveil that I am, I cast caution to the winds and said “sure” to the lemon. But I mentioned it to one of my fellow diners (who also ordered a side of shite with his water) and he said he had heard that lemons were just about the filthiest thing in kitchens. They hang around for who knows how long, get handled by countless people, get dropped and booted across the floor on occasion …
And up to a week ago I had thought a lemon slice to be a nice little addition to a glass of tap water.
Well, it’s possible that they get dirty or whatever, but if I don’t see visible dirt on it, I guess I just don’t care. Plus, as for hanging about for a long time, maybe, but my lemons are never dried out or old-looking.
I do like lemon in my water - I squeeze it then throw the lemon away (I used to just drop it in my glass). Lemons might be antibacterial, but they aren’t anti-dirt and dust, and the juice is on the inside, not the outside.
Have you ever worked in a restaurant? Lots of squicky things happen back there it’s best not to know about. And no, I don’t want any lemon water! If I did I’d ask for it!
And that’s different than anything else in a restaurant kitchen how?
ETA, if the restaurant has a bar, they actually don’t hang around that long. The restaurants we deliver to order lemons and limes (and all other produce for that matter) at least once a week.
Besides, citrus has quite a long shelf life.
Are you kidding. I roll my lettuce under the fridge every time I eat it, just to be sure it’s got plenty of gunk.
Seriously, I have lots of things to worry about. A few germs on my lemons are not one of them. People in this country have no idea how good we’ve got it. This thing called the FDA, the Health Department, clean drinking water, and we’re worried about lemons.
If people can drop a chicken wing on the floor, pick it up and pop it into the deep fryer on a national TV show (the Finn McCool’s episode of Kitchen Nightmares) you do not want to know what’s happening back there with no cameras.
ignorance truly ***is ***bliss. i used to work at a wastewater treatment plant. :eek: you DO NOT want to know what i know concerning potential infectious surface material out there. make you never ever want to grab a public door knob again in your life.
you know how walmart has antibacterial wipes handy for the customer carts?
use 'em.
yeah, i’m thinking i’ll be squeezing my lemons and oranges into my drinks from now on and deep-six the rind.
I have to be careful. i overdid the lemon when I was in my early twenties. Teeth got very sensitive to cold. Took two years of brushing with Sensodyne before it went away.
My mistake was using those plastic pouches of lemon juice. I’d put two in my tea. I’d drink two or more glasses a day.
Since then I use lemon only once in awhile. No more teeth problems.
Considering that my immune system appears to be so bored that it’s decided to start tearing down my joints, I think it could use a bit more of a challenge.
I agree 100%. It annoys me no end when the server brings out a glass of water with a lemon slice in it, and I will usually request a fresh glass with no lemon. I like to drink water, not diluted lemonade.
Comedian John Caparulo talks about how none of his friends drink soda anymore. They order water with lemon now. “What is that? It’s not special. It’s just water…with seeds in it.”
The restaurant scare that has stayed with me is what someone told me about the festering germ pit that is the uncovered bowl of unwrapped after dinner mints by the register at the diner. Gah.