To think that, unless you know the kitchen they were made in is very clean, homemade edible gifts go straight in the bin

[Bearbehind]

Especially this year

Given we’re sanitising things we touch and are ultra conscious about the spread of germs etc - AIBU to think that if you get edible gifts from someone’s who’s kitchen you either don’t know or don’t think is very clean - you’d just bin it?

I’m not saying you can catch Covid from the food but it’s the principle of not knowing how hygenic stuff is

I’m not a fan of homemade gifts at the best of times - I think a sort of rule should be that unless your homemade items are good enough to sell for actual money, then please don’t do it

No one is going to admit they binned it but I do hope those who would make homemade edible gifts, especially for teachers, this year think twice

How rude! I could understand that if you are vulnerable and worried about covid this year might be different but not generally.

Ive never binned a homemade gift! It's a tradition I started with the kids when they were too small to buy things and they want to keep it homemade and so do the people getting them. From jam, cakes, brownies, rocky Road, fudge, cinder toffee, cookies... Anyone can buy a generic thing of the shelf, but a homemade gift has taken time, care, love and thought - that's what's Christmas is about! Personally I love seeing what homemade goodies I get - chutney, bickies, candied orange peel... They taste so much better and is the true spirit of giving.

Covid is probably less likely to be on something homemade - handled only by the maker, where as shop stuff has been touched by every Tom dick and Harry!

Anyone can buy a generic thing of the shelf, but a homemade gift has taken time, care, love and thought

bemusedmoose I disagree. Homemade gifts tend to be about what the person making them has in/wants to make/has bought materials for rather than genuine thought about what the receiver might actually want.

Living in sterile environments increase risk of allergies (the immune system starts to turn on itself as nothing to fight).

Your immune system is actually conditioned and held in check by regular exposure to lower level bugs. Allergies are overreactions.

My mother always said you had to eat a peck of dirt before you die, and I think she was right.

100% agree OP! You can easily get food poisoning or Norovirus from homemade stuff in non-covid times but considering Covid can pass on any surface then I'd definitely pass. Obviously with an enthusiastic thank you when receiving the gift though!

@emilyfrost

Anyone can buy a generic thing of the shelf, but a homemade gift has taken time, care, love and thought

bemusedmoose I disagree. Homemade gifts tend to be about what the person making them has in/wants to make/has bought materials for rather than genuine thought about what the receiver might actually want.

Yes I agree with bemusedmoose.

No I really don't worry about where home made cakes have been made. At all.

considering Covid can pass on any surface then I'd definitely pass

I thought they have decided there was almost zero risk of surface transmission?

@MaxNormal

Good old MN, privileged first-world women with high neurosis levels.

Love the sexism with this.

The people at my work (teachers) who are worst about always ALWAYS refusing anything that the kids have made are men. They won't even accept something that's been hand made in class under teacher supervision.

I'm not neurotic. But I'm not eating home made gifts either if I don't know the state of the kitchen. I pass them on to other people who are less bothered by it rather than binning them though.

You can easily get food poisoning or Norovirus from homemade stuff in non-covid times

This is bollocks. Things like home baked goods are extremely low risk for food poisoning.

But I'm not eating home made gifts either if I don't know the state of the kitchen.

Have you ever eaten in a restaurant as a matter of interest?

YANBU I've rarely been able to bring myself to eat other people's homemade goods, which aren't made by friends or family that I trust to be hygienically aware. There is such thing as good and bad food hygiene.

I once made the mistake at work because the department held a charity bake off. I bit into a slice of a homemade pastry which then revealed a rather long blond hair embedded in the filling 🤮

Hardly anyone gives me home-made presents, I would LOVE some!

If anyone needs a tester in the Scottish Central Belt I am a willing participant. I'll try out your delicious baked items so that the Eww Germs Crew don't have to. I'm good like that.

I once ate some pasta at a restaurant that had bits of broken plate in it. I've not stopped eating pasta or at restaurants.

@TheKeatingFive

But I'm not eating home made gifts either if I don't know the state of the kitchen.

Have you ever eaten in a restaurant as a matter of interest?

Yep. Those star hygeine ratings on their websites/doors/windows are there for just that reason.

My Dad was a kitchen health inspector before he retired. He could tell some stories from way back when!

I've accepted cups of tea in some very grotty houses and I'm still alive.

Nope. Homemade edible gifts go straight in my mouth, not the bin!

Biscuits, cake, you name it! Every year DSs preschool does a Christmas bake sale (all home made), and I make the detour every year on my way to the office, despite both my kids being in 2nd and 4th grade now!

All those hastily made sugar cookies covered in icing with sugar crystals and sprinkles dumped over them by some sticky handed toddler. Bring it on! 🤤

@BarryWhiteIsMyBrother

I get your point *@SatishTheCat* - for me the reason to bin home-made food items unless I know the person well and I'm happy with their level of kitchen hygiene, is not just the risk of falling ill. It's the 'yuk factor' too. I.e. I might not be sick but there might be dog/cat hair in the dough. Or a small child could have been playing on the floor then touched the kitchen worktop or handles that the person making that food item touched. I totally get I may not get sick from these gifts. But the yuk factor is what stops me. Same as with the other thread here on MS about sharing bath water - you'd probably not catch anything but I find it yukky.

DO NOT fly to America, seeks me out, and ask to stay for supper! My kitchen is quite clean, but it also has a counted cross stitch plaque on the wall that reads, "In this house, cat hair is a condiment."

Now, I've never actually found a cat hair in any of the food I've prepared, but I wouldn't bet my next Social Security check (yes, I'm retired and disabled) on there not being one.

Yep. Those star hygeine ratings on their websites/doors/windows are there for just that reason

😂😂😂

that's what's Christmas is about! Personally I love seeing what homemade goodies I get - chutney, bickies, candied orange peel... They taste so much better and is the true spirit of giving

Couldn’t think of anything worse then someone giving me home made chutney, jams and candied orange peel as a gift. I’d rather they didn’t bother!

I equate home made stuff like the above as just ways to get out of buying a actual thoughtful gift and if money is tight then I’d rather they saved it and buy something they needed then making some jam I’m going to bin.

@BarryWhiteIsMyBrother

I get your point *@SatishTheCat* - for me the reason to bin home-made food items unless I know the person well and I'm happy with their level of kitchen hygiene, is not just the risk of falling ill. It's the 'yuk factor' too. I.e. I might not be sick but there might be dog/cat hair in the dough. Or a small child could have been playing on the floor then touched the kitchen worktop or handles that the person making that food item touched. I totally get I may not get sick from these gifts. But the yuk factor is what stops me. Same as with the other thread here on MS about sharing bath water - you'd probably not catch anything but I find it yukky.

Yes, for me it's totally the yuk factor, not germophobia. Both in terms of prep hygiene and the source/quality of ingredients. Not into mystery meat.

@PeterPomegranate

I recently made bolognese for a family from school who’ve just had a baby. They’ve never been to our house. I was paying it forward because people did the same for us when we had a new baby and I was so grateful.

I made the offer to cook (told them I was paying forward), offered a choice of dishes and they chose bolognese. Later they texted and wrote a note thanking me. I assume they didn’t throw it in the bin

We received many such meals (unsolicited) when my mom was dying and I always sent a note of thanks but the food was generally in the bin before their car had cleared our driveway.

As others have said, cheese and crackers and fruit would be more useful.

You don't have to accept them. Tell your friends you think their hygiene insufficient, I'm sure they'd appreciate it and you won't be bothered by their tiresome and threatening goodwill from then on.

What a sad reflection of people you have.

If you don't like a gift or won't use it just say thank you very much. There is no need to say anything else to the gift giver. They don't need to know you hate it.

Were you never taught manners as a child to just accept something and say thank you no matter what you felt about it? My parents taught me this and I did the same to my children. Your attitude is just extremely rude.

@IceFrost

that's what's Christmas is about! Personally I love seeing what homemade goodies I get - chutney, bickies, candied orange peel... They taste so much better and is the true spirit of giving

Couldn’t think of anything worse then someone giving me home made chutney, jams and candied orange peel as a gift. I’d rather they didn’t bother!

I equate home made stuff like the above as just ways to get out of buying a actual thoughtful gift and if money is tight then I’d rather they saved it and buy something they needed then making some jam I’m going to bin.

You do realise that the ingredients and fuel cost money? More time, effort and thought go into making jam, chutney etc than buying half a dozen 3 for 2 gift sets. It's sad to think of all that time and effort being wasted on hypocritical people who pretend to be delighted to get a gift and then bin it. Better to be honest and tell the donor so she doesn't waste her time in future. I find the idea of binning food horrific. If you can't use it don't accept it or pass it on to someone who will eat it.

@emilyfrost

Anyone can buy a generic thing of the shelf, but a homemade gift has taken time, care, love and thought

bemusedmoose I disagree. Homemade gifts tend to be about what the person making them has in/wants to make/has bought materials for rather than genuine thought about what the receiver might actually want.

I disagree to an extent. Anyone can go to boots and pick up a 3 for 2 set of gifts - little thought goes into that. Not everyone, irrespective of whether gifts are homemade or bought puts lots of thought into it. Some people are just incredibly difficult to chose a gift for because they are just so fussy.

I do homemade gifts and spend some time thinking what the recipient would like, then getting the materials in the colours etc that the person would like. Often it would be cheaper to buy a gift that do handmade but the cost is spread out due to the time it takes to make gifts.