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

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!

Wow. Some people have really lost sight of what it is to have nice things and thoughtful friends.

I find the idea of binning food horrific.

Yes, it’s so wasteful and ungrateful. But looks like that’s what many have become. ☹️

I am a good cook and I have a clean kitchen. I would not waste my time, skill and money on giving food I've prepared to someone I'm not confident will eat it willingly and enjoy it. It would be the same if I could knit, sew etc. Let the others take delivery of yet another overpriced gift set!

@flaviaritt

They could have sneezed over it or stuck their finger up their bum and then stirred the cake with it.

Niche.

PMSL

Couldn’t think of anything worse then someone giving me home made chutney, jams and candied orange peel as a gift

Me neither. I don’t like any of those things so they would go to waste. I’d never be rude and say anything bar thank you.

I think a homemade items can be lovely where the person is talented and knows the recipients well enough to personalise to style, colour etc. Most seem to be bulk jobs and everyone the sane gift.

The key outcome of this discussion is that we should really think about the giving culture. Gifts should never be a chore for giver or receiver.
Not wanting gifts is fine - judging somebody for not wanting gifts isn’t.
No gift please means exactly that. It does not mean “give me any old shite“, home made or not.
Gifts are often not necessary, and often not desired either. Be honest!
If you insist on giving, you are being wasteful, not the recipient.

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

Love the sexism with this.

Nothing sexist about this. It was referring to MN - which is populated mostly by women, many of whom do appear to have high neurosis levels, especially about hygiene. I'm perfectly prepared to believe there are plenty of first-world men indulging in infantile flapping about things being 'yucky', but I haven't seen any evidence of it on MN.

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 don't really like any of these but would be grateful for the gift and would pass on to someone who would appreciate them.

I agree on that point, @ohnothisagain. I often think gifts are currency.

X buys 10 gift sets in Boot's and hands them out to everyone on a list, without thinking whether they actually use or like the contents. Most of the recipients re-gift or take to a charity shop or it languishes in a cupboard and finally ends up in landfill.

Y makes 20 jars of jam and hands them out willy nilly without finding out whether the recipients like or eat jam. Many of the recipients pass the jar on to someone else who does like jam, or it languishes in the cupboard until finally ending up in the bin.

In both cases it's not about what the recipient wants, it's about what the donor wants to do. It's also about a culture where people feel obliged to exchange gifts for social reasons. Hence all the threads on here in the run up to Christmas and even more in the aftermath where A says 'I spent £50 on a thoughtful gift for my SIL and she gave me a crappy jar of jam!' Meanwhile B (who may be the SIL) says 'Yet again my SIL gave me something I don't want or need. It obviously costs her a lot of money but she never seems to notice I don't wear/use what she gives me. We told the extended family this year that we wanted to cut back on gift-giving for environmental reasons as well as cost and so I just handed out token hand-made gifts but they were good quality and most people were pleased to get them. SIL had a face like a cat's bum, though ...'

A hotel or restaurant having a star rating for hygiene does not mean you will have hygienically prepared food.

I worked as a waitress in a place that passed regulations where I saw with my own eyes the chef pick-up a steak he had dropped on the floor and put it straight in the pan to cook. It probably did the eater no harm and ignorance can be bliss I suppose...

My first husband worked in hotel kitchens and it was difficult to eat out with him - he'd seen too much.

btw, I also do not think i have to be grateful for unwanted gifts. I ask no gifts please. A gucci handbag, a boots giftset, your home made jam, a full dog poop bag - are all equally unwelcome.
I asked explicitly for “no gift”. You choose to offload something on me. I don’t need to be grateful for this anymore than any other stuff dropped on my property.

I used to work in a well rated for hygiene restaurant. I didn't like how rude someone was once so I picked my nose and put it in her salad.
High hygiene rating doesn't mean much in certain situations

I didn't like how rude someone was once so I picked my nose and put it in her salad.

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8929967/Woman-urges-reconsider-homemade-edible-gifts-amid-ongoing-pandemic.html

Made the good old DM

@PrimalLass

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?

It has. It’s airborne.

@OverTheRainbow88

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8929967/Woman-urges-reconsider-homemade-edible-gifts-amid-ongoing-pandemic.html

Made the good old DM

The DM pic of all those donuts going in the bin is making me hungry!!!! 🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩

Daily Mail comments just as polarised as here!

Get a grip vs I'm just the same.

@TheKeatingFive

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!

Wow. Some people have really lost sight of what it is to have nice things and thoughtful friends.

I find the idea of binning food horrific.

Yes, it’s so wasteful and ungrateful. But looks like that’s what many have become. ☹️

Most gifts of food are loaded with cheap sugar and white flour, both of which are essentially poison and contribute to ill health and the obesity epidemic. Throwing them out is probably a net positive.

"Most gifts of food are loaded with cheap sugar and white flour, both of which are essentially poison and contribute to ill health and the obesity epidemic. Throwing them out is probably a net positive."

And the Award for the Most Mumsnet Comment of 2020 goes to...

Most gifts of food are loaded with cheap sugar and white flour, both of which are essentially poison and contribute to ill health and the obesity epidemic. Throwing them out is probably a net positive

Could you be any more sanctimonious, ffs?

Much more efficient simply to put cyanide directly into your fudge.

@EmilySpinach

Much more efficient simply to put cyanide directly into your fudge.

I laughed for five minutes when I saw that comment about sugar = poison. Straight out of the school of 'Giving your children breakfast cereal is child abuse'.

Most gifts of food are loaded with cheap sugar and white flour, both of which are essentially poison and contribute to ill health and the obesity epidemic

I'd better switch my breadmaker off right this minute! It's currently making a delicious homemade white loaf of bread, with organic flour and only a few ingredients (unlike most bought bread). How could I even think of poisoning my family like that?!

Most gifts of food are loaded with cheap sugar and white flour, both of which are essentially poison and contribute to ill health and the obesity epidemic. Throwing them out is probably a net positive.

Is expensive sugar better? Don't tell me, you're one of the crew who only accept coconut sugar or maple syrup, as if it has any meaningful difference when it hits our bloodstream 🤣

Most gifts of food are loaded with cheap sugar and white flour, both of which are essentially poison and contribute to ill health and the obesity epidemic. Throwing them out is probably a net positive.

It's because of the sugar and white flour that I eat everything i get! Even the ones handed in by sticky fingers.