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

@Doobiedooo Yeah but insects are a good source of protein

This reminds me of christmas as a child, watching my dads reacton to a present he had received from an elderly aunt, who lived in a care home but came to stay with us at Christmas. She had given him some hankerchiefs but as soom as he opened them he said that you and then rushed out the room wth them to put in the bin (they were soaked in what smelt like urine) Not quite the same as an edible gift but I can see why people may react to a home made gift if the home its come from isnt exactly clean.

🤣🤣🤣 OP you did give me a giggle. Who worries this much about food?

Given we’re sanitising things we touch and are ultra conscious about the spread of germs etc -
Missed that memo. I have soap, never bought hand sanitiser or alcohol sprays or wipes.

My food is good enough to sell.

I work in a pub kitchen, my house has a dog, my kitchen is cleaner.

YABU, unless you tell me you only eat your own home grown veg, eggs laid by your own chickens, cheese made from your own cows and meat slaughtered by yourself.

I totally understand where you are coming from. I have a bit of a thing about eating anything that has been made by someone else. The thought of eating someone else’s food actually makes me feel quite sick. I really do not know why and I honestly can’t help it. My OH once ate one of his colleagues sandwiches at work and when he told me I was fuming! 🤣 I am also funny when drinking a cup of tea at someone else’s house. If the mug is a thick type of has a chip then that it is.....🤮

FFS how bonkers. No I actually really like homemade cakes etc.

This really depends on a lot of factors, yes, occasionally I have thrown home made edible gifts in the bin. It is rare and isn't based solely on whether I think someone's kitchen is clean or not.

I'm with you OP, someone save us from homemade gifts, especially edible ones that have been made with the 'help' of the children and their snotty fingers.

Yep me too

@GabsAlot

do you eat out op-if not fine but i dont see the difference really unless theyre intentionaly poisoning me i love homemade food

all gifts welcome

Restaurants are completely different. They are regulated. NDN not so much

I'm a teacher. Occasionally when I bake with my DCs at the weekend we wrap a cookie or whatever for their teachers to have on the Monday. I always label it with 'made with clean hands'. They know I get it!

No, I would assume anyone going to make homemade food as a gift would do it properly.

I do draw the limit at my kid's nursery baking. I'm 3 kids in and I've seen too much

We personally would bin stuff like this but only because DH has a severe anaphylactic allergy to nuts so wouldn’t eat anything he didn’t know for sure was nut free (including potential contamination from other things in the kitchen).
But if it wasn’t for this, we would happily eat homemade gifts.

This has just reminded me of a conversation from work one time about the 2 second or is it 5 second rule. When you drop something on the ground and as long as you pick it up within 2 seconds it is ok to eat it.

@Doobiedooo

Oh god, I hate to break it to you germ phobics, but you DO know what’s in commercial food don’t you? That cows’ milk has pustules of some sort (I forget the details now), that fruity juice is allowed a proportion of rotten fruit, and that chocolate has a proportion of cockroaches. All true since I’ve known people who’ve worked in food prep factories recall them telling me this. Ah, also remember a friend’s bro worked for sains years ago and told her never, ever to eat pre minced meat- something about scraping it off the floor. Oh yes, tea leaves in tea bags... floor situation too. Oh dear oh dear.

I am not squeamish, or hypocritical like so many posters, but the sight of the fruits used to produce commercial jam...

but it's a good thing, there's enough waste in the world.

@ohnothisagain

Agree. There are some people I happily accept edible gifts from, but the majority will go into the bin. Mainly because most people think they can bake etc, but often just look for a cheap gift and then make something inedible (drowned in cheap margarine and sugar) or downright unsafe (foraged mushrooms or berries from people who don’t know a thing about them, stuff with raw egg in it etc).

Wow I hope you're not my friend

Restaurants are completely different

I’ve worked in some very clean kitchens where the chef never washed his hands 🤢 after a tinkle

I always bin homemade edible gifts unless I know the person REALLY well. This year they would all go in the bin regardless.

I generally agree that home made gifts are pretty ropey and you are right, if they are not good enough to sell them you shouldn’t give it but you don’t know the standards of any kitchen outside your home so you are also ruling out restaurants and takeaways and to a certain extent supermarkets. You don’t know what’s going on in their kitchens either. And a food hygiene certificate and council star ratings aren’t the best way of knowing that either.

Please, why do you accept them?

Why waste the persons time, money and energy? Just say. No thank you. I won't eat them. They will end up in the bin.

It's a waste. A waste of food. A waste of time. A waste of money.

Would you rather someone put in all that effort and money and time so you can put it in the bin then just be honest and let them have a year off next Christmas?

I threw away a home made edible gift because it had a hair in it.

Unfortunately I don't think wearing hairnets are a feature of most home bakers.

I have also watched as my friend helped her young DCs make fairy buns for the neighbours. Plenty of licked fingers got stuck in the bowl and lots of fingerprints were on the icing decorations. My friend either didn't notice or didn't care, she just thought her DC were so amazing.

Why waste the persons time, money and energy? Just say. No thank you. I won't eat them. They will end up in the bin.

Please can you explain how that actually works IRL

I would far rather people saved their time and money and gave me nothing rather than homemade gifts but if they present you with such gifts , and you don’t like / want them, what do you really actually say?

I eat them. I will this year too.

No because that's hugely wasteful and paranoid !

This reminds me of our school. Every year when it's the kids Xmas party they give everyone a note with the food that they have to bring for the buffet. This way, it costs the school £0 to host the party. One of the other mums in reception went mad saying how can you offer food to children when you don't know where it's been made? The food requested varies from a variety sandwiches, cakes, crisps, sausage rolls etc. I don't think there will be a party this year but if there is I'll be surprised if they still want us to bring homemade food!