YumSugar

How Often Do You Change Your Dish Sponge?

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:00:05 -0700

Although doing dishes isn't one of my top kitchen pet peeves, hand-washing dishes with an old sponge is. The thought of spreading bacteria and grime, rather than actually cleaning an utensil or plate, makes my skin crawl more than a full moon on Halloween. Although most people simply replace their dish sponge when it starts smelling, I swap mine out much more frequently than that - probably every two to three weeks. I know it's not the greenest move in the world, but I can't help it! How often do you swap out dish sponges?

Let's Dish: What Was The First Meal You Ever Made?

partysugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:01:58 -0700

There comes a day in most people's lives when they decide to start cooking or baking. Some people pick up a cookbook or experiment with a technique they watched on the Food Network. Others, like myself, call a parent. I asked my father, "Dad, how do you make pasta carbonara?" I distinctly recall that day when I first cooked a real meal all by myself. The experience was so rewarding that I've been hooked ever since! I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers their initial successes in the kitchen, so do tell: what was your first dish?

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Let's Dish: What's Your Least Favorite Kitchen Task?

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:45:50 -0700

Last weekend, my best friend helped me make dinner at my house. While she was up for helping me with odds and ends in the kitchen, I knew there was one task she wouldn't consider: doing the dishes. She loathes doing the dishes so much that she has been known to stock up on paper plates and plastic silverware. I don't mind so much doing the dishes, but I can relate: I absolutely loathe taking out the trash. I can't stand hauling refuse down a set of dark stairs - it's something that I avoid doing as much as possible. Tell me: When it comes to kitchen tasks, is there something that you absolutely dread doing?

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Let's Dish: What's Your Kitchen Pet Peeve?

YumSugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:00:48 -0700

Whether or not they want to admit it, all of the people in my life have some sort of kitchen pet peeve. My mother? She hates sticky floors. My friend Katie can't stand it when her husband loads two spoons next to one another in the dishwasher, because the silverware doesn't get fully clean. When my boy puts what he thinks is recyclable (but is really just trash) into the recycling bin, I go insane. Do you have any gripes about what drives you crazy in the kitchen? Share them with me in the comments.

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Are You a Neat or Messy Cook?

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:15:05 -0700

I have a friend who doesn't like to watch Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten on TV because she's such a sloppy chef, but I don't mind her lack of precision.

It's good to know that even great cooks sometimes chop haphazardly and spill flour out of measuring cups. Are you messy in the kitchen?

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Let's Dish: What Are Your Most Common Kitchen Mistakes?

partysugar — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:30:13 -0700

Nobody's perfect and when it comes to cooking, I've had my fair share of kitchen catastrophes. The funny thing is, I often make the same mistake over and over again! For example, every couple of months I forget that a plastic cutting board is NOT a hot plate. Last Saturday, I ruined another cutting board by placing a hot frying pan directly on top of it. I know I'm not the only one who repeatedly messes things up, even the most skilled chefs experience kitchen bloopers. So in the spirit of dishing, tell me your common kitchen mistakes by leaving a comment below!

Yum Market Finds: Black and White in the Kitchen

partysugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:01:18 -0800

I enjoy changing the look of my kitchen in order to go with the weather and season. However the basics - things I rarely change - are in black and white. Filling a kitchen with black and white accessories creates a wonderful foundation for decorative accents. To get in the Christmas spirit I will add red and green. For New Year's, I'll ditch those and supplement silver and gold.

To help you get back to the black and white basics, I went hunting in the Yum Market. You found some fabulous essentials, but these graphic black and white espresso cups are perfect now and wonderful later. Fun find, moderngirl! To get more ideas, scroll through below.

To learn more about the bookmarking feature of TeamSugar please read GeekSugar's explanation.

Do You Take Your Jewelry Off When Cooking?

YumSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:01:33 -0800

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Summer Reading: The New Outdoor Kitchen

partysugar — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 10:01:38 -0700

The other day I went over to my friend Nick's house to watch Hell's Kitchen. With a huge collection of cookbooks, Nick informed me of his current favorite, The New Outdoor Kitchen - Cooking up a Kitchen for the Way You Live and Play, that occupied the coveted coffee table spot. With its gorgeous, glossy pages and detailed descriptions of outdoor kitchen options, this book caught my attention immediately. I've always dreamed of having a beautiful outdoor, Spanish style kitchen to entertain with, and this book gave me tons of inspirational ideas. Written by kitchen designer Deborah Krasner, this beautiful book is a must read for those who are thinking about creating a cooking space outside.

Get Your Kitchen Sponges 99.9999% Bacteria Free!

YumSugar — Fri, 18 May 2007 00:01:19 -0700

I like to keep my kitchen sparkling and often reach for a sponge and some sort of surface cleaner. And although I don't get grossed out easily, the kitchen sponge is something that freaks me out if I think about it too long. All those gross germs hanging around, spreading themselves from surface to surface *shudder* I really can't handle it. However, I know that a sponge is a great kitchen tool - it's a reusable, quick way to wipe down dishes, clean countertops, etc. So what's a gal to do? Do I rinse it under warm soapy water or do I clean it with bleach? What's the best way to keep a sponge in rotation, while keeping the spread of bacteria to a minimum? Well, lucky for us, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service tested several methods for reducing risks in reused sponges. They did this by soaking sponges at room temperature for 48 hours in a ground beef/lab growth mixture, then they went about "cleaning" them. To learn what they discovered, read more

The ARS scientists treated the sponges in five commonly used ways.

Soaked for 3 minutes in a 10% chlorine bleach solution.
Soaked in lemon juice or deionized water for 1 minute.
Heated in a microwave for 1 minute.
Placed in a dishwasher operating with a drying cycle.
Left untreated.

Strangely, the sponges soaked in the bleach solution, the lemon/deionized water and the sponges left untreated each only killed 37-87% of the bacteria. While microwaving killed 99.9999% and the dishwasher killed 99.9998%. Microwaving and dishwashing also killed most (over 99%) of the mold and yeasts, while the other treatments left them behind.

Long story short, if you really want to clean out those sponges, you might want to take them for a spin in the dishwasher or microwave between uses.

Source: Agricultural Research Service