Gross Out

Decorating By kristiemarie Updated 5 May 2011 , 9:12pm by MamaDear

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kristiemarie Posted 8 Feb 2011 , 7:57pm
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I don't know if this is a disaster, per se, but it sure put a kink in my stride.

I am making a cake for my daughters daycare V-Day party. I got my powdered sugar out and my melted my marshmallows. I dumped the sugar in and started mixing away. I got it to the point that I could use my hands and I started mixing in more sugar and making it all nice and fondant-y. I dipped into the crisco and started in on the fondant ball again and noticed a crumb. I was like, where the heck did that come from? Figured it was probably from the last cake I made and some crumbs had made it into the crisco. I picked it out and kept going. Few minutes later, another one. Picked it out and kept going. Then another! This time, I picked it out and looked at it. It was a BUG! Little bugs had gotten into my powdered sugar!!!! A whole batch of fondant ruined and I am totally grossed out. LOL Now this weekend I am cleaning out my pantry top to bottom because who knows if they got into anything else!!

63 replies
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sweetnessx3 Posted 8 Feb 2011 , 8:24pm
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OH MY That is bad .... wonder how they got into your sugar..... One time I bought some cornmeal and went to use it and it was full of little bugs ....

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Sweetestdreamcakes Posted 8 Feb 2011 , 8:39pm
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thats happened to me before. My husband had put some powdered sugar up in the top of pantry and when i went to use it later I could see a bunch of itty bitty bugs. Luckily the bag the sugar was in was clear so I saw them before i dumped it into anything... icon_confused.gif the thought really makes me wanna barf even still...

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kristiemarie Posted 8 Feb 2011 , 8:39pm
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I can't believe I didn't see it before hand!

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Kellbella Posted 8 Feb 2011 , 9:05pm
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EEWWWWW...I know that happens sometimes to flour/pasta...not PS!

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Elcee Posted 8 Feb 2011 , 11:38pm
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Oh, poor you! That's awful.

I had bugs in my flour once and since then I keep anything like that (flour, sugar, ps, graham cracker crumbs, even cornstarch) in sealed containers. Not only does it keep it bug free but if there are anything in it prior to purchase, I'd notice when transferring it (I hope icon_smile.gif ). Another added bonus is that my cabinets are much neater!

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mommynana Posted 9 Feb 2011 , 12:11am
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i hear you ELcee, i do the same thing. i`ve learned my lesson

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mombabytiger Posted 9 Feb 2011 , 4:11pm
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You should have used it anyway. Those kids could use a little protein with their sugar!!! icon_lol.gif

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joanmary Posted 9 Feb 2011 , 4:38pm
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LOL!!!

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kristiemarie Posted 9 Feb 2011 , 4:57pm
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lol

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Coral3 Posted 9 Feb 2011 , 10:46pm
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Eeek! (Does this mean you were being lazy and didn't sift!? LOL)

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MelissaJeane Posted 13 Mar 2011 , 8:38pm
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Put your flour in the freezer for a few hours when you get it home from the store. This will kill any larva. You will need to throw out those things from your pantry (get them out of the house not just in the kitchen trash. Wipe the cupboards down with a bleach water solution and let dry completely. These bugs are weevils and are usually brought home from the store. Sift all flour and cake mixes before mixing. I bought a box of cake mix got it home and went to use it and it was full of them (shudder..eww)never again I sift everything!

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cabecakes Posted 13 Mar 2011 , 8:51pm
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Ditto, what MelissaJeane said. I bought cornmeal once and opened it to use it when I got home. Luckily it never made it to the cupboard. But now, I sift everything. You would be surprised the difference it makes in your baking as well. Besides, have you ever sifted a box cake mix. You would be surprised at the little balls of whatever that won't go through the sifter. It makes your cakes have a wonderful texture when you sift also.

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cake_architect Posted 14 Mar 2011 , 3:24am
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i actually just started sifting bc of the great advice here on cc! luckily i've found no bugs yet icon_biggrin.gif

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prettypixies Posted 14 Mar 2011 , 2:36pm
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I've had them in flour before and it's ruined entire dinners, lol! I learned to keep that stuff in sealed containers as well. Once they get into one thing, it's like they feel like they've struck gold in your pantry and they will make their way into everything..mac-n-cheese, oatmeal, taco seasoning...a total pain in the butt, for sure!

I buy the Glad containers to keep my sugars and flours in.

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MissLisa Posted 14 Mar 2011 , 3:36pm
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I had that problem too........ I think almost everyone experiences it at least once.

Dumped everything, cleaned the whole pantry with vinegar water, let it dry and then with bleach water and then one more time with the vinegar water (prefer that smell LOL)

Flour/sugar both is sealed tupperware containers and the flour has a few bay leaves laying on the top. Remember Mom doing that when I was a kid. No little critters since!

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prettypixies Posted 14 Mar 2011 , 5:17pm
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Bay leaves! I've never heard that trick before! I'll have to try it.

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mommynana Posted 14 Mar 2011 , 5:31pm
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I go to the dollar store, they got those huge cantaners that snap shut, (for flour and sugar) and the small one`s for baking powder and stuff) They are great!

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JenFailla Posted 20 Mar 2011 , 8:48pm
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Yes- Bay leaves work! icon_smile.gif I unfortunately had to learn that lesson when I moved to a new building in Manhattan. Part of big city "charm" is that even if you are super clean, if you have one bad neighbor who leaves garbage or food uncovered- you WILL get cockroaches... I about died when I went to clean the apt before I moved our stuff in- and found about 20 dead roaches on top of the cabinets!!!! barf!!!!!!! I cleaned down the whole place top to bottom and since I have pets, I didn't want to use any harsh chemicals so the bay leaves were placed in every closet, windowsill, top of cabinet, doorway, under sink, etc... and no buggers to be found!

Thankfully I no longer live in that building... it also had a toilet that would turn into Old Faithful and shoot water straight in the air at any random moment... it only had to happen to me once when I was sitting on it for me to demand to get out of my lease without penalty- something about a hormonal pregnant lady screaming about poo really intimidates some people! icon_wink.gif

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costumeczar Posted 20 Mar 2011 , 11:26pm
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Sometimes bugs are in the food before you buy it, so it isn't anything that you can seal out. I told the health inspector that I'd bought a bag of coconut that had ants sealed inside it, but that had only happened once. He said that if it had only happened once I was lucky.

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wiggler Posted 20 Mar 2011 , 11:45pm
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Happened to me once , went on holiday and came back three weeks later to find a bag of dried porcini mushrooms literally moving in my cupboard. Gross . There was also a load of little things flying around my kitchen . Feel literally sick thinking about it . Threw out all food in my kitchen and bleached everywhere . I keep everything in sealed bags now and seive everything . No problems since . Bay leaves are a great idea . I have a few plants in my garden . Will use them , thanks !

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Foxicakes Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 12:24am
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@ Wiggler...what an appropriate name for this forum post!!! LOL!! Sorry, lovey, I just COULDN'T pass that up... icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gif

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wiggler Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 12:47am
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Ha Ha , Foxicakes ! The real reason for the name wiggler is probably worse !
Apparantly when I was a kid there was a drunk guy around my parents and everyone else called the wiggler . When I grew up my family decided they can actually spot when I have had one glass of wine , I have the wiggler look about me , must be an Irish thing ! icon_smile.gif

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m_willford Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 4:51am
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Eww. I opened my flour I was keeping in one of those big 5 gallon buckets and went to sift it into a bowl to make some bread. I hadn't used that bucket in a while... so as I am sifting I notice little brown specks in the sifted flour.

Dead, dried up little weavils, being ground up. Yeah, I bought a new sifter after that. And a new bucket. And I freeze my flour before storing if possible. *shudders*

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molo1116 Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 5:54am
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this has never happened to us with cakes, but at one time in the summer our entire KITCHEN had been taken over by ANTS. They were EVERYWHERE and we could not get them out.

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ashleyisawesome Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 6:21am
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I have the OXO Good Grip Pop Airtight Containers. They are AMAZING!

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CreativeCakesbyMichelle Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 6:55am
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After reading all these posts I'm going to start freezing my flour when I get it home too. Although it still grosses me out because won't the flour just have dead larva in it after it's frozen instead of full grown weevils?? Yuck. My mom has had LOTS of problems with weevils. For some reason she gets them a lot since my parents moved into my grandmother's house when she passed away. I remember she made rice once and didn't notice there were weevils in it. Until I noticed it after I'd eaten some. I seriously almost puked. And couldn't eat the rest of my dinner. And my dad just says, "Oh well, guess you just got a little extra protein." Yuck. It grosses me out just thinking about it. The weevils got into absolutely everything in her pantry, flour, cereal, pasta, rice, cake mix, everything. She keeps most things in plastic containers now and goes through the pantry periodically to check for them and throw out anything that might be even a little bit old just in case. Ewww. I'm still so grossed out. Bugs in my food. Gross.

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costumeczar Posted 21 Mar 2011 , 11:00am
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Here's a little light reading for anyone who wants to check out what the acceptable level of mold, insects and rodent hairs are in their food. Scroll down to get to the list of specific foods and what constitutes levels of contamination that would require action. http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/sanitation/ucm056174.htm

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instant-gratificaketion Posted 22 Mar 2011 , 12:24am
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While I agree the stories are pretty gross, I can't help but ell oh ell at some of them. It reminds me of when my sisters and I asked my mom about some specks in the container of rice when we were younger and she tried to convince us that they were "herbs" so we wouldn't get grossed out. We didn't buy it of course, so she had to throw it out with us watching instead of getting to be stealthy to save our weak stomachs and dramatic personalities. Sigh. Good times.

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mbeals Posted 22 Mar 2011 , 1:25am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by molo1116

this has never happened to us with cakes, but at one time in the summer our entire KITCHEN had been taken over by ANTS. They were EVERYWHERE and we could not get them out.




We had that happen in a rental house. They were those huge mutant carpenter ants. I coated every surface in the kitchen in borax and set out boric acid laced syrup bait. It knocked them down but didn't get rid of them.....we moved a month later

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