How Fragile *is* Cake These Days?

Decorating By indydebi Updated 29 Nov 2009 , 10:05pm by cindycraig

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Deb_ Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:31pm
post #61 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by prterrell

We use thermometers when cooking meat all the time, so we don't OVERCOOK the meat. Using the "when the juices run clear" method is actually not a good method because it leads to consistent overcooking. Using a thermometer is simply the best and most effective tool for ensuring the meat is properly cooked. For example, both DH and I love our steaks just barely medium rare. Using a thermometer, we can pull the meat off the grill just as it hits the minimum medium rare temp and have perfect steak every time.




I use the "touch" method works perfect every time. The thing I don't like about thermometers is that you're still piercing the meat allowing juices to run out which is not where you want those juices. "Un"poked or "un"probed meat will be a lot juicier.

Oh by touch I mean touch the surface of a steak or chicken breast or whatever meat your cooking.....if it feels like the soft part of your palm it's med to med rare, the harder part of your palm it's med well to well done.

I know.....very scientific. But, when you've been cooking as long as I have it makes sense and works.

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pouchet82 Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:37pm
post #62 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas_Rose

My mom thawed the turkey in the bathtub a few times because it didn't fit in the sink. It was still wrapped at least icon_biggrin.gif



LOL, I will never forget one year my mom made turkey for my birthday, and I had a friend over from school for my birthday lunch, well I heard her screaming from the bathroom that there was something in the bath tub. Yup "turkey in the tub"!

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Texas_Rose Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:40pm
post #63 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by pouchet82

Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas_Rose

My mom thawed the turkey in the bathtub a few times because it didn't fit in the sink. It was still wrapped at least icon_biggrin.gif


LOL, I will never forget one year my mom made turkey for my birthday, and I had a friend over from school for my birthday lunch, well I heard her screaming from the bathroom that there was something in the bath tub. Yup "turkey in the tub"!




At least my mom's tub is porcelain...mine is that plasticky stuff and I wouldn't put food in it. Last year my turkey didn't fit in the sink, so I bought a storage tub and thawed it in that (in the tub icon_razz.gif).

Have you ever noticed how when it says to thaw in the fridge for several days, every time you follow the package directions just right, when you check it the night before it has a solid rock of ice in the cavity?

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cutthecake Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:43pm
post #64 of 144

Times have changed drastically. We are certainly becoming overly cautious about everything. Those of us over a certain age never wore bicycle helmets, and lived to tell about it.

We grew up without fear of aids, Lyme disease, e-Coli, Legionnaire's disease, West Nile virus, etc. But it's a different world now. LOTS more to worry about.

The media runs with any controversy it finds. They report on isolated cases and turn them into epidemics. They've scared us half to death about most everything. It's all part of this "extreme" reporting.

The antibiotic-resistant "super bacteria" are gaining ground. That IS scary.

Food prep instructor in college said that eggs did not need refrigeration (she kept them in a closet), but Mom disagreed. Instructor also said to rinse off eggs before handling and cracking because THAT was where the bacteria often was. If the dirty shell fell into the food, the food was contaminated.

The only cakes I refrigerate are cheesecakes or anything with pastry cream.

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indydebi Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:47pm
post #65 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly

I know.....very scientific. But, when you've been cooking as long as I have it makes sense and works.



Yay for us "until it looks right!" cooks! icon_biggrin.gif

Quote:
Originally Posted by 3GCakes

I feel the same way about vaccines.



Then you'll love this story, that I've shared on here a couple of times. My 17 yr old recently got chicken pox ... for the 2nd time. Married daughter has a 2 year old and WANTS him to get chicken pox naturally. She's talked with her pediatrician and is NOT giving him the chicken pox vaccine. Her pediatrician told her that since the chix-pox vaccine came into play, more older kids (teenagers) and adults are getting chix-pox for the 2nd time. Since the little kids are getting the vaccine, the adults, who HAD an immunity built up from having had the pox before, are not re-exposed to them like we used to be, so our body is forgetting how to fight the chicken pox. Ergo the vaccine that was suppose to save us all from getting this disease is actually bringing it back.

Pediatrician said "follow the money". Drug companies are of course pushing it, AND (this was the surprise to me) PARENTS lobbied for the vaccine because they were getting tired of having take time off of work JUST for a sick kid! icon_surprised.gif (What the hell did you think being a parent MEANT, ya big dumba$$?)

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-Tubbs Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:50pm
post #66 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly

I grew up on turkeys that my Mom would stuff the night before she went to bed, put the bird in the garage "to keep cold" because it didn't fit in our refrigerator (we're talking 26 to 30lb turkey) then she'd wake up at 5a.m. and put it in the oven.



My family and I are emigrants to Canada from the UK. My sister's first Christmas here, she put her turkey in the garage "to keep cold", forgetting that Canadian winters are frequently colder than the freezer. In the morning, her turkey came in more frozen than it had been when she bought it!!

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indydebi Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:51pm
post #67 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by cutthecake

The media runs with any controversy it finds. They report on isolated cases and turn them into epidemics. They've scared us half to death about most everything. It's all part of this "extreme" reporting.



OMG, do you all remember the big Chicken Flu epidemic of a couple of years ago? The news stations around here were predicting how firestations and schools were going to be commandeered into hospitals to house ALL those people who were going to die from it! Then they shared the stats......

Turns out, something like 15 people in remote areas of Asia died from it OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD!!!!!! 1.5 people per year in an area of this VAST continent where chickens run thru the house where people eat and sleep! SOrry, but none of my friends have chickens as house pets!!!

But oh my god it's a big one and we're all going to die from it!

Which is why I tend to ignore any news like this.

I really have a low tolerance for media. I really do.

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cutthecake Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:53pm
post #68 of 144

AND, my college nutrition text book from the early 1970s did not mention cholesterol at all. That illustrates how far we've come (even though it's a very random fact). Cholesterol was not a concern in 1970. Hard to imagine.

Boy, I'm on a tear with random thoughts today.

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aundron Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:55pm
post #69 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by K8memphis-

Yeah, thanks for opening this door nice & wide for me to choke myself on.

Scratch cakes 'peak early' shall we say. Scratch cakes do not have the 'staying power' of cake mix cakes. Whoops there we go again! You don't want me to be 100% honest do yah???

Scratch cakes go stale real fast.

Scratch cakes suck quicker than cake mix cakes by comparison.

I don't wanna lie. icon_lol.gificon_lol.gif I make both kinds--don't hurt me. Hey, I'm just being honest.

Think that might be part of it?

We also try to equate frozen with not fresh but stale is the opposite of not fresh. Freezing is a great tool.

Yeah brides get their panties bunched up about having their cakes baked the same day--aghhh no.




Scratch cakes get stale faster?? Didn't know that!! Well, a friend of mine made me a caramel cake for my birthday(hard caramel icing, yummy) from scratch and it stayed out for over a week and it was delicious until the very last bite!! (Now I want more caramel cake icon_lol.gif ) I remember my mom baking cakes from scratch and leaving them out; they never seemed stale to me (or maybe I was eating too fast to notice, icon_biggrin.gif )

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NYCGiGi Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 8:59pm
post #70 of 144

AMEN INDYDEBI!!!!!!

You know, a little bit of germs never hurt anybody!

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DDiva Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 9:09pm
post #71 of 144

I knew we'd turned a corner years ago when 'freshness dates' started appearing on products. When did we stop being able to tell when milk was sour?????? And try making someone under 30 understand what our noses and eyes are for. I agree Debi, my mom baked EVERY weekend. Cakes sat on the kitchen counter in a cake safe until eaten.

Never once got sick from any food product, or know of anyone who got sick from a food product because we could smell and see. See, it's easy--if it stinks don't eat it. If it looks funny, don't eat it. Didn't need a 'freshness date' then and don't need one now.

Have a friend who works in our Health Dept. Her take on this is the same as mine---it's about money. If someone stamps a date on the carton milk and you don't finish the milk before the date, most folks will toss it. You spend more; the company makes more. Now please check this out: regular whole milk will have a date; lactose free milk will have a date way more into the future. WHY??? Does taking lactose out of the milk make it stay fresher longer??? If so, then why not take it out of all milk since so many folks are intolerant?? The prevailing thought is that lactose free milk costs more, so you get the extended date!! Have we really become this robotic society that has to be told by the media and government when food is bad?? Save us from ourselves!!!!

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costumeczar Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 9:12pm
post #72 of 144

Do a search on foodborne illness on google and you'll come up with enough stuff ot make you want to never eat again. The info that I got basically seems to say that the incidence isn't necessarily increasing or decreasing, but the types of pathogens are always changing, so it's hard to judge. Just use common sense and cook clean, you should be fine, and if you catch something there's not a whole lot you can do about it!

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Deb_ Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 9:45pm
post #73 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Tubbs

Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly

I grew up on turkeys that my Mom would stuff the night before she went to bed, put the bird in the garage "to keep cold" because it didn't fit in our refrigerator (we're talking 26 to 30lb turkey) then she'd wake up at 5a.m. and put it in the oven.


My family and I are emigrants to Canada from the UK. My sister's first Christmas here, she put her turkey in the garage "to keep cold", forgetting that Canadian winters are frequently colder than the freezer. In the morning, her turkey came in more frozen than it had been when she bought it!!




Oh no....nothing worse then a still frozen turkey on Christmas morning, huh!

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indydebi Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:08pm
post #74 of 144

DDiva, my son (while in high school) worked at a very well known nat'l grocery store chain. He came home one night telling us that he had spent the night throwing food out. He said, "The 'Sell-By' date was expired.....the food is still good, but we're not allowed to sell it past that date."

So I think there is some confusion on the date stamped on food items. Is it a "Sell-By" date or is it a "OMG you better not eat it after this date!" date?

I have milk in my home 'frig that is 4 days past the date. It still smells and tastes good. I'm not throwing it out.

And along these lines, I get so exasperated at "the kids today!" who can't think and figure things out! We have to put a date on a carton of milk because they're too dumb to figure out when it goes bad. My 17 yr old can't microwave popcorn unless she knows EXACTLY how many minutes/second to set the microwave on!

And peanut butter in a 'frig just pi$$es me off! icon_mad.gif

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Texas_Rose Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:14pm
post #75 of 144

Here's something that explains sell-by, use-by, best-before, etc... http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Food_Product_Dating/index.asp

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TitiaM Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:33pm
post #76 of 144

ddiva I think the dates are for people like my dh--lol. He has no sense of smell, and has on multiple occasions drunk milk that was bad ( he didn't notice until he drank some and it was chunky--eeww.) Now he just makes me smell it.

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DDiva Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:34pm
post #77 of 144

I hear you Debi!! The 'can't think for ourselves' thing that pi$$es me off is the fact that folks can't count change anymore. Without the little screen that tells them what I'm owed, they're lost. What's the point of Math classes if no one can calculate simple change anymore??

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TitiaM Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:37pm
post #78 of 144

I tell you if our computers go out we're all gonna be lost......$20.00 minus 8.50 is what now, I'm confused..... icon_lol.gif

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DDiva Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:47pm
post #79 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by TitiaM

ddiva I think the dates are for people like my dh--lol. He has no sense of smell, and has on multiple occasions drunk milk that was bad ( he didn't notice until he drank some and it was chunky--eeww.) Now he just makes me smell it.




EEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW is right, girl!! Ok. okay....he NEEDS the dates icon_biggrin.gif

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cutthecake Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:54pm
post #80 of 144

I LOVE when my husband says, "I think this milk went bad. Taste it." No thanks, I'll pass.

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jillmakescakes Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 10:58pm
post #81 of 144

I have a few family members that are germ-a-phobes (notably a just graduated nurse). Now, I'm not having my kids running around licking doorknobs or anything, but I'm also not diving like a beach volleyball player if my three year old drops food and then puts it back in his mouth.

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TitiaM Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 11:06pm
post #82 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by cutthecake

I LOVE when my husband says, "I think this milk went bad. Taste it." No thanks, I'll pass.




Mine says that too--Honey, if you think its bad with no sense of smell--it probably is so far beyond bad that I don't want to think about it and there is no way on earth that I'm going to try it (you have got to be kidding me!)

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TitiaM Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 11:14pm
post #83 of 144

[quote="jillmakescakes"]I have a few family members that are germ-a-phobes (notably a just graduated nurse). Now, I'm not having my kids running around licking doorknobs or anything, but I'm also not diving like a beach volleyball player if my three year old drops food and then puts it back in his mouth.[/quote

I think that my kids think the floor is what you eat off of... (i'm kidding, but we don't freak out about it either.) My two year old found a two-day old cup of milk the other day and drank about half of it before I got it away from her--she's fine, doesn't bother her a bit. Yucky, but, apparently not that bad.

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indydebi Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 11:20pm
post #84 of 144

Oh pul-leaze people! I used to drive my MIL nuts because instead of giving my then-baby some cheerios in a cup, I'd just throw a handful on the carpet in front of her. WTH? She was just going to dump the cup of cereal on the floor ANYWAY!! This way I didn't have to wash a cup! icon_lol.gif

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-K8memphis Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 11:27pm
post #85 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by fiftieshousewife

Quote:
Originally Posted by K8memphis-

White granulated or powdered sugar is not natural. It is an extremley refined chemical.

I was/am not upset.

Chemicals are us!

And my point is that our lines are all individually drawn --we're all of us all over the place yes?

Do you use food color? That's refined from bug bodies & weird sh*t.

If we have to arghhh Not Lie--then we're all in Big Trouble. icon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gif
How ironic.




Kate I get it I know sugar and flour are refined I'm just saying as a PERSONAL preference I like to know what's in my baking and that's as natural as I can get (and I used unrefined caster sugar). Yes of course I use food colour and I hate that it's full of e numbers more than bug bodies (I've seen what it does to my daughter) I'm currently sourcing natural food colours from chef master in the states as an alternative but in the meantime we just dont' eat the coloured stuff simple as it's a decorating tool to me and that's it.

Idon't understand your last line, but whatever it is I'm sorry as you seem really bugged by me.




Just focus on the three laughing smilie faces--I'm not upset with you.

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FromScratch Posted 9 Nov 2009 , 11:52pm
post #86 of 144

OMG... my sister used to throw out milk as soon as the date on the carton passed. I looked at her and said "you know that's just a sell-by date right? It's not going to go rancid on exactly that date." The ah-ha moment was priceless. If it doesn't smell off... it's still good. icon_lol.gif

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Texas_Rose Posted 10 Nov 2009 , 12:04am
post #87 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by FromScratch

OMG... my sister used to throw out milk as soon as the date on the carton passed. I looked at her and said "you know that's just a sell-by date right? It's not going to go rancid on exactly that date." The ah-ha moment was priceless. If it doesn't smell off... it's still good. icon_lol.gif




My husband throws out everything when it expires. Even bread.

He didn't used to be like that...he got food poisoning a few years ago and he's much more careful about what goes into his mouth now. He won't eat anything that anyone else cooked at their house, and there's only four restauants he's willing to eat at, and two of those are pizza places and one is McDonalds.

One thing I never knew is that when you open a package of lunchmeat, then it's only good for a week after that. So we keep a sharpie marker and write an open date on the package.

My sister is not careful like we are, and at least once a week she calls me to tell me that she just spent the last four hours on the toilet icon_rolleyes.gif like I want to hear that...but anyhow, she'll describe the things she ate and it's no wonder.

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ziggytarheel Posted 10 Nov 2009 , 12:05am
post #88 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by FromScratch

OMG... my sister used to throw out milk as soon as the date on the carton passed. I looked at her and said "you know that's just a sell-by date right? It's not going to go rancid on exactly that date." The ah-ha moment was priceless. If it doesn't smell off... it's still good. icon_lol.gif




I like the "sell by dates" as a consumer. I try to pick things with a later date so there is less chance it will go bad before I get around to using it. icon_smile.gif

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cutthecake Posted 10 Nov 2009 , 12:10am
post #89 of 144

I'd like to know how the milk or cheese or eggs knows that it's supposed to go bad by a certain date.

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-Tubbs Posted 10 Nov 2009 , 12:14am
post #90 of 144
Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggytarheel

I like the "sell by dates" as a consumer. I try to pick things with a later date so there is less chance it will go bad before I get around to using it. icon_smile.gif



Actually, I agree, I do that too. I rummage for the bread and milk with the latest date, but that's not germaphobia - I just like really fresh bread and milk!

Have you realised this is rapidly turning into an 'old fart' thread. "In my day..." Cue always-brilliant Monty Python sketch:


Quote by @%username% on %date%

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