Wife's ideas Quirky

[spidermike007]

It is a traditional tribal habit, that dates back to the days before refrigeration. Bacteria can be deadly, and food poisoning can be hard on the body. My wife does this occasionally, and I tell her there is no way I will eat anything that has been left out. She is a quick learner fortunately, so it is alot less of an issue now, than before. Eggs in the shell are no problem. They will keep a long time. But, other foods, forget about it. 

[justin case]

rice not eaten or not cooled for hours start to create toxic byproducts...

 

stomach cancer and others

 

but in general, the lower iq and no education has a lot to do with it

 

same as other foolish habits learned since birth

[Yinn]

How everybody can live before invent the electric and fidge?

[473geo]

Best lay off the cured hams then guys, Thai cooking uses a lot of salt, a natural preservative, chilies too, you think a cooked chilli goes off in day!

 

Food poisoning tends not to be prevalent regarding well cooked food, more likely cross contamination with raw food in the fridge!!! ????

 

Do carry on living in fear, I'm sure the dogs appreciate a good feed

[Traubert]

34 minutes ago, justin case said:

rice not eaten or not cooled for hours start to create toxic byproducts...

 

stomach cancer and others

 

but in general, the lower iq and no education has a lot to do with it

 

same as other foolish habits learned since birth

Wow, you can catch stomach cancer from food left out overnight?

 

Hey Lancet!! C'mere, we got a scoop!! ????????

[tandor]

On 6/23/2019 at 2:02 PM, pgrahmm said:

It happens from time to time.....I won't eat anything that's been sitting out for more than a short time - maybe a piece of left over sourdough toast - but not like a main meal portion....

If I see something like that sitting out for awhile I stick it in the fridge.......Nobody's complained about that.....

There's 4 of us, so I think that someone made a mistake in leaving it out.....

...so how do the spirits and ghosts get to have a snack...their little fingers would snap off trying to open a fridge door.

[tandor]

27 minutes ago, Yinn said:

How everybody can live before invent the electric and fidge?

...meat safe..ice chest.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, 473geo said:

Spoil, you mean the lettuce goes limp?

I tend to agree with a previous post that suggested the lack of dairy products and alternative Thai ingredients makes a positive difference.

There is a western dish called Hunters Pot or perpetual stew, I guess the 6 hours rule isn't applied - a similar dish you will note to the Thai cooking method.

Yes, and a great and easy way to continue an original pot of stew or goulash or soup going for days, but always with a good boil up at least every 24 hours and of course after extra vegies or whatever added. We do this regularly at our house but my Thai son always does a final 'put everything in the fridge' (fridge not freezer) routine before bed. I often get up at 5.00 am, quickly peel and cut some fresh carrots, potatoes, onions, cauliflower etc., and quickly restart the stew, all cooked and ready for breakfast for my 3 grandkids before they head off to school and they love it, plus a big glass of fresh cold milk, good way for them to start the day. We alternate beef, pork and chicken as the meat. 

[cracker1]

Those people who have studied food hygiene in restaurant management will know perishable food should not be stored for extended periods between temperatures of 3 degree C and 60 degree C.

[phantomfiddler]

Any food left out on a counter is going to attract more ants than the braincells of them wot leaves it there ????

[RBOP]

I hear ya. Same here. After 18 years of my constant nagging to put left overs in the fridge they sit on the counter until I throw them out. I think she has me well trained.????

[ilms]

My wife and her family usually leave the stuff out (covered) until it gets eaten or looks/smells like it's gone bad. One "interesting" thing they do is when things are going to be left out overnight, they heat them up again before going to bed. I think it might be a holdover from the days when they lived in a home without electricity.

 

BTW, I won't eat the cooked food after it's been left out overnight but at the same time, they do and I've never heard of any of them getting food poisoning in all the years I've known them. 

[473geo]

I recall our Christmas turkey lasting 3 or 4 days and never saw the inside of a fridge, as at the very least the fridge would have dried it to inedible.......just had a massive cover placed over it or shielded with tin foil.

 

[toenail]

What is repulsive are all the flies swarming around & on the food dishes when the food is left on the mat. I figure their stomachs must have powerful microbes than mine. (I’ll go to the kitchen and make a peanut butter sandwich before eating that bacteria infested glob.)

 

[connda]

The fact that you insist that that food be put into the refrigerator shows that you're being compulsive about bacteria as most farangs typically are.  Don't feel bad, you were raised that way.  So was I.  But after living here for over a decade without ever getting a food borne illness (other than at two internationally know franchises who should be using Western food storage practices) I don't sweat the load anymore.  You shouldn't either. 

 

[marcusarelus]

4 minutes ago, toenail said:

What is repulsive are all the flies swarming around & on the food dishes when the food is left on the mat. I figure their stomachs must have powerful microbes than mine. (I’ll go to the kitchen and make a peanut butter sandwich before eating that bacteria infested glob.)

 

Flies leave worms.  Does most of the family take worming pills once a year? I give them to my dog every month.  

[wwest5829]

23 hours ago, 473geo said:

When I first arrived this habit caught me by surprise too, not using the fridge - my family are using the fridge just a little bit more, but if food has to be left out to cool before going in the fridge then is not any possible contamination already done!

We have a fine mesh door cupboard to keep the flies off, where the food is placed, on occasion just a fly cover on the table. Never have I got sick from eating food stored overnight this way.

Rice is cooked fresh every morning, in the evening the dog gets leftovers, so there is some control in place.

Soups and the like are well heated through if reheated the next morning, I normally have fresh cooked bacon egg and chips, with toast if required ????

I remember years ago in the UK we had a fine mesh cupboard for cooked meats and the like, cooler but much the same idea kept meat for 2 or 3 days- I think we overdo the need to put stuff in the fridge if it is eaten within a day

In my view, if the cook is careful then all is good, but I do draw the line at fish the next day!!!! ????

When I first retired her a Canadian and I were told we were living dangerously eating at the bar-b-que places. We laughed and replied that we were  building up our immune systems. I was surprised that eggs were not refrigerated but ... hey, like some other things here I don't understand how it functions but it does seem to work (thinking of those overhead wires).

[pgrahmm]

1 hour ago, tandor said:

...so how do the spirits and ghosts get to have a snack...their little fingers would snap off trying to open a fridge door.

Since you asked:

 

At the 7/11 spirit house - of course.....

[mserror]

It is just ignorance of food safety.

 

Knowledge takes many years to trickle into Thailand...

[connda]

53 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Flies leave worms.  Does most of the family take worming pills once a year? I give them to my dog every month.  

Flies leave fly larvae, i.e., maggots.  Maggots are a great source of protein. 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

20 hours ago, Lacessit said:

My Thai GF thinks I am quirky because I have Vegemite on toast for breakfast.

You are, Marmite is the correct breakfast yeast.

[owl sees all]

A funny little story about a fridge.

 

My mate Ron and myself had to go to Laos. I picked him up, and off we went to Nong Khai. He told me what he'd done to stop any pilfering while he was away. He had his beer, cheese and other stuff in HIS fridge, and put a hefty chain around the unit, through the handle and a decent lock sealed it safe and sound. His extended family had a habit of raiding his fridge and tucking in. He was chuckling as he told me they would never get the chain off.

 

On the way back, next day, I dropped him off, and went on to my village. No sooner did I get home when he rang me, "Owl, you wouldn't believe this, they cut through the fridge door handle. Chain on the floor. All the beer gone."

 

Everyone denied responsibility. It turned out to be his 18 year old step son. Found empty bottles under his bed. But the wife denied all knowledge, never noticed the break-in, or the bottles going walkies. Didn't bother with the cheese.

[connda]

13 minutes ago, mserror said:

It is just ignorance of food safety.

 

Knowledge takes many years to trickle into Thailand...

Actually, in the West you're convinced at a young age that if you don't follow 'food-safety guidelines' it's guaranteed you'll get sick.  And sure as shootin', bacteria-phobic farangd get sick just looking at meat that sat out overnight or a glass of 'third-world' tap water.
However.....
Thais haven't adopted those 'food safety guidelines' not out of ignorance, but because they aren't falling over in droves due to non-refrigeration of foods.  
Joe Farang tells 'ignorant' Thai Mia that she'll end up in the hospital if she eats 24 hour old somtum.  Thai Mia laughs and takes a bite of two day old roasted duck with a somtum chaser.  Joe Farang gags because there is simply no setting these 'backwards', ignorant third-worlder's straight on what every Western school-child knows: unrefrigerated food will kill you!!!  <goes to the refrigerator, pops a gapong of Chang and downs a couple of Albens with an activated charcoal chaser>  
Morale of story?  Folks tend to cling to their own cultural biases as well as biases formed and ingrained since childhood and reinforced by 12 years of school indoctrination that hammers into young minds that - "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness" and refrigerators have been a must since the Stone Age otherwise mankind would never have survived!   
"But we have Science To Back It Up!!!" 
Exactly.  And Thais have practical experience eating the exact kinds of unrefrigerated foods that Westerners insist will make them sick. Annnd....

...nowadays so do I. <laughs, head shake>

[OneMoreFarang]

I think it depends a lot on the kind of food.

Some things are not made for the fridge - including i.e. several sweet dishes.

My gf keeps some dishes (i.e. gaeng something with kati (coconut milk)) in the closed pot. And if we eat only a part and it's in the pot for several hours of even the whole night then she cooks is up again.

Some of those dishes taste even better on the next day.

[joecoolfrog]

4 hours ago, Yinn said:

How everybody can live before invent the electric and fidge?

They lived just fine , but on average, died younger.

[Ketyo]

I have to leave food out to cool before it goes in the fridge. It does mean it can sit out on the bench for a while cooling and getting to room temperature.

 

I often cook bigger portions than for one or two people so that we don't have to cook from scratch every mealtime. And I if I try to put the excess into the fridge before it has properly cooled to room temperature I get scolded. 

[sotonowl]

We live in the UK. My missus will leave food out but never meat, she'll always let that cool and then into the fridge/freezer.

What I find quirky is how she operates the washing machine. On a wash day she'll have gone quiet and missing for a length of time and I'll find her in the kitchen just looking at the washing machine going round and round, it's <deleted> hilarious. God knows how she washed her clothes before she came here.

Then there's the never ending  questions, she'll hear a new word on TV and ask "what does that mean" "how do you spell it" then she'll be on her iPad for a translation.

Then she'll ask questions what do my head in as I don't have an answer for them like why do you say "get in the car" but you get "on the bus".

We've been watching the cricket recently (we live a stones throw from the Rose Bowl). India played Pakistan the other day and I just happened to mention that they don't like each other. Now Bangladesh are playing Afghanistan and she's asked me 5 times now if they like each other, I keep telling her I haven't got a clue but I get the impression she thinks I'm holding out on her, it could be my laughing though.

I have to admit here that i swear on occasion, usually when the footballs on and I use the "B" word which describes someone born outside wedlock, sure you know which one I mean. She copies me parrot fashion when she see's Jeremy Corbyn on the TV but unfortunately (or really fortunately for me LOL) she thinks the word is basket, I have tears in my eyes laughing, she thinks it's because she's swearing that i'm laughing, it's brilliant.

[Harveyg]

12 hours ago, Joromei said:

Exactly  !crazy but unchangeable.  Standing joke in our house is I call the missus farm girl when she does crazy stuff like this . She HATES  that ???? 

The farm girl has eons of cultural experience behind her.  Culinary practice evolved in every culture with health in mind.  They survived. 

[Bangkok Barry]

On 6/23/2019 at 5:31 PM, 473geo said:

We have a fine mesh door cupboard to keep the flies off, where the food is placed, on occasion just a fly cover on the table.

 

That's what we had when I was a kid in the UK, early 50s. Fridges hadn't been invented then, or maybe only rich folk had them.

[DUNROAMIN]

You have to consider that a large percentage of Thais didn't have a fridge until the 90's, the way they eat didn't require refrigeration, they only prepare enough for one meal. They have survived for hundreds of years eating the same way. Farang food will always be dodgy not refrigerated due to all the crap we put into our food.