Farangs touching bread in the supermarket

[bubba1]

I noticed a lot of farangs touch the bread in the supermarket. I know it's common in Thai markets for people to touch products and they may or may not buy them. But what is up with farangs needing to feel every piece of bread with their bare hands? Touch 4 or 5 and then buy only 1.

[Jingthing]

Hmm.

Well I'm a bread toucher and a bum looker.

But the way I do it is to get a plastic bag and feel it using the bag like a dental dam.

The point is to see if the bread that appeals to me is fresh or not.

Quite often, it's not.

I would agree that it's not cool to touch the bread with your bare hands.

Next ...

Edited April 4, 2016 by Jingthing

[BritManToo]

You gotta squeeze it, to see how fresh it is.

Same with bums!

[Jingthing]

To add, I don't buy open bread that often.

So of course I squeeze it if it's in a package already and you'd be a fool not to.

I think with open bread I actually put the item with tongs into the plastic and then touch it through the plastic more often than use the loose bag.

[catman20]

in big c the old care four I see the farang manager of the bakery touching bread with his hands, one old farang said something to him and he sent the old guy off with a flee in his ear.

[stoneyboy]

It's better than touching cloth.

[meatboy]

i love to feel a good pear.

[AhFarangJa]

Touchy subject...

[Suradit69]

On a related topic, in the markets I've seen little signs telling people not to touch/squeeze the durian, but seriously who's going to buy a segment of durian without first giving it a finger poke (through the plastic wrap)?

I no longer buy salad makings from the open salad bar at Friendship after watching some woman plucking samples with her bare hand for instant onsite consumption ... and returning the remainders of some things she apparently didn't like to their containers for the next "customer" to pick up.

[Hayduke]

Agreed...poking, fondling and squeezing unwrapped bread is not cool. But apparently some people are such bread freaks they just can't help themselves.

But also bear in mind that these loaves of bread have already been tossed around by a half-dozen or so unwashed people, dropped on the ground/floor a few times and probably nibbled on by a number of assorted cockroaches by the time you pluck it off the shelf.

Do you really want to know...everything...about what you eat?

Edited April 5, 2016 by Hayduke

[SoiBiker]

I wash all my bread thoroughly before consumption.

Takes ages to dry, though.

[ThailandLOS]

It all depends on where their hands have been. Judging from the bathroom behavior in my office, less than 50% care to wash their hands (mostly Thais). Checking their hair seems more important to them than washing off hands to not spread on door knobs, elevator panels and bread baskets for that matter.

It's filthy, disgusting and totally inconsiderate to others.

[maxisrael]

That is why I bake my own bread much higher quality as well then those sh*t bread in the supermarkets ........................

[Dustdevil]

Nothing wrong with squeezing wrapped bread. If you squeeze fresh unwrapped bread with your hands, you're a <deleted>.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Didnt you know? its a fact that ferangs are far more 'touchy feely' than Thai people>

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

I wash all my bread thoroughly before consumption.

Takes ages to dry, though.

I toast mine it kills most of the germs and the color differences are hidden. Also takes less time than your method.

[HooHaa]

how else do you determine whether or not it is fresh.

personally, giving the bread a squeeze seems a much more justifiable activity than hanging out in your workplace toilet polling the hand washing habit of others.

[zaZa9]

If there was some sort of quality control or the staff were willing to remove the stale bread then we wouldnt need to squeeze the bread rolls.

But I refuse to buy any more ( bricks of bread ) that are inedible when you get home...

[Pepper1959]

Saw a piece of meat fall on the floor in a major supermarket chain yesterday, if was picked up and simply put back with the rest. Honestly, with the bread, bare hands are a problem, just as much a flies getting over the bread and all the baked products.

[Jedsada3]

My grand'mom used to say "If you won't eat it, touch with your eyes..."

[Tchooptip]

Some farangs prefer touching buttocks of girls in crowded metros and buses, it is worse still!

...maybe they are the same!

[kiwikeith]

when the fresh baked bread is available in the morning in big c Hua Hin I get a bag then squeeze a little to make sure it's not an old one.

Which is worse, I have watched Thai womem picking up peices of cooked chicken at food stalls and sniffing them then putting them back on the pile and keep repeating the act untill they are satisfied.

[lemonjelly]

In Europe, we don't need to squeeze the bread to test for freshness, bakeries there won't sell stale bread. Unfortunately, Thai bakeries will keep baguettes out long enough that they could be sold in the hardware/tools aisle.

[ThaiFelix]

I just do it to see how long it takes for someone to comment about it on here. I think you should be more worried about what goes on before its put out in the open. I could tell you some stories about chickens in the back room if you are really worried

[SOTIRIOS]

...never seen exposed bread accessible to the buyers.....

...the sad truth is they say a little prayer....

...it looks like bread...but alas.....that is where the similarities end.....

[Jingthing]

...never seen exposed bread accessible to the buyers.....

...the sad truth is they say a little prayer....

...it looks like bread...but alas.....that is where the similarities end.....

Perhaps you live in the boonies.

[NickJ]

I like to touch the tip of my tongue to the loaf.........

[laislica]

It all depends on where their hands have been. Judging from the bathroom behavior in my office, less than 50% care to wash their hands (mostly Thais). Checking their hair seems more important to them than washing off hands to not spread on door knobs, elevator panels and bread baskets for that matter.

It's filthy, disgusting and totally inconsiderate to others.

Toilet behavior is how we determine if we are looking at an office worker or a factory worker.

The factory worker washes his hands before using the loo!

[JonBreadMan]

I was a market trader in England selling bread for over 15 years (not that you would know that from my user name)

It reminds me of one time, I was selling both bagged and unpaged bread-cakes (rolls to you from USA , tea-cakes if your from Barnsley ) anyway I had a big line of customers, and as always some wanted to feel the lose bread, I have a bag handy that I put the bread in and give to the customer to feel, then this one Muslim woman, not only pushes to the front, but then just starts to feel the bread with her hands, and they did not look clean.

She turned at walked away, I asked her if you wanted to buy it now she had touched it, but she just walked away nose in the air, I could see other customers looking at me and the bread she had touched, as I rule I just put it in a bin, as it only happens a few times every month if that but never with out a nice chat with the customer first, but this time I throw it at her, just missed her and landed on the floor in front of her, she turned around to I think have a go at me, but everyone around clapped and cheered was so funny.

So yes have a squeeze in a bag, bread is a LOT better when fresh, but if old 3 seconds in the old microwave helps, or a wet tea-towel over it for a few hours, or make fried bead (that's better with older bread) but nothing is as good as bread just out the oven.

[NeilSA1]

I wash all my bread thoroughly before consumption.

Takes ages to dry, though.

Use a spin dryer.