Hello Sisters and Brothers....Whew it's tough...haha its a tough "shell" we all have sometimes...more on that later...(a teaser its called).
I did want to follow through with what I was talking about...the proper way to wash your hands. Now This is a "Cooking blog"...of sorts. IN Cooking we all know the process is begun with what is called Mis En Place...A French term that literally means, "setting in place." It's used in cooking to describe all the prep and gathering of ingredients before starting the actual cooking process. And even in the act of properly washing hands there is this concept at work. I want to go over the "ingredients" and a little of the why. To wash hands properly you need Water -Potable of a sufficient temperature...Pros will tell you it needs to be a certain temperature friends you all have it..at least 100 degrees...body temp is 98.6 what I share with folks is wash your hands in water that is as hot as you can handle...This is a good thing not a painful ordeal...OK? I would rather you enjoy your handwashing experience as much as possible! The longer you wash the better.
Next...You need soap...Super duper Antibacterial hyperactive germ destroying soap? No...Soap....Even the health department folks will tell you it really doesn't matter..the purer the better for some do have perfumes and creams and oils...Why not the super duper? Trick answer...the object of this blog is to encourage handwashing...as many times in the day you can think about it...in Food Service we wash between each task, this cuts the chances for what we call Cross contamination...the obvious word picture is handeling raw chicken and then tossing salad with your hands...Danger! Danger! Will Robinson! Ok so thats why we do that and you should too...but remember many foods are dangerous. Just door knobs, appliance handles, Kids Pets, and even yourself! Chuckles...Yes you are dangerous. So back to soap..( I'm an ADD adult ok?) Simple soaps..for lots of washing. The idea is to clean the hands getting rid of bacteria and filth on the hands...Now can we completely clean hands...no. Hands inherantly have a variety of bacteria on them...now heres a newsflash for some folks...some are good! and of course some are bad...what anitbacterial soaps do is a good job of getting rid of all those bacteria. It takes the good with the bad...that is why we who wash our hands alot in the industry have dry chapped hands...the natural stuff on our hands gets washed away ...we then have quite a chore keeping them moisterized and healthy.
Next Last and not least...Paper Towels. If you think about it you know why...the repeated use of one towel..and using it as a wiping cloth pot holder...you get the idea..while it does have those more than honorable uses for clean hands you need what we call "Single use Towels".
OK Now you have your Mis En Place...you got it all together..now turn the water on....get a good flow...no dribbles you need enough running water to flush away any residue from washing...now get your hands wet! Water Hot enough? Good! Now soap up all the way past the wrists...focus on the fingertips for reasons obvious and for reasons we'll talk about later...The worldly instruction is to scrub them for 20 seconds. Rinse..Now what Grab the paper towel and dry off. Now the Secret revealed...Now the ultimate revelation! About washing hands...hehe...When you dry your hands USE THE PAPERTOWEL TO TURN THE WATER OFF!!!
Sorry didn't mean to yell...But think about this...where you wash your hands is the most helpful.AND the most dangerous place...scenario...you been making chicken skewers...you go to the sink to wash hands...you remember most of the rules...you finish washing throw the paper towel away and then...(jaws theme thing) you use your clean hands to turn the water off....sigh..OK so you full of confidence go and make the salad stick your finger in the BBQ sauce to taste it ...you get the horid picture...you may be careful to not contaminate others but forget about yourself...you may touch your hair rub your eyes pick your...no you wouldn't go that haha....you get the idea..Am I paranoid??? Sure! I call it paranoid in a GOOD way. We all know washing hands can prevent exchange of disease...right?
OK just remember by paper towels use lots of simple hand soap bar or liquid doesn't matter...keep the paper towels wherever you wash your hands. IN a perfect world you wash your hands separately from where you do food prep or dishes.
OH! The 20 seconds...The worldly advice is to sing "Happy Birthday" while you wash. I like to suggest that you use that 20 seconds as a special moment for prayer...good thoughts...The LOrd's Prayer works as a timing device...I mean how many times can you sing Happy Birthday before you go insane...haha
Use that twenty seconds...And I also humbly offer...if you need someone to pray for...I offer myself. And I encourage you to pray for yourself...be thankful that you are showing God's Love by this simple but important act. Remember priests were not allowed into the "presence of God" the inner areas of the temple untill they had ceremonially washed ( in by the way a cooking pot..a chafing dish! true). The symbolism is there..the reality is there. Remeber where God puts you to work is Holy ground...It is the place where He will be glorified by obedient servants...Who me? These things I share with you are part of the USDA Food Code and the food safety regulations are legion and al meant for our protection and safety...We obey the Law...we do as were told. Paul the bondservant told us that obeying the government was akin to obeying God as the government was ordained by God. Rom 13:1-5.
Sisters and Brothers I encourage you to wash and be washed...
Till next time....