Today, I'm going to talk about kitchen stuff. Not food, but THINGS. Get a cuppa and a cookie and settle in, because this might seem like a whirlwind of stuff. I'll try to make it a little easier.
You know how you've been meaning to deep clean you kitchen but never really had the time? Now you have no choice.
Step 1: Run everything in your utensil drawer through the dishwasher, get a new silverware holder, and clean the actual drawer. Dusting your hands off over the drawer has the potential to contaminate every single knife, fork, spoon, whatever in that drawer. For us, potential is enough to rewash.
Throw away your old pizza cutter. Seriously. It's not worth it. (Note: If you have a gluten eater in your house, keep the old one of whatever it is I'm telling you to throw out and label the new one GF.)
Step 2: Wooden or plastic cutting boards. Plastic or metal strainers. Knife blocks. Toasters. Pizza tins.
All of these things can hold gluten. I don't care how well you scrub, it's a whole lot safer to just buy a new one. Now, buying new kitchenware can get expensive, so you can do it slowly... but don't use the old stuff in the meantime. Improvise, ask friends and family, skip the Tuesday night pizza until you can get a new pizza tin... You know what you have to do.
A note about toasters: some people in split kitchens use the double toasters - GF on one side and non GF on the other - as long as the two sides are separate. I wouldn't, but use your own discretion at that.
A note about toaster ovens: these are great. The cooking rack is removable and therefore cleanable, so you can do both (just not at the same time!).
Step 3: Clean your oven, microwave, and refrigerator. Stuff pops in the microwave, and can fall from the top while you're cooking. The oven and fridge are good to do just to double check, especially if it's becoming a totally GF kitchen. Go ahead and clean cupboards and countertops too, because the point is to get rid of gluten. Even if you're not going totally gluten free in the kitchen, clean everything. Everyone will just have to be more careful in the now-clean kitchen. Also - if you regularly spread flour on your countertops or rolled dough out straight on them, you need to invest in some counter-covering cutting boards.
Step 4: Know the difference. Disinfected is not the same as clean. Actually clean things. Soap and water. Sponges can hold gluten, so I would avoid using them if you have a shared kitchen unless you plan to change them out regularly or using different ones for different dishes. I use a washcloth (fresh for every load of dishes), my best friend uses a dish scrubber (and I feel safe washing dishes with that), and the dishwasher is always good.
That's all for now, partly because I don't want to overwhelm anyone and partly because I'm out of tea. See you next time! (:
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