My mother never rinsed chicken, so I didn’t… until somewhere along the line, many years ago, someone told me they did. I immediately jumped to the conclusion I was doing it wrong, and starting rinsing. That is until I experienced so much spitting when sautéing or pan frying chicken because I couldn’t get it dry enough. So I stopped rinsing. I rationalized that the cooking temps addressed any issues that the chicken rinsers thought needed addressed.
Re: food and feelings of disgust.
Once that feeling arises, it’s really really hard to let it go & change your ways. JMO
I used to rinse my whole chickens but don’t any longer. I roast them at 400 degrees, which should kill any harmful bacteria. I also use my meat thermometer to make sure the bird is fully cooked. I do pluck off any stray feathers before cooking but they would probably cook off in the oven.
If I ever decide to serve chicken sushi, sashimi, or tartar, I will probably give it a rinse.
A rinse would not remove salmonella from chicken, alas. Only thorough cooking will do.
The CDC’s “no wash” message is based on the sad fact that an average American is not well versed in food safety. Check the CDC on Twitter. Apparently, the chicken wash message started quite a war of the two camps. 
And per one NBC article, 90% of Americans give their chicken a rinse.
Peanut butter goes in the fridge st parents house and stays out at mine.
Where’s your ketchup hang out?
Chances of getting salmonella from raw egg is extremely low. Especially if you buy commercial eggs and keep them refrigerated I’ll keep licking the spoon.
@jym626 I rinse fish mostly because I hate eating scales inadvertently. Also I find it easier to find bones when I’m rinsing it. As far as the refrigeration thing goes, I’m about to be living on a boat, where the refrigerator I’ve got is about the size of 4 shoeboxes put together. No peanut butter or ketchup in there.
We keep ketchup in the fridge because we don’t use it often; a bottle can be in there for months.
I don’t care where my guys keep the ketchup. I never use the stuff. FTR, they keep it in the fridge once opened.
I was wondering where the ketchup comment was! I will never, ever put ketchup in the fridge. My parents did not and I made it to 55. Nothing worse than good Heinz that is cold on super good french fries. Regular Heinz does not say it needs refrigerated. Low salt Heinz does say to put in the fridge.
I was always told that if farm fresh eggs were kept out of the fridge, they were ok. Still alive by that theory too. Our eggs come straight from the barn to the counter, via the kitchen sink. Which, may or may not have had chicken in it
In general, I’m sick and tired of “new scientific regulations that we all must follow” coming out all the time, and often in direct contradiction of the first dire warning.
I thought the spray-Lysol-everywhere-before-and-after post was for sure going to end up being a spoof. Good grief. (And why spray before??) I’d just give up cooking chicken in that much work was involved. And I suspect Lysol doesn’t do that much anyway.
I agree with whoever was singing the praises of Bell & Evans chickens and chicken parts. They taste so much better than other brands (wish I knew what makes the difference) and are well worth the cost. They’re even packaged perfectly so there’s never an issue of a leaked chicken juice.
I don’t know why I’ve always kept ketchup in the fridge, since I realize the health inspectors would never let it it sit on restaurant tables forever if it were a problem, but mine hangs out with the mustard and relish, as it did in my parents’ house, and they all seem to enjoy one another’s chilly company. We are so much the products of our upbringing. I won’t even let green peppers in the house because I dislike them so much, and my daughter is convinced she hates them too, though I’m pretty sure she’s never tasted one. This will probably continue for generations to come. (I only wish my influence were that strong in matters of career and romance!)
Some of this reminds me of the old story about the new bride cooking her first ham. She cuts off the end of the ham, and questioned by her husband as to why she says “That’s the way my mother always did it so it must be important.” On the next trip to Mom’s house the curious bride asks mom what benefits are conferred by cutting off the end of the ham. “I don’t know,” she replies, “but it’s the way your grandma did it so I know it must be right.” Mother and daughter then call grandma to solve the mystery. “Simple.” Grandma answers. “The ham was too big to fit in my pan!”
@sue22, funny religious differences— we had the same joke, but it was a brisket, not a ham
We must be the odd ones not doing much like our parents. H corrupted me by introducing me to a lot of southern foods (BBQ, beans of all sorts, greens, grits, biscuits, etc). I corrupted him by introducing him to medium rare steak, crunchy cooked veggies - both way undercooked according to his family - stuffed turkeys/chickens, pot roast, and more.
Our travels have introduced us to even more foods and ways of preparing things.
When we go back to my mom’s or his dad’s it’s like stepping back into elementary school food-wise after one has long since graduated. Even many of our traditional holiday or comfort food meals I’ve tweaked to fit our tastes/preferences. When we’re cooking at mom’s, I have to ask her for directions to be sure I “do it right.” If I do it my way, it tastes wrong to her. We both grew up on basic white bread. Now we never eat it on our own and when I have to eat it somewhere to be polite I wonder how anyone likes it.
Going to injest some bacteria to help my immune system today.
Ex-husband and I had so many arguments when we first got married about the proper place to store various things. My parents never refrigerated ketchup or mustard and his always did, the eventual compromise was to put mustard in the fridge since I don’t eat it and didn’t care but ketchup stayed out because I hate cold ketchup. We were only raised about 10 miles from each other but it seemed that our families did everything differently. I have evolved over the years and do lots of things differently than my parents, but some things I continue to do the way I was raised.