We all have our little annoyances. And perhaps for the majority of lovefood readers, most of those happen in the kitchen. See if you agree with our top 10 foodie bugbears.
1. Crumbs in the butter
Crumbs in the butter means having to gingerly scrape around them every morning – nobody wants remnants on their freshly buttered toast. If only we took enough butter to cover the bread in one fell swoop, then we wouldn’t have to dip our crumby knife back into the tub.
2. Butter in the jam
Butter causes all sorts of problems. Lovefood Editor Andrew’s wife hates it when he dips the butter knife straight into the jam. “She takes the time to use a separate spoon for conserves,” said Andrew. “But I’m afraid I just can’t be bothered.” One of our Facebook fans, Gill Stokes, hates it too: ‘Butter in the Marmite jar! Grrrrr.’
3. Pencils in the fruit bowl
Our family fruit bowl is more of an ‘everything bowl’, having accumulated random bits ‘n bobs such as stationery, keys, and Kinder Surprise toys over time. It’s the perfect vessel to house all those things you don’t know what to do with; perhaps because it’s the first container-type-thing you come to when entering the house. (Andrew's fruit bowl suffers the same fate - it's pictured above.)
4. Mugs for tea
‘I’m fussy about cups,’ says Facebook fan Deborah James. ‘Fine bone china is best for tea – big mugs are a no-no!’ At lovefood HQ, the thin-rimmed mugs always go first in the morning, leaving only great big chunky mugs for those of us who get in later. Tea just doesn’t taste as good in a fat mug. Although interestingly, coffee does.
5. Wine in plastic cups
Come Christmas time, offices all over the country will be toasting the festivities with a plastic cup of booze. It’s the only realistic option (who’d want to wash up the aftermath of a Christmas party?), but it never tastes as good. ‘I had Moët & Chandon in a paper cup once,’ said Facebook fan Joanne Dobson. ‘It tasted more like Lambrini.’
6. A scribbled shopping list
Shopping lists are usually written in haste, and can therefore appear illegible when standing in the supermarket aisle. I managed to mistake ‘corn flakes’ for ‘tooth floss’ once, when picking up groceries for someone else… they had quite a disappointing breakfast the next day.
7. Empty milk cartons in the fridge
Something that I am guilty of. You’re half-awake, preparing a bowl of cereal in the kitchen downstairs. You finish the milk off, but to chuck the carton away would involve rinsing it out and walking all the way to the recycling bin. So you put the empty jug back in the fridge for the next poor breakfaster to deal with. This trick can also be adopted for fruit juice.
8. The salad drawer
Exploring the bottom compartment of your fridge often reveals all sorts of nasties. You can’t see exactly what is in there, so last season’s carrot can lie undetected for months. One rotten carrot could turn the whole drawer bad, so make sure you have a weekly check.
9. Congealed ketchup
…or brown sauce, salad cream and mayonnaise. If you don’t wipe the top of a sauce bottle clean after using it, you’ll get a congealed mess just under the lid. It can turn gelatinous if left for too long, and then you run the risk of accidentally transferring the ‘blob’ to your plate of chips.
10. Rice without a sticky tab
Most bags of grains, pulses and pasta come with that handy ‘resealable tab’. But if you get one without, and you can’t be bothered to sellotape the bag up after every use, chances are you’ll just scrunch up the top of the packet in a vain attempt to avoid spillage. But that rarely works. I’ve had to clear escaped red lentils from my drawers twice now.
Which foodie bugbears annoy you the most? And have you any tips for dealing with them? We’d love to hear from you, so talk to us in the comments box below…
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