Kitchen jobs you hate beyond reason

[llc45]

Has anyone mentioned grating cheese? Hate hate hate it, mostly because I consistently grate myself. This task is always offloaded to my husband, who doesn't seem to be so accident prone.

Ditto on grating cheese, especially parmesan because it is so difficult. I have gone thru many a food processor trying to use them for grating parmsan regianno - now husband performs the task. Add to that juicing lemons and limes. One or two, no problem. Beyond that, my husband gets recruited just like the cheese grating task. Otherwise, prepping anything besides raw meat is my form of meditation. I could spend hrs chopping vegetables, spinning salads, and prepping herbs.

Neither of likes cleanup but we have worked out a system that generally makes it pretty efficient most of the time.

[Lindacakes]

Cleaning chunks of waterlogged food out of the sink trap.

Washing the food processor parts. I don't have a dishwasher. I avoid using the food processor to avoid this chore.

For those of you who hate chopping, what about a Bamix -- it has a little cup attachment thing that chops. Very nice.

[Special K]

I hate having to retrieve things from high places. Well, I just hate being short in general. I have to put things up on the top shelves, because there's no room anywhere else. I try to put only seldom-used things there, but still seem to need something once a week or so, always when my (tall) husband isn't around. This wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't have a little balance problem.

[Beebs]

I hate washing & drying lettuce and herbs. They never get as dry as I like. I also hate sorting through the containers of mixed salad greens and picking out the icky wilted brown bits.

[andiesenji]

Finally hit me this evening as I was prepping dinner. I don't hate the mincing/chopping/slicing work. I don't hate loading/unloading the dishwasher. I *would* hate handwashing dishes, but mercifully the aforementioned dishwasher takes care of that chore. Don't hate putting away the flatware. Don't hate breaking down proteins. Nope none of that.

I absolutely, resolutely and without any sane reason HATE cleaning herbs. Especially small leafy ones like mint, parsley, cilantro, thyme, etc. And I use these suckers a lot.

Don't mind chopping them. Absolutely loathe washing and drying them. To the point where I'll think....."hmmmm, do I really *need* it in this recipe?"

I'm at a loss here to see the problem. I use a lot of home grown herbs and I've never noticed it being a problem. When the weather is warm I wash them outside but the routine is the same.

I fill a large stainless basin with cold water and holding the bunch by the bottoms of the stems, dunk them briskly up and down in the water several times, swish them back and forth a couple of times and shake off the excess water then cut off the very bottoms of the stems (where I was holding them) and roll them up in towels - you can use paper towels but I have stacks of "huck" towels left over from my catering days so I use them.

All the dead, loose leaves and stems, bugs, etc., will float to the surface of the water and poured off during the plunging sessions and more water added if needed.

I've found that even aphids and mites will be removed with this process where they will hang on with rinsing under running water. As I use no pesticides in my garden, there will be a certain amount of little bugs - those missed by the beneficial predatory bugs, but they don't like being under water.

[andiesenji]

I hate having to retrieve things from high places. Well, I just hate being short in general. I have to put things up on the top shelves, because there's no room anywhere else. I try to put only seldom-used things there, but still seem to need something once a week or so, always when my (tall) husband isn't around. This wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't have a little balance problem.

I hear you and sympathize.

I have difficult climbing a step stool because of bad knees. I use one of the heavy duty extended "grabbers" - the one that has things like suction cups on the business end.

It can handle things up to about two pounds, which is fairly heavy.

I'm waiting for someone to invent a small hydraulic lift on which I could stand to retrieve things from high places. It was no problem when I had a live-in housekeeper but now I have to rely on someone who is only here on cleaning days and I always forget (until she has left) that there is something in a high cupboard that I will be needing. Fortunately one of my neighbors has a tall, strong teenage son who is willing to be on call for emergency lifting and etc.

[andiesenji]

Has anyone mentioned grating cheese? Hate hate hate it, mostly because I consistently grate myself. This task is always offloaded to my husband, who doesn't seem to be so accident prone.

Ditto on grating cheese, especially parmesan because it is so difficult. I have gone thru many a food processor trying to use them for grating parmsan regianno - now husband performs the task. Add to that juicing lemons and limes. One or two, no problem. Beyond that, my husband gets recruited just like the cheese grating task. Otherwise, prepping anything besides raw meat is my form of meditation. I could spend hrs chopping vegetables, spinning salads, and prepping herbs.

Neither of likes cleanup but we have worked out a system that generally makes it pretty efficient most of the time.

I grate hard cheeses in my Cuisnarts all the time and have for years - even Sap sago, which is about as hard as they come.

For semi-hard cheeses I stick them onto a cutting board that has prongs to keep stuff in place and move the grater over the cheese rather than vice-versa. I got the Microplane cheese graters and find they work with much less effort than the regular type. Especially doing it my way.

[Jaymes]

Finally hit me this evening as I was prepping dinner. I don't hate the mincing/chopping/slicing work. I don't hate loading/unloading the dishwasher. I *would* hate handwashing dishes, but mercifully the aforementioned dishwasher takes care of that chore. Don't hate putting away the flatware. Don't hate breaking down proteins. Nope none of that.

I absolutely, resolutely and without any sane reason HATE cleaning herbs. Especially small leafy ones like mint, parsley, cilantro, thyme, etc. And I use these suckers a lot.

Don't mind chopping them. Absolutely loathe washing and drying them. To the point where I'll think....."hmmmm, do I really *need* it in this recipe?"

I'm at a loss here to see the problem. I use a lot of home grown herbs and I've never noticed it being a problem. When the weather is warm I wash them outside but the routine is the same.

I fill a large stainless basin with cold water and holding the bunch by the bottoms of the stems, dunk them briskly up and down in the water several times, swish them back and forth a couple of times and shake off the excess water then cut off the very bottoms of the stems (where I was holding them) and roll them up in towels - you can use paper towels but I have stacks of "huck" towels left over from my catering days so I use them.

All the dead, loose leaves and stems, bugs, etc., will float to the surface of the water and poured off during the plunging sessions and more water added if needed.

I've found that even aphids and mites will be removed with this process where they will hang on with rinsing under running water. As I use no pesticides in my garden, there will be a certain amount of little bugs - those missed by the beneficial predatory bugs, but they don't like being under water.

This is exactly what I do, too, Andie. After the swirling and washing, I wrap the herbs in a paper towel or dishtowel, and shake them a bit to get rid of excess water, and then, after cutting the stems, put whatever amount I'm not going to be using into a small vase, flower style. I find that the stems suck up the water and will last for days on my counter. They look pretty cute, too. Often they'll root in the water, and if I'm running low, I'll plant them.

And again, I hold the herb bouquet over whatever I'm going to be putting them into and get the kitchen shears and snip snip snip. With many herbs, like thyme and rosemary, I've found that I can drop the whole stem into the pot and as it cooks, the leaves fall off, and I can remove the remaining stem in one piece.

[andiesenji]

You are so right, Jaymes. (by the way, where is your avatar?)

I usually tie herbs with hard stems into a bouquet and drop into a pot with the string tied to a handle so I can fish it out, and indeed, the leaves usually drop off.

I also use one of the larger "infuser" type basket things when I have a bunch of small pieces I don't want to leave in the stew, soup or ??

I love my floating infuser I found last year at the local kitchen outlet store. Floating infuser

I liked it so well I went back and bought several more to give as gifts.

The top is a sealed chamber that keeps the thing floating - very clever design.

The handle has a slot that will slide over a straight-sided pan and let all the liquid drip out.

I have a bunch of the large wire mesh ones but they are much harder to clean when those tiny stems get stuck in the mesh.

[Meanderer]

When I read the comments from those who hate to grate cheese, I think of Martino, a character in the novel The Castle of Fratta, by Ippolito Nievo, whose "one task was to grate the cheese. It is true that with his naturally phlegmatic nature made more so by age, and with the extraordinary quantity of minestra consumed in the kitchen, this task kept him occupied for many hours a day." What a life he must have led.

[toolprincess]

I agree I hate unloading the dishwasher!

[andiesenji]

I agree I hate unloading the dishwasher!

It's not my favorite task but I don't "hate" it, mild displeasure is my major feeling.

I've had this Bosch dishwasher for a couple of years now and it is so different from my old Hobart that it did take me a while to get used to using the racks and I still don't like having to bend repeatedly to load and unload the bottom rack, one item at a time.

I have to admit that it is really quiet. I can't hear it unless I am right next to it and then only a faint swishing sound. Since the Hobart sounded like a 747 taking off, it is a profound difference.

The main displeasure is that I do have to unload the thing rather than just shove the trays onto a rolling cart and push it into the pantry and put the items away at my leisure.

[Lilija]

Oh oh oh I have another one! Cleaning flour from my counters. I'm about to trudge into the kitchen to make a batch of egg noodles, for dinner tonight, and I know the result will be awesome, I enjoy making the dough and rolling it out. Scraping up dried dough and flour...argh.

[Special K]

I've had this Bosch dishwasher for a couple of years now and it is so different from my old Hobart that it did take me a while to get used to using the racks and I still don't like having to bend repeatedly to load and unload the bottom rack, one item at a time.

I have to admit that it is really quiet. I can't hear it unless I am right next to it and then only a faint swishing sound. Since the Hobart sounded like a 747 taking off, it is a profound difference.

The main displeasure is that I do have to unload the thing rather than just shove the trays onto a rolling cart and push it into the pantry and put the items away at my leisure.

I agree - since we got our Miele dishwasher about a year ago, loading and unloading it is a pleasure. (I never had a Hobart (or a pantry) to spoil me. ) The dishwasher fits under the dish cabinet and the bowl/glassware cabinet and right next to the silverware drawer in my small kitchen, and I use the like-things-with-each-other-so-I-just-have-to-grab-them-all-at-once method, so unloading goes really quickly. (Small kitchens do have that one advantage - the work triangle is never more than two steps!) I love that the Miele is so quiet, and I really, really like the silverware tray (as opposed to basket my old, noisy dw had). Unloading dishes makes me particularly happy!

And Andie, I do sometimes use an extra-long pair of tongs to get llightweight things down from the upper shelves, and I have been thinking of getting one of the "grabbers" you mentioned - although the small hydraulic lift sounds great!

[andiesenji]

And Andie, I do sometimes use an extra-long pair of tongs to get llightweight things down from the upper shelves, and I have been thinking of getting one of the "grabbers" you mentioned - although the small hydraulic lift sounds great!

This is the one I have now: EZ reacher

I have tried several types and this one has lasted the longest and for me is the easiest to use because it locks onto the item.

It's the only one I trust to lift down crystal from high shelves.

Edited December 7, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[emmalish]

Oh oh oh I have another one! Cleaning flour from my counters. I'm about to trudge into the kitchen to make a batch of egg noodles, for dinner tonight, and I know the result will be awesome, I enjoy making the dough and rolling it out. Scraping up dried dough and flour...argh.

YES! This is one of the reasons I hate rolling out any kind of dough – the clean up afterwards. I used to put down parchment paper, but it would just curl up and tear and make an even bigger mess. Now I have a large silpat mat just for working with doughs. Still needs to be cleaned up, but at least it's localized and I don't need to use a lot of flour on the board to avoid sticking.

[kitchensqueen]

I hate working with carrots. Peeling them, dicing them - hate it. They're unweildy and hard to cut. I love prep otherwise - dicing onions, celery - anything but carrots!

[Tri2Cook]

Mopping. Unfortunately, it's completely unavoidable... I hate a messy kitchen much worse than I hate any of the cleaning jobs.

[jsmeeker]

Doing the dishes. Loading the dishwasher is the easiest thing. Everything else? Hate it. Like others, I delay in un-loading. I can even delay in running it. This makes it more likely dirty stuff piles up. Stuff I wash by hand isn't too bad, but I tend to delay that. And I don't like drying stuff by hand either.

Yup. That's the worst part of cooking. The cleanup part.

[cbread]

Skinning hot beets and hot bell peppers.

[rarerollingobject]

I hate grating ginger, peeling shallots, peeling apples and skinning roasted hazelnuts. I hate trying to remove the silverskin from a rack of ribs, or skin fish, or neatly cut the rind off pork.

Hmm, so it seems that apart from the ginger, it's denuding things that I really don't like..

[rarerollingobject]

Also: shelling large quantities of pistachios.

[Toliver]

I hate working with carrots. Peeling them, dicing them - hate it. They're unweildy and hard to cut. I love prep otherwise - dicing onions, celery - anything but carrots!

To cut down (no pun intended) on their unweildiness, slice one side of the carrot so it's flat. It'll be easier to handle and slice once it's stable.

Edited May 3, 2011 by Toliver (log)

[rebecca]

I don't mind peeling garlic, and I love to use it, but chopping it is a pain in the arse. The knife blade gets sticky, then my fingers do... it has almost made me a vampire in my own home. I make other people do that one!

The really sad one, tho, is that I don't like seeing people eat my food. I love to cook for others (I am of the is-zen-to-cook-large-quantities-by-myself school of thought) and I love when people appreciate what I make, but I just don't have the stomach (sorry!) for watching others eat my work. I like to stay in the back and hear about it later!

[Kouign Aman]

Washing leafy greens. Its not hard. I hate to see all the bugs...

Putting pans away in the tightly packed under-oven cupboard.