Check your flour but don’t lick the bowl
- col-bobbie-randall
- November 23, 2023
- 567
Christmas cookie time has rolled around once again. The holiday season is perfect to spend time with friends and family making and tasting delicious treats.
Tasting the cookie dough is a secret pleasure of many bakers. The taste is sweet, the texture creamy and the joy of stealing a sneak treat is a childhood treasure.
The ingredients used today are handled differently than years ago. In 2016 an outbreak of the food-borne illness, E. coli, was linked to raw flour. Salmonella is the danger from raw eggs. Follow these safety tips when handling raw cookie dough.
Do not taste raw cookie dough. Preschoolers, elderly and those on certain medications have weakened immune systems and are less likely to fight off a food-borne illness. Just playing with raw dough or craft dough without washing hands afterward increases the risk of illness.
Bake or cook raw cookie dough and cake batter before eating. Follow the recipe for cooking or baking at the proper temperature for the specified time. This affects the growth of any potentially harmful bacteria.
Pasteurized eggs are safe to consume raw. They are found at the grocery store in the same area of the dairy case as unpasteurized eggs for a higher price. The added expense is worth it because pasteurizing makes the eggs more than 90% safe to eat in a raw or partially cooked state. Look for the pink P inside a pink circle marked on every egg.
Purchase fresh flour for holiday cookies. Recalled flour has been taken off the shelves. If you have stored flour in a container and no longer have the package, dump it just to be safe. Clean out the container with warm, soapy water.
Clean up thoroughly after handling flour, eggs or raw dough. Don’t forget to wash bowls, utensils, countertops and other surfaces with warm, soapy water to reduce the spread of contaminants.
Pay close attention to physical symptoms. They may range from mild to severe depending on the bacteria involved. Eating too many cookies can give anyone a belly ache, but severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting within three to four days after making and tasting the raw dough may be a sign of E. coli infection.
The symptoms of Salmonella infections typically occur six to 48 hours later. Diarrhea, fever and cramps can last up to seven days. Most adults can handle these discomforts, but for those with weakened immune systems, this may be dangerous.
Sugars and salt do not go bad with time, but many other ingredients do. Baking soda and baking powder perform better in a recipe if they are fresh. Buy new ones for the best baking results.
Check other cookie-making ingredients. Although they may not be dangerous, spices left over from last year have lost their flavor and potency. Purchase new cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
A wise baker once advised me to chew gum while making cookies. The chewing action inhibits tasting, and any taste of cookie dough destroys the texture of the gum. Try it and enjoy the baked cookie just to be safe.
Bobbie Randall is a certified diabetes care and education specialist and registered, licensed dietitian. Email her at bobbierandallrd@gmail.com.