FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF MARCH 13, 2000:
I know we’re not supposed to eat homemade cookie dough, but what about those refrigerated cookie doughs that you can buy at the grocery store?
You’re right not to eat homemade cookie dough, says Sandy McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety specialist. It contains raw eggs–about one in every 20,000 of which carries Salmonella bacteria.
The eggs used in commercially produced cookie doughs have been pasteurized–eliminating the threat of food-borne illness from Salmonella. Nevertheless, manufacturers recommend that you bake them before eating. That’s because, during the doughs’ 45-day refrigerated shelf life, other bacteria could have begun to grow in their flour component.
"It’s best to allow the baking temperature to insure a safe product," says McCurdy.
By the way, McCurdy says you can extend the storage time for both homemade and refrigerated commercial doughs by freezing them.
I hope that you can help me or lead me to some other source for answers. I would like to know how to handwash cashmere and silk sweaters to avoid dry-cleaning and, of course, to keep these knits in good condition for a long time.
Washing silk and woolen sweaters can be tricky, says Beverly Healy, University of Idaho extension educator. "Silks may not be color-fast and can be stretched out of shape. Wool can shrink or felt." Once wool felts–that is, its fibers interlock or mat–it can’t be returned to its original form.
"If a wool or silk sweater has a dry-clean care label, it’s best to follow that recommendation to keep sweaters in optimal condition," Healy says.
Given that precaution, the method of washing wool that’s least likely to cause damage is to hand-launder it in comfortably warm water, using a mild neutral detergent or soap, a short wash period and very gentle agitation. Avoid long soaks, hot water, wringing and twisting, and a lot of agitation. Rinse the sweater thoroughly, gently squeeze out excess moisture and roll it in a towel. Then block it to its original shape on a pretraced outline and dry it away from direct heat sources.
For silk: First confirm that the garment is color-fast by covering a small corner with a damp cotton cloth and pressing down with a hot iron for a few seconds to make certain the color does not transfer. Handwash in lukewarm water with a mild soap or detergent–not a regular detergent. Rinse out all soap and detergent residue and do a final rinse with a capful of white vinegar added to clean, cool water. Then roll the sweater in a towel to remove excess water; never wring it. Smooth all the seam lines, block and dry as for a woolen sweater, and press lightly if needed.
Certain types of silk–chiffons, satins and crepes–should never be handwashed, Healy says. Nor should you wash silk garments with lots of detail.
For green onions, how deep should I plant onion sets? I’ve heard they should be planted shoulder deep. I’ve also heard they should be planted 2 inches deep. And the planting instructions on the sets I bought last spring said 4 inches deep! Is one depth better than another–or doesn’t it matter?
David Maas, University of Idaho extension educator, recommends planting onion sets 2 to 3 inches below the surface and 3 to 4 inches apart.
You can separate your onion sets into larger and smaller ones, using three-quarters of an inch as the cutoff. Use the larger ones as earlier-harvested green onions, because they tend to produce undesirable seed stalks later in the season, and plant the smaller ones for bulb onions. As a rule, the shallower the planting, the flatter the resulting bulb.
Maas recommends planting after soil temperatures have reached 50 degrees Fahrenheit–generally six to eight weeks before the last killing frost.
I know my children are watching too much television, but when they’re home sitting in front of it, at least they’re safe and out of trouble. Should I really cut back?
In a word, yes, says Harriet Shaklee, University of Idaho extension family development specialist. According to Shaklee, by the time young Americans are 18 years old, they’ve spent seven of those 18 years with the TV on. "We’re overdosing," she says. "Watching an hour of television a night might be a very nice supplement to the day, but having it on for seven or eight hours is not. Treat it like a book: turn it on and turn it off."
Marathon TV watching is especially harmful to preschoolers who are still learning to speak, Shaklee says. "The background noise makes it difficult for them to hear how the words should sound. It interferes with their auditory reception. It also suppresses family talk–and talking is what really helps us learn language."
Television watching also exposes children to high doses of violence and materialism. According to Shaklee, it feeds children "messages of want-want-want and the parent is replying no-no-no. You’re setting yourself up for family conflict."
She recommends developing alternatives before you flip off that switch. "Dig up a favorite cookie recipe you can bake together, plant a family garden, go to the rec center or play card games," she says. Then, be firm, even if the children object.
"It’s kids’ job to complain," says Shaklee. "It’s your job to set the boundaries."