I just ruined a recipe.

[AirmensMom]

I got a new cookbook for my birthday last month and have been trying out the recipes. One that looked intriguing is Cranberry Chutney. There's a lot of stuff in it, including spices, Port, AC vinegar, apple, pear, etc.

Well, our pear and apple trees are all done for the year, so we had to buy an apple and a pear. I wash all of our groceries with hot soapy water as soon as they come into the house. And then I washed the apple and pear again before cutting them up. Even though the recipe did not say to peel them, I really wanted to. But my husband said maybe I should follow the recipe. So I just cored them and then cut them up.

I tasted the pear. Next to our pears, it tasted like absolutely nothing at all. So I decided not to try the apple. I had the other ingredients simmering already and tasted the "sauce". It tasted good. Then I added the apple and pear. Almost immediately, a cloud of men's cologne smell came up from the pot. I mean, WTAF???? I tasted the sauce, and with all the spices and other things, the only thing I can taste is that damn cologne. Mind you, neither of us wears cologne or any kind of fragrance. Clearly, it was on the apple.

My husband thinks it might "cook off" but it won't. I added the cranberries (big mistake!) and then some extra spices, but the cologne overpowers them all. It's just ruined and I don't have ingredients to try again.

I don't understand why people want to put petrochemical waste all over their bodies, but it would be really great if they wouldn't touch food afterwards! I mean, that shit does not come off. Maybe it would have been a bit less noticeable if I'd peeled the apple. But I have experienced it with bags of apples that were so bad that after being washed and then sitting in the refrigerator for weeks, even the horse wouldn't eat them. She'll eat wormy apples and ones with bruises. But no thank you on the fragrance.

Needless to say, I'm pissed. The ingredients were not cheap. We eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, so this is a problem that gets repeated. If we were on a stricter budget, I can tell you we would be eating more packaged food. And from now on, everything gets peeled, whether the instructions say to or not.

So yeah, this is a rant. But it's also a request: If you are around food that will be purchased or eaten by someone else, please leave the cologne off. Save it for your date who thinks it makes you smell sexy (it doesn't). Wear gloves and then don't touch your face with your clean gloves. If you own a food store or restaurant, you should know that even having the smell in the air will transfer to the food.

We won't be having that cranberry chutney again. Or maybe ever because now I have an aversion from smelling and tasting the cologne in it.

[cyclonefence]

1. Is your soap scented?

Are you sure you rinsed your fruit thoroughly?

I made some wonderful rustic rolls, and my son--who is a super-taster--said they tasted like detergent. I apparently had not rinsed the baking pans well enough after they were washed last time.

I think kitchen soaps and detergents ought to be scent-free, too.

[AirmensMom]

2. No and yes.

I rinsed for several minutes, as I always do. I'm especially careful with things like fresh produce.

No, we do not use any scented products at all. And we use a dishwasher, also with a fragrance-free detergent.

This smells distinctly like men's cologne. Usually if something comes from the store with a smell, it's the disinfectant smell from the store itself. That's bad enough. This was different.

I don't use fabric softener and I make my own detergent or use soap nuts. There is no possibility of it coming from inside the house. No one uses anything with that smell in our house.

When I give anyone a dish of food to take home, I put it in a disposable dish and tell them to keep it because it usually comes back smelling like their "April fresh" detergent, which I can taste.

I made mistakes with the recipe, like not peeling the fruit ... which might or might not have completely solved the problem. This was the result of my food being contaminated at the store and me not noticing until it was too late. The other two recipes I tried are fine.

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. I cooked some bacon once.

Brand new package, put bacon strips on a sheet tray, and put them in the oven.

An immediate stench of perfume came out of my oven! The bacon was infused with some nasty perfumy smell. That hog must have worn perfume every day! I had to throw it out.

[Mr.Bill]

5. I wonder if it could have come from

scented hand sanitizer.

[wishstar]

6. Yup, some like those from Bath & Body Works have terribly strong scents that won't wash off

Before Covid, I found out the hard way when a friend of mine offered for me to use a little of her hand sanitizer that had a strong scent I couldn't stand and it would not wash off with regular soap and water.

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Apples and pears are both in the "Dirty Dozen"

Produce items that have the most pesticide residue.

This year’s Dirty Dozen list:
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

[AirmensMom]

10. I know that.

And they were both organic. I don't eat anything on that list unless it's organic. And then I still wash the heck out of it. I prefer what comes out of my organic garden.

[Marthe48]

8. If you didn't throw it out

There is an old remedy to remove salt or burnt flavor from food. You peel a white potato and put it in the savory dish. Don'y cut it in pieces and don't leave it in longer than 10 minutes. Remove it before it actually cooks through. It is supposed to help a bit. Mainly salty gravy, or stew, or something lightly scorched. I think I did it once for something I scorched. To be honest, it didn't help that much, but it might take some of the cologne flavor out of your chutney.

[AirmensMom]

11. I remember that trick from my grandma.

If there's a next time, I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[Marthe48]

9. My daughter and s-i-l

joined a farm co-op a couple of years ago. The farm offers all organic, locally grown vgetables, sometimes strawberries. There are different sized plans, and there is always a lot of variety. They pick up once a week. They get enough stuff that they can freeze of preserve some. They are really happy they found this place.

I tell local farmers about it if I am at the local stands, but so far, no one has started one around here.

[AirmensMom]

12. I should have mentioned

that we buy organic if it's something we don't already grow organic. But if it's not handled properly in the store, the fragrance makes it taste terrible, even if it is organic. Even food from Earth Fare was tainted with fragrance, depending on who was working in the produce section that day.

I don't trust the farmers markets around here at all. I know what our neighbors use on their cow pastures. There aren't any organic farms near us. Just our own little garden.

One day I was thinking of hiring someone to mow and trim for us. This guy had been mowing at my neighbors for a few weeks and she was happy with him at that point. So I talked to him and mentioned that we have a lot of trees to trim around, but if he's not careful, he'll damage them with his weed eater. He suggested spraying RoundUp around them. Needless to say, I did not hire him. He didn't last at my neighbors for very long, but all her trees are mysteriously dying. Makes ya wonder.

[Marthe48]

13. From your post I thought you'd like organic

Both of my daughters are vegetarian and get organic non-GMO. I get some things, the things I use a lot.

I used to have a small garden and didn't use any chemicals. And we had a lawn service come in and treat the yard. We asked if they used round-up and they said they didn't. We stopped using them a a year or so later, because it didn't make a difference in appearance. We when stopped,we got a lot more diversity right away. That's all I care about any more.