Convincing Your Husband That Stones Don't Need Washing

[HealthNut]

ok - so HOW do I convince my husband that my "dirty" looking stone is NOT dirty? lol.

he hates how it looks - it's "gross" to him and needs washed.

and he's the kind of guy - no matter how long you sit there telling him something, he only believes what he does! :grumpy:

anyyywhooooo - seriously, how do i convince people that stones are NOT to be washed and even though they look "dirty" that it's really not?

also - what IS the best way to clean/disinfect a stone?

 

[KayPT]

I just scrub it with a brush and the scraper and hot water. As long as all the chunky parts come off it is fine. Not sure how to convince someone though, possibly that the food would taste like soap if you wash it with soap???

 

[Kathy's_Kitchen]

You can also use a baking soda/water paste on it to get rid of sticky residue if needed. I tell people who have concerns that the scraper (or brush) combined with the hot water acts as the releasing agent for the food and oils. Soap is a releasing agent for other types of dishes so as long as the food, oils, residue, etc. is released, the item is just as clean.

 

[skaugchef]

I too have a hard time convincing people that haven't used stoneware yet how just hard water will clean it. But, it will.

 

[JackieB999]

I have quickly used dish soap on mine, with just a few wipes over it with a dish cloth, then rinse and dry. It doesn't taste like soap. Just dont ever soak it or put it in the dishwasher.

 

[lesliec]

Both of my bar pans are at the point where greae is coming through the back, so I have used some dawn the last few times on the back to cut the stickiness of the grease, but beyond that I don't have a problem. I got them both as a host last summer and am so excited that they are finally to this point.

 

[KaiKendall]

I would NEVER use soap on mine... it doesnt help even if it weren't bad for it... Baking soda/water paste DOES work. One time I left it in my fridge and forgot about it for a few weeks (with cornbread chili bake... oops) and it was disgusting and moldy. Baking soda worked like MAGIC and you can't even tell. Of course a few days later my husband dropped it and broke it, but that's another story. Baking soda is JUST fine, and works!

 

[Zsu]

One of my customer once showed her barely used stone. She said that it looks gross. I mean i wasn't sure if she ever used it it was so clean. But she was worried about it too. I told her that gross has a new meaning now, and it means good or great. Since then she never complaines and we smile about it every time.

But i have customers too, sometimes at parties that concerned. i tell them that soap is only a lubricant for the dirt to come off, it does not clean it. What cleans is the rubbing scrubbing of me and hot water. I read this somewhere.
Also when you bake on the stone you bake at least 300 F and up, those little germs that might have made it through the washing will be long dead after it reaches 180 F. Most of the time, by the time i get to this part i am convincing enough.
But if not then i pull out the baking soda part, or vinegar as a rinse, or sometimes we brainstorm for other natural cleaners like lemon juice and such.
Those who still resist i let them be. By this point i already sold many stones so i am not going to try any harder.
I am sorry for the germ freaks, it freaks me out because most of the time they are the ones having antibacterial everything in their house so by the time i get home my hands are fried form the chemicals in their house.

If it was my husband, i would tell him don't eat it then if he doesn't like the food served form a gross stone. And i would make his favorite dinner, dessert whatever every day for a week. He doesn't have to eat it, but if he does then he cannot complain anymore. But that is just me. I am mean...

 

[BlueMoon]

... But that is just me. I am mean...

Lol, Zsuzsanna, so funny to think of you as mean!!

Here's an old thread from 2006 on this subject. http://www.chefsuccess.com/f8/do-our-stones-harbor-bacteria-5427/

anyway, for me I used to use salt, but baking soda and water is amazing. And salt is a natural sanitizer that a lot of places use to kill germs.

My personal comfort, though, comes from the thought that no, germs cannot survive the oven.

My SIL is really phobic about germs, and it isn't always rational. I know, though, that when she gets her stoneware, she will put it in that darn dishwasher. Oh well, you can't please everyone. I plan to take my 15 year old stone to shows. It's black.

I also learned recently (from this site and elsewhere) that non-stick sprays add to a residue build-up. So use your kitchen mister or a silicone brush to apply oil, it really does seem to work better.

 

[babywings76]

Both of my bar pans are at the point where greae is coming through the back, so I have used some dawn the last few times on the back to cut the stickiness of the grease, but beyond that I don't have a problem. I got them both as a host last summer and am so excited that they are finally to this point.

I had a rectangle stone that was approaching the end of it's guarantee period that started doing this. I was told that it isn't normal, that it probably had hairline cracks or something, and I should get it replaced. So I did. You might want to do that, too.

 

[HealthNut]

thank you guys. as for the baking soda, how do you use it, exactly, put it on dry and wipe it off?

 

[deanna_g]

With the baking powder, you make a paste with it out of water and use a cloth to rub it on/in and then rinse. It acts as an abrasive cleanser. (-:

 

[babywings76]

I keep baking soda in one of our shakers right by the sink. I just wet the stone, sprinkle on the baking soda, and then rub it around with my hands. Then I grab my kitchen brush and turn on the hot water and just go to town scrubbing it all over some more and do a final rinse.

 

[HealthNut]

I keep baking soda in one of our shakers right by the sink. I just wet the stone, sprinkle on the baking soda, and then rub it around with my hands. Then I grab my kitchen brush and turn on the hot water and just go to town scrubbing it all over some more and do a final rinse.

great! Thanks!!

and thanks, deanna, too!

 

[southernmommie]

I haven't had a show yet, but when I explain my stones to my friends when they see how black it is and they ask how to wash it, I explain it like a cast iron skillet. Same principle. You NEVER wash a cast iron with soap either!

 

[HealthNut]

I haven't had a show yet, but when I explain my stones to my friends when they see how black it is and they ask how to wash it, I explain it like a cast iron skillet. Same principle. You NEVER wash a cast iron with soap either!

I always forget the cast iron skillet reference...maybe he'll "get" that... :thumbup:

 

[Deb Bixler]

Get him a new stone and let him be in charge of it. It will only be a matter of time before he realizes that it is the evolution of a stone.

 

[HealthNut]

Get him a new stone and let him be in charge of it. It will only be a matter of time before he realizes that it is the evolution of a stone.

funny thing - he's a caterer. he's been in the food business pretty much all his life. yet for some reason he just doesn't get how the stones work! (as far as not getting soaped down...) but i will def. tell him it's just like a cast iron skillet!