Other FAQs

What’s in My Water? Answers to FAQs

Thirsty? What could be better than a tall, cold glass of water?  But how much do you know about the contents of that glass? Recent media attention focused on water contamination has caused us to revisit this topic and seek expert answers to questions not answered elsewhere on the site. 

 

First, let’s get a little background about the water supply we depend upon:

 

What will you be dining on this year? Here are predictions from folks in the know

Those of us of an unmentionable age may have trouble recollecting the immediate past (for example, 3 minutes ago where did I put our reading glasses?),  but we can prognosticate about foods of the future, thanks to help from experts.

 

Should you or your dishwasher do the first rinse?

DishwasherFor years, I was a member of the clean plate club.  No, I don't mean I ate everything on my plate but rather that I cleaned my dishes (and silverware and cooking utensils) pretty thoroughly before loading them into my dishwasher. Yep, that's what I did until one surprising evening (while I was loading my dishwasher) a dishwasher repairman appeared on my kitchen TV screen. "Don't rinse!" was his message. He swore up and down that dirty dishes clean up better than well-rinsed ones.  I heard it on TV, so it must be right, right?  But I'm not quick to give up my long-standing assumptions, even if they're erroneous. So I listened, and then I researched.

Should Sour Cream and Cottage Cheese Be Stored Upside Down?

cottage cheese and sour cream"Is this true?" my daughter emailed me, attaching the following from myfridgefood.com: "Bacteria is what causes cottage cheese and sour cream to go bad. If you store them UPSIDE DOWN it creates a vacuum in the container which stifles the growth of bacteria and they last much longer... science lesson over." 

 

I wondered whether a science lesson had, in fact, ever begun. I promptly turned the question over to this site's Advisory Board members, all scientists. While waiting for their responses, I checked Google and discovered that this "fact" quoted above had been widely discussed online.  I found it on cbsnews.com, facebook.com, lifehacker.com, messsage.snopes.com, pinterest.com, and answers.yahoo.com.  Most of the sites (including CBS) recommend upside down storage.  But before you do that, read the following comments from the Shelf Life Advice Board scientists:

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