Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

Well, that was fast. So much planning, cooking, baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating and then it seemed like Christmas flew by at warp speed. The gifts were ripped open, the big meal is now leftovers, and the house looks like a wrecking ball came through it. Still, it’s all good.

I made enough cookies this year for an army (my family). I usually enjoy baking, until I read the FDA statement about the “dangers” of licking spoons. Yes, Dear Readers, the evil verdict from the FDA is that no one should EVER eat raw dough, under any circumstances. You know, eggs not being cooked could have salmonella. Flour might contain e-coli from animal feces (yuck). So that wonderful glob of cookie dough that I wanted to taste or that spoon filled with heavenly brownie batter could not be licked. Ever again. Another tragedy as far as I am concerned.

With knowledge comes responsibility. And restrictions. Hey, why do we have to hear about it? Give me a spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough and let me live my life in bliss! Do not tell me a slight taste of raw pie dough will kill me! What nonsense is this? Can we not have the simple and true pleasures that all chefs hold dear – enjoying a lick of raw batter every now and then? Lordy, help us. The enemy is not some foreign terrorist – it is in cookie dough!

My neighbor says I am overreacting. Then again, the last time she turned on her oven was in 1996. My aunt is 93 years old and laughed that she has eaten plenty of raw dough, “enough to sink a battleship” in her lifetime. My daughter said she does recall feeling a bit ill after licking a spoon filled with cake batter. My niece said she must “taste test” everything so she might have to “die licking.” Maybe our new motto should be, “I keep licking and I’m still kicking!”

The holidays are about baking delicious treats. It is part of the joy that those who are doing the baking get to try a spoonful of dough every now and then. I mean why put the beaters in the sink to wash before they are licked clean?

Maybe it all boils down to how much risk we are willing to take. My girlfriend is an attorney and says that the FDA must warn the public to “mitigate risk.” She then goes on to say that “everything has a risk” like driving, walking across the street, or riding a horse. Just because something is risky doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it! Okay, so in 2024 I vow never to taste cake batter while I am riding a horse and crossing a busy street.

Now that we are heading towards a New Year, we can finally put our mixing bowls, cookie sheets and pie plates away for a while. Thank goodness. In the meantime, let’s enjoy every morsel and flavor of the holidays before they end. Taste and experience it all! Because the consequences of eating raw dough should be the yeast of our worries.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Contact Judy at [email protected] or visit www.aroundthebluhmintown.com.