How hot is your oven?
Or, more accurately, how hot is your clean oven?
Two things motivated me to clean my absolutely filthy disgusting but not a health risk as I don't actually let food touch it oven. The first was a friend moaning about the insanitary state of her kitchen, which when I inspected it, seemed to be the very model of hygienic perfection. The second was watching one of those TV freak shows - ie., "It's me or the dog", "Supernanny" etc - in this instance it was "How clean is your house?". I looked at my own kitchen and compared it unfavourably to my friend's kitchen and the kitchen at the end of the TV programme.
So I bought a packet of washing soda from the local hardware shop (unavailable in the big supermarkets) and left it to do its stuff on my cooker while we ate our Chile con Carne.
When I returned I found that the washing soda was as good as its word, in fact better. It had truly cleaned all the grease and whatnot from my oven. It had also cleaned all the markings and gradations from the fascia panel so I couldn't tell which dial does what, and the cooker kept its temperature a secret from me.
I was obliged to get on my bike and make a second purchase from the hardware shop - an oven thermometer. I've now annotated the cooker with my own callibrations using a permanent- marking felt tip pen. Looks great. Very designer. Very chic.
Two things motivated me to clean my absolutely filthy disgusting but not a health risk as I don't actually let food touch it oven. The first was a friend moaning about the insanitary state of her kitchen, which when I inspected it, seemed to be the very model of hygienic perfection. The second was watching one of those TV freak shows - ie., "It's me or the dog", "Supernanny" etc - in this instance it was "How clean is your house?". I looked at my own kitchen and compared it unfavourably to my friend's kitchen and the kitchen at the end of the TV programme.
So I bought a packet of washing soda from the local hardware shop (unavailable in the big supermarkets) and left it to do its stuff on my cooker while we ate our Chile con Carne.
When I returned I found that the washing soda was as good as its word, in fact better. It had truly cleaned all the grease and whatnot from my oven. It had also cleaned all the markings and gradations from the fascia panel so I couldn't tell which dial does what, and the cooker kept its temperature a secret from me.
I was obliged to get on my bike and make a second purchase from the hardware shop - an oven thermometer. I've now annotated the cooker with my own callibrations using a permanent- marking felt tip pen. Looks great. Very designer. Very chic.
posted by Irene Adler @ 10:50 pm
4 Comments:
At 06 October, 2005 14:39,
Anonymous said…
Irene,your blog is very interesting. My mother once asked me how often I cleaned my oven and I had a hard job recalling whether I ever had. As you say food never actually touches the sides, and it gets very hot so I can't think there is any risk of e-coli or the like. Still, the aforesaid mother cleaned it for me anyway.
I too watch that How clean is your house programme and always get up in the interval to start cleaning. I am always relieved that my house is not quite as bad though as the ones they show(you might disagree). With a full time job and an exam to revise for, cleaning is low down on my list of priorities. I do not wish to spend what little time I have free at the moment scrubbing my oven.
Having read your other blog re sewing machines I had a brilliant idea for Christmas presents. I am in dire need of one of those sausage like draught excluders and thought you could turn your brilliance to something in this direction??
My best wishes for your blogging...
Elizabeth
At 08 October, 2005 21:27,
Irene Adler said…
Of course, I would be only too delighted to make a draught excluder for you. I shall need to know the exact dimensions. On a related matter - I wonder if I remember (or is it a suggested memory got from reading a newspaper article about the children's TV programme, Blue Peter's rival, MAGPIE) Susan Strang stuffing a very long technicoloured draught excluder with her snipped-up old tights.
By the way, I still have a purple bruise with an associated small lump on my shin from when that cast iron frying pan fell off the hook on your kitchen wall in August. I think if your kitchen was a little more governed that would never have happened. I might have broken my leg. I'm on your mother's team.
At 17 October, 2005 12:12,
Anonymous said…
Irene, I will indeed measure the dimensions of the door for which the draught excluder is needed. However, the thought of your old tights quite disturbs me.
I think we must agree to disagree about the order of my kitchen. On the other hand if you wish to come and rearrange it for me I should only be grateful.
At 18 October, 2005 17:17,
Irene Adler said…
Elizabeth, I did not say with what I would be stuffing your draught excluder - so don't jump to conclusions. And I do realise that this comment does sound horribly like a euphemism but believe me, I was thinking of kapok.
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