Ask Lemmy

Wiping with your finger introduces bacteria from your hands and is not a good idea from a food safety perspective. If you wipe the excess you should do it with a clean towel (like a disposable paper towel/napkin) or at a minimum wash your hands. It’s probably not a huge deal if the sauce is very acidic and the remainder will be used promptly but if it’s like a bottle of a condiment that may be used for weeks probably best practice to keep your grubby fingers out of there

I lick it clean before putting it in the fridge.

^^/s

I clean it off. I feel this helps prevent spoilage as the lid will have a better seal on a clean rim than a dirty one.

I usually try to make up for it beforehand by pouring really carefully and trying to get it so none pours down the side of the opening, but if some does I usually just put the lid on and wipe any excess after that. Usually that does decent enough at keeping it clean until it's used up anyway.

If it’s hot sauce, I typically use a napkin to wipe away the residual amount that runs down the neck of the bottle. That’s the only condiment that seems to have that problem. I don’t think I’ve ever had ketchup, mustard, or bbq sauce leak from a bottle so badly that it required me to clean the bottle after using it.

If the jar gets anything on it I throw the whole thing out, including whatever I'm cooking just to be safe.

Ultimately, it probably doesn't matter. Your wife may have a point, but it is completely negated by the fact she's introducing contaminants from her hand to the food. Using a clean item to remove the excess may be beneficial, especially if the liquid drying can make it hard to open. Again, all of this is splitting hairs if your food is generally stored correctly and nobody is at particular risk for food borne illness. You're at home, not serving others in a restaurant.

Your way is messy, her way is unsanitary. Use something clean to wipe it off.

It's actually getting harder and harder to find condiments in glass. Everything is plastic with an "ez squeeze" spout that don't really have this problem anymore. But I would use a paper towel to keep the mouth clean because I don't want the gross shit coming off when using the sauce, nor do I want it gluing the cap to the bottle making it harder to open.

I wipe it off.

Your wife is correct

I don't wipe it unless it gets gummed up but honestly I've can't think of anything where this happens anymore. All of my condiments are either jars or squeeze bottles. I never wipe squeeze bottles and they never get gummed up. Jars only get wiped if they somehow got a bunch of stuff in the grooves, which is excessively rare.

That being said using a finger is nasty and I hope you guys don't serve guests from those bottles.

I don’t. But if it gunks up then it does gross me out and that’s when I clean it with paper towel or tissue

If there's a decent dribble there I'll grab a paper towel or napkin and clean it off first, but I usually don't worry about it. Wiping it off with a finger is disgusting though IMO. Her finger has about a thousand times more nasty stuff than anything in the sauce bottle, that's a great way to contaminate an entire container.

Damp washcloth or kitchen towel.

Lick it.

How do u cook without touching the food genius.