Letting kids lick the spoon

[Alahnna]

Apparently, according to a discussion I had with an aquiantance recently, we are not supposed to let the kids lick the spoon or the beaters anymore when finished mixing. She claims that there are too many risk of salmonella and such with raw eggs in the batter. I don't know about you, but I liked many a beater in my days of baking with mom and I also snuck a fair amount of cookie dough from the bowl when she turned her back. I thinks kind of silly of the tiny bit of egg they may get in a mouthfull. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[dandeliion]

Some of my favorite childhood memories are licking the spoons and beaters my mom used while baking as well as sneaking handfuls of cookie dough! I understand there is some risk, but in general, I think we're a pretty paranoid society when it comes to food. My kids will definitely be offered batter covered spoons!

 

[Meowmie]

The risk of salmonella today in regular eggs it MUCH higher than it was when we were kids. They are taking steps to reduce it and it is declining again, but the factory like setting where the eggs come from is the cause.

If you use farm fresh eggs from a local small scale farmer, the odds of salmonella contamination is the same as when we were growing up. Always wash the eggs well before cracking them open.

I only let my grandkids lick the spoons IF I am cooking with those eggs, or eggs that are pasteurized

Maybe I'm over cautious, but I have been the victim of food poisoning before, having spent 4 days in the hospital with it, and it's not something I take lightly.

 

[MStory]

Sometimes I think we're too overprotective these days. I, too, have fond memories of Mom giving us spoons coated in yummy batter to lick. I do agree, that if you do allow your kids to do this that you should be sure to use pasteurized eggs.

 

[Alahnna]

Meowmie, out of curisosity, why is it that the risk of salmonella in the factory eggs is higher? In my mind when I think about it, I see a factory as cleaner and monitored. Therefore I would think it would have less of a risk of food poisoning since they have all these guidelines to follow in food safety. Without knowing, I would automatically think farm fresh eggs would be the higher risk. You really surprised me when you said that

 

[NThomas]

As a rule I never allow little ones to lick the spoon. They don't know anything about all the harmful bacteria that lurk in unbaked foods. Sometimes little ones have a way of sneaking a taste or lick of things without anyone noticing. If you let them get in to the habit of licking spoons it could send the message that it is safe to do whenever. Now days we feed animals junk and allow them to lay around in their own filth the risk for food poisoning is much higher than in the past. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Meowmie]

Meowmie, out of curisosity, why is it that the risk of salmonella in the factory eggs is higher? In my mind when I think about it, I see a factory as cleaner and monitored. Therefore I would think it would have less of a risk of food poisoning since they have all these guidelines to follow in food safety. Without knowing, I would automatically think farm fresh eggs would be the higher risk. You really surprised me when you said that

Honestly I don't know where I got the information from, and don't remember the reason why but it seemed very valid. I will try to find information on it. I think it had to do with the sheer number of chickens and the food they were fed, but I have a bad memory so give me a chance to find it.

My husband just told me it was all over the news a few years back. Getting my coffee fix first then will be digging for info for you.

 

[Jessi]

As for those wondering why factory eggs have the higher risk, this should shed some light on it:

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/26/1771251/backyard-eggs-factory-farming/#

And for me personally, while I know that there's a risk of salmonella poisoning, it's a risk I'm willing to take for some yummy cookie dough. It's still not that common, even though it's more common than it used to be, so I'm not worried. Maybe I should be more worried, but I'm simply not at this point.

 

[Meowmie]

Thank you Jessi for posting that link. I got busy today and forgot to go look for the information until now, but you have already done the work. The information in that article is the information I was basing my post on.

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to eat was "beaten egg". My mom would beat an egg with a little sugar and vanilla till it was nice and creamy, a pale yellow. Raw. I probably had 100 or more eggs like that. I survived, but the chance of salmonella was much lower then.

 

[OhioTom76]

I suppose you could use powdered eggs or pasteurized eggs if you were that concerned - but they likely cost a whole lot more. I personally don't like pasteurized eggs because they cook up funny, especially when trying to make scrambled eggs with them - they come out all flat and weird, and I can't get big fluffy curds like I do with regular eggs.

I cannot find the details on this, but the odds of catching salmonella are ridiculously scarce - you stand a better chance at winning the lottery. There is unfortunately a lot of fearmongering by authors who want to sell books or drive traffic to their sites with salacious articles about stuff like this, which is irresponsible and only adds to the misinformation and confusion.

 

[Jessi]

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to eat was "beaten egg". My mom would beat an egg with a little sugar and vanilla till it was nice and creamy, a pale yellow. Raw. I probably had 100 or more eggs like that. I survived, but the chance of salmonella was much lower then.

Normally that idea would have grossed me out because I think of raw eggs as slimy and (please excuse my description that's coming next) mucous-like. If they were made fluffy and sugar/vanilla added, though, then it sounds like it'd be almost icing-like!

I suppose you could use powdered eggs or pasteurized eggs if you were that concerned

Using a flax seed "egg" is also an option. It's just flax seed and water that's mixed and set for a few minutes that turns into the same consistency as a real egg. It's much cheaper than using powdered eggs and whatnot, too.

 

[justusforus]

We all probably did it as kids, but raw egg is notorious for food borne illness including Salmonella. Just because Rocky drank them. I would think twice thee days.

 

[Alahnna]

Thank you for that information. It's quite enlightening and it makes a lot of sense when presented like that. We have a farm just down the road and I may just start buying eggs from them instead, because I certainly have no intention on giving up on my cookie dough obsession!

 

[Manny]

There's almost no risk to raw eggs. Salmonella is much more rare than people believe, and raw eggs are found in lots of our favourite foods. I wouldn't worry about a little raw dough here and there.

 

[dorannmwin]

My kids are allowed to lick the spoon, if I don't get to it first. I think that is one of those things that they are scared of now that they weren't scared of when we were kids. I licked the spoon and the bowl as a kid and I never got sick.

That is just like me saying I had a drop side crib as a baby and I'm here to write about it today.

 

[LindaKay]

I remember my mom telling me not to lick the spoon, but I would anyways. Bad girl! LOL.

I don't think it's that harmful, but IDK...I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Maybe you should only allow it when it's a batter that doesn't contain eggs.

That's so boring, though!

 

[Bella]

My kids are actually not interested in licking the spoon! Is that not weird? That is fine by me, though, more for me. If I am making peanut butter cookies, I eat more of the dough than the actual cookie. I guess I have been lucky, I have never been poisoned.

 

[CandlexBread]

The risks of eggs now a days is much high than in earlier times. Poor chickens are drugged and forced to lay more eggs than it is normal for them. For that reason, the eggs do have more problems. Factories aren't always cleaner. FDA allows a certain number of hairs and rat droppings to be in certain things (not eggs, of course) before it is considered unsafe. Everyone is allowed to do whatever they think is best. I always licked the spoon and the entire bowl. Though, if you want your kids to have the experience without the risk, then make them some egg-less cake batter/cookie dough. I've tried a recipe and it was nice.

 

[Tina Nord]

I have always wondered about the risks, thanks for a great thread. In all honesty I always ate the batter when I was a kid and allow my kids to do the same. I do not allow them to eat heaping spoonfuls, but I don't think there is a high risk of getting sick by sticking your finger in the batter every once in a while.

Kids are exposed to bacteria all of the time and most foods are now less risky since science is more advanced.

I have not met a single person in my lifetime who has ever gotten sick from eating a little batter now and then, so if you sneak small bites in moderation you will probably be ok.

 

[thomas pendrake]

If you are careful about the eggs, the risk is slight. We put too much emphasis on keeping a sterile environment, risking too many auto-immune diseases. Check out the concept of the hygiene hypothesis.Buy organic eggs, the risk comes from feeding chickens antibiotics as part of their feed. That practice makes the chickens likely to harbor antibiotic resistant bacteria.