Uh, yuck. My washer has one of those "sanitary" cycles where the water is extra hot and the cycle runs twice as long. Even after I ran one of those, I still woudn't eat any food that went into the washer afterwards.

Not the same washer where my family's dirty underwear and towels go...yuck.

lol Good insight, I still find it terribly clever. Maybe a bleach disinfectant load first. I have tried to prep collards for 40 people before so maybe this is why it appeals to me so much.

Haven't seen this guy, but I have seen the lady who "poached" fish in her dishwasher....why would you do that?!

Even though I love Collard greens, I can't imagine finding enough people for which to cook that many collards that you'd need something as large as a washing machine to wash them in. And what on earth would you cook them in if it takes a washing machine to wash them?

Sally

One of the best organic farmers I know uses a washing machine (which she bought specifically for this purpose, and which lives in her barn) to rinse and dry all the greens she brings to the farmers' market. I am sure that she made sure of its cleanliness before she used it, and that she keeps it clean...it works like a charm, and her mesclun, Asian greens, kale, and lettuces are the best...I've been eating them for years, and buying them at the organic market she supplies, without any problems at all.

Clearly everybody needs to be comfortable with his/her own practices... but many experts think that we are a little too obsessed with killing every biological agent in our environments, and that a thorough washing and rinsing is enough for most of what we encounter. Commercial production and contamination is quite another matter...but even then the cause of trouble is often poor basic sanitation, rather than too little chemical disinfecting. What do you think?

Maybe we are two obsessed with cleanliness but I do not think that means we should be cleaning our food in an appliance that was recently found to be the third most germy place in our home.

A dedicated machine may be another story.

Been doing it for years, beats standing over a sink washing every piece...and your going to boil them anyway which will kill whatever germs is on them...

I'm in the same camp as Fedup. If you are going to boil the bejeezus out of the greens, then I have no problems with this. Eating a fresh green salad, I dunno...

I've evisioning Kramer.... prepping food in his shower...

Seriously, while I'm not one of the people usually accused of being over-obsessed with germophobia, the thought of eating greens that were washed in someone's washer, after they maybe did a load of underwear, or dirty socks or diapers... Well, that skeeves me out--I do hope he warns the people he's feeding, so they have the option of making up their own minds about whether or not they want to eat his food. He's got every right to use his washing machine as a cooking appliance--I've got the right to say 'thanks, but no thanks'.

I have never made collard greens. Are they so hard to rinse that it is easier to pick leaves out of a washing machine than to quickly swish them in a clean bucket of water and dump them into a colander? If they are about to get the bejeezus boiled out of them then they do not benefit from the spin cycle as they are about to get wet again anyway.

I do think that we are getting far too paranoid about the cleanliness of everything. Even my doctor says that we are "sanitizing ourselves sick". The food safety classes that I took as a restaurant owner finally did me in, we're afraid of EVERYTHING.

I hate gritty greens but I'm not sure I'd use my washing machine to wash them. Not because of the dirty clothes that go in there but I can just see myself trying to pick out the bits of greens stuck to my clothes, LOL. I agree that if you're going to cook collards like I do, for hours, it will destroy anything that might be a health hazard. Then again, Ashley would tell you that it's a health hazard just to have to EAT collards! (grin)

I think I'll stick with the sink, but if they were well cooked, I'd not have a problem eating them if someone else did.

But then again, I drink out of the end of the hose at the farm. Yes, that hose. The one that waters my garden, fills my horse tanks and washes the tractors (and any unsuspecting children that might come within my reach). I eat tomatoes from my garden without washing them too, just brush the dirt off on my shirt and eat 'em!

Oh, and I'll kiss a horse on the lips. :-)

Annie

I work with a guy from Alabama who swears his family used to clean greens in the washing machine. With all the stuff that goes down the drain in my sink I think a washing machine that was run through the rinse cycle with a little clorox beforehand would just as safe, maybe safer. I'm like Annie, I cook my greens very very thoroughly but I've never cooked enough to have to use the washing machine.
James

Isn't the kitchen sink supposed to be THE germiest place in the house, even more so than the toilet?

I'm with the people that think it would be too difficult to get the greens out of the washer. Also, it's not the germs that worry me, but the chemical residue. As for the possible germs, the clothes are supposed to be coming out of the washer clean, aren't they? So why would the washer still be dirty? And if there're that many germs left in the washer, do you really want to wear the clothes that were just in it?

Sally

p.s. I just remembered, I think it's the computer keyboard that's the germiest place in the house.

Sally

I've never eaten collard greens, now I'll wonder where they've been!

That's interesting....my washing machine is broke so maybe I do a load in my salad spinner

Way back when I was an inexperienced young cook, I bought a bunch of fresh spinach -- in the bunch not in the bag. And boy was it full of dirt. I rinsed and rinsed and RINSED and rinsed. That was a one time only experience. I never did it again. (Nowadays I buy the leaves loose or in the bag and rinse once - much easier.)

After that experience, I can't imagine doing this with enough of the stuff (I imagine the spinach to be similar to the collards in the amound of dirt) to feed a large crowd. I probably WOULD resort to using my washing machine. In reality, I'd just serve something else!

But in the same spirit.... how about cooking stuff on your car engine?

Here is a link that might be useful: Cook-Food-on-Your-Car's-Engine

As for picking the greens out of the washer, the guy mentioned you could use a pillow case. Anyway, I saw this tip on a Good Eats episode. Alton was talking about how to prep greens for a crowd or how to save your harvest. After cleaning/drying he put the greens in ziploc bag and sucked the air out with a straw lol.

i am washing some greens now in laundry bags with small holes. I tried to do it without the laundry bags but it was not pretty. There were small piece of grrens in my washing machine which were hard to remove. Here is a example of the laundry bag I am using.

If you are using a laundry bag, how does the dirt get removed? It seems that the laundry bag will hold the dirt in rather than allow it to be washed away.

I never boil collard greens - I simply sauté them - generally for about 15 minutes. I generally also add onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. I don't like collard greens that have been cooked for an hour or more.

I used the laundry bag on gentle cycle but before putting the greens in the pot I washed them in the sink twice. I did this just to remove any large debrise that could not get through the laundry bag. The greens came out squeaky clean and tasted delicious. I froze the most of the greens because I didn’t make the cornbread. I had some cornmeal but had to throw it out because I saw a bug in it.

This was gross thirteen years ago and it’s still gross.

Have you ever cleaned the washing machine filter ?

GROSS!!!

dcarch

I never knew it had a filter? If you have cleaned your filter show me where it is.

All washers have filter. They are all located in different places. Check your manufaturer and model number.

They are filthy because they are seldom cleaned.

This is the part of a washer you don't see:

dcarch

“All washers have filter.”

I’ve been wondering about that. 🤔 On my Samsung it was accessible from a front access panel, but not on my Maytag. No mention in the manual. Looked for a video, didn’t find my exact model. One said remove front bottom panel. I don’t have one. Another showed how to access from the back. so I pulled out the washer, and cleaned decades of dust. Found a floor drain that I didn’t know existed. Could that have been the source of sewer smell or dead animal when we first moved in? 🐁Never did pinpoint that but it went away. Took off back panel, saw boot from tub to pump, connection from pump to hose, no filter like in the videos. Put everything back and googled some more:

”Maytag model MAH5500 does not have a drain pump filter to check and clean. The only time the drain pump will need to be accessed is if the drain pump is faulty and needs to be replaced.” 🤐

Could have saved myself some effort, but it was not a waste. Nice to have less accessible areas cleaned from time to time. And in the course of my googling found that the washer has a liquid filled ring for balancing. So there’s NOT water remaining after the cycle, as I had suspected due to sloshing sounds! 💦

Enough excitement (and emojis) for a Saturday morning. Tweaked my back in the course of all this. Rest for a bit and then decide how powerful to go with the drugs. 💊

Thanks, dcarch, I THINK!