NOVEMBER '08 DISCUSSION: Do You Wear An Apron When You Cook?

clotilde · Last edited by clotilde on Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:08 pm; edited 1 time in total

This month's discussion is built around a poll!

I myself voted NO, and I often pay for it. I like to walk in and out of the kitchen to stir the stew and then go back to other things, so I prefer to wear normal clothes. But every once in a while, said normal clothes get a splatter of sauce and I'm mad at myself -- I need to try and switch at least to "YES, if I'm doing something messy."

What about you? Please check the answer that applies, and post a reply to tell us more about the apron situation in your kitchen.

jonquil · Joined: 01 Nov 2008 Posts: 7 Location: hamden,ct.usa

when i am working with simple batters (cakes, biscuits, muffins) then i don't wear an apron. anything with grease or requiring major 'whipping' (egg whites) i pop one on. i still have 2 aprons of my maternal grandmother, which i am planning on framing one of these fine days (like one would a vintage hawaiian shirt).

Penelope · Joined: 01 Nov 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Cape Cod, MA

Aprons especially set the mood for me to bake. They help to 'center' the experience for me and keep me present in the moment.

As someone who does custom sewing for others, it occurred to me that aprons could serve as a way to embrace traditions. So, I've made aprons for all our our kids and grandkids (believing wholeheartedly that every man should know how to cook and enjoy it!) using old embroidered table cloths from my mother-in-law and grandmother that had some compromising spots or stains for the girls and women , and color coordinated ones for the men in their lives..........keeps the memories alive!
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He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves. Gabriel Garcia Marquez

David · Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject:

Penelope! I must say i admire your philosophy! And your dedication to it.

I on the other hand relish in an uncheffly (okay I made the word up) mess. Like the surgeons of old who announced their expertise by wearing the bloody gore from their patients I similarly announce to the world that i am hot in the kitchen by arriving in the living room besmeared and besmirched with dough, flour, gravy, splashes of oil and cream etc. etc..! Dick would just shake his head and roll his eyes and suggest I clean up my mess, Ben however is threatening me with a Yuletide apron (but I will foil his plans my friends, yes I will!!)
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

Erin · Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:59 pm Post subject:

I wear an apron all the time. In the kitchen that is. I got out of the habit for a while, but ended up ruining six shirts beyond repair in one week.
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

David · Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject:

6 shirts in one week!! Erin!!! Trying to establish a new Guiness book of Records category??????
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

msue · Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 368

I have several nice aprons, including one given to me with my name embroidered across the front. My favorite, though, is a smock-like apron made for me by my grandmother maybe 30 years ago.

Nevertheless, I rarely wear an apron except for holiday meals - perhaps it is to evoke precious memories of family holidays of yesteryear.

MavenMamma · Joined: 01 Nov 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Atlanta, Georgia

I rarely think to put on an apron, but when I do think of it and tie one on, it really brings me pleasure. I feel much more relaxed while I'm cooking (no glancing down in a mild panic that I've splashed something on my shirt....again) and I do like having a towel tucked into my apron strings -- easy access at all times! My aprons are hanging in a closet off the kitchen, so I think if I put a couple on a hook in the kitchen where I can see them, I'd be much more likely to put one on!
All the aprons I have mean something to me -- some family heirlooms, some special gifts, some from personal appearances or food events. Framing one of my special ones sounds like a great idea!

Rachel · Joined: 22 Oct 2006 Posts: 296 Location: Santa Barbara, CA

I always wear one if I'm doing anything messy (or potentially so), especially when I get home late and am too desperate for dinner to take the time to change out of nice work clothes... which means that on more than one occasion I've ended up cooking dinner wearing an apron, heels and pearls. (Despite being just about the most un-June-Cleaver-like person I know...)

I've only got one apron, to which I'm quite attached - it has a 'recette de bonheur' printed on it in French (my mom brought it back from a trip to Quebec ages ago, and I've had it for about seven years now). David, maybe you could suggest that Ben get you one of them... who knows, you might actually come to like wearing it! Wink

dory · Joined: 11 Nov 2007 Posts: 236 Location: Madison, WI

I am a horribly messy cook, and I always spatter or drip things on my shirts. In fact, even when I wear an apron (they have to be the full length ones-- not the skimpy little below the waist ones that do no good in my opinion) I often manage to spray or drip some horrible oily substance down underneath the apron or on my sleeves. Full strength Citrasolve in the laundry helps but I have ruined some shirts to the point where I have to throw them away. My aspiration is to get one of those white chef's jackets to protect everything! In the meantime I check every shirt that goes in the laundry under a bright light because those greasy spots just won't go away once they have been in the dryer.

I may sound like I am obsessively neat or clean, but actually I am more the opposite. I just really don't like the look of food stains on my clothes, and I can't seem to keep my food where it belongs-- in the pan, on my plate and in my mouth! I think I am a two year old who never grew up.

Dory

sistercooper · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 9 Location: Australia

I nearly always wear an apron in the kitchen; in fact , even if I have my daggiest old clothes on I wear one; habit I guess! My favourite is a bright one I was given from Provence, France.

Barbara · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:20 am Post subject:

I mostly wear an apron.The day I don't is the day I splash oil or batter. Sometimes its an old freebie from a wine company. If I'm wanting to feel extra special I wear a very nice freebie from a champagne house.
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Barbara

Hujonwi · Joined: 02 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

Never, what's a couple more stains on the old t-shirts or Levi's!

foleyscale · Joined: 02 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

I always wear an apron and have several generations hanging in my kitchen closet. I wear the newest and prettiest for company and the worst for messy jobs. My favorite is one from Liberty in London that has a waterproof surface. Very handy for splashy situations where company is around.

photogardener

yes, always have on an apron when cooking
have extras for company too