# Unwashed Lemon Zest



## AaronK (Mar 26, 2013)

Hey everyone,

I just made lemon curd for the first time, and luckily it turned out great! The only thing is, I forgot to wash the lemons before zesting them. In all my excitement I just simply didn't think about it. Now I don't know if it is still safe to eat. So therefore my question to you guys is, can I still eat the lemon curd, or should I just trow it away?


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## FrankZ (Mar 26, 2013)

Eat it.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 26, 2013)

FrankZ said:


> Eat it.



Yup.


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## Snip 13 (Mar 26, 2013)

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger lol!
It will be fine  Wash them twice next time!


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## pacanis (Mar 26, 2013)

It's still safe to eat as long as there wasn't any fecal matter on the lemons


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## GLC (Mar 26, 2013)

If it helps to say why it's okay...

Almost all commercially distributed lemons are washed and recoated with food grade wax to replace the natural waxy coating, so it's not as if they were unwashed. 

Although it's possible to pick up stuff on the shelf, lemon curd thickens at 170F, which is enough to take care of all the common microbes. 

All in all, I would say they pick up more bacteria from the average kitchen counter than they bring to it from the distribution chain. And humans with an intact immune system, manage most exposures without problem.


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## buckytom (Mar 26, 2013)

Snip 13 said:


> What doesn't kill you makes you stronger lol!
> It will be fine  Wash them twice next time!



lol, friedsnip nietzsche, with ocd.

just be sure to wash them in used panty hose for full effect.

glc, what about humans with tactless immune systems, goin' snotting all about. what about them?


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## no mayonnaise (Mar 27, 2013)

I get weirded out about the possibility that the lemons in my water at restaurants haven't been washed before being put in my water/tea, so I always ask for it without lemon just to be safe.  Sometimes I ask for it on the side and squeeze it carefully in my drink, but the outside never touches my drink and I usually wash my hands after.  OK I guess that sounds crazy but those lemons... so unwashed

So I'm pretty sure you can guess my answer.


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## Snip 13 (Mar 27, 2013)

buckytom said:


> lol, friedsnip nietzsche, with ocd.
> 
> just be sure to wash them in used panty hose for full effect.
> 
> glc, what about humans with tactless immune systems, goin' snotting all about. what about them?


 


My OCD is still alive and well, I've just dropped my standards 
I only allow myself to be full of sh!t about a few things, it's too much hard work to be perfect 

Give me unwashed lemon rind in cooked food fine but don't dare put unwashed anything to me raw


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## CWS4322 (Mar 27, 2013)

Welcome to DC! I try to remember to wash all the lemons and limes I buy before zesting, but sometimes forget. I haven't gotten sick or died, yet. Eat it and enjoy!


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## GLC (Mar 27, 2013)

buckytom said:


> glc, what about humans with tactless immune systems, goin' snotting all about. what about them?



We feed them unwashed citrus and eliminate them from the gene pool. 


I ceased to worry excessively about such things as the unwashed lemon event after miscalculating my ground travel time way back in Bandolier National Monument once and having to drink from the Rio Grande, which at that point is more like thin yellow mud than water. Unlike the present generation, playing in dirt and a youth spent in outdoor activities provided me with an adequate immune system, and I have been made ill by food-borne bugs on fewer than three occasions in 60+ years.


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## vitauta (Mar 27, 2013)

were they organic lemons?  if not, you needn't worry about not washing them, cause  you gonna die anyway....


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## Addie (Mar 27, 2013)

So eat the dang curd and welcome to DC.


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## Snip 13 (Mar 27, 2013)

I would say the DC crowd can normally behave themselves but I'd be lying lol!
Welcome to DC


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## Sprout (Apr 1, 2013)

Snip 13 said:


> What doesn't kill you makes you stronger lol!
> It will be fine  Wash them twice next time!


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## Oldvine (Apr 1, 2013)

If you know it turned out great, you must have tasted it and survived.  Keep eating.


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## taxlady (Apr 1, 2013)

vitauta said:


> were they organic lemons?  if not, you needn't worry about not washing them, cause  you gonna die anyway....



You know I wouldn't use the zest from citrust that isn't organic. That's because I live where the citrus has to travel a long way, so it's picked unripe. Then they dye the skins with non-food grade dyes to make it look right.

Not good, but those dyes can be carcinogenic.


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## Painless Cooking (Apr 3, 2013)

*Lemon Zest*

I have done the same thing. I would eat it. You cooked it when you made the curd.


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## CharlieD (Apr 3, 2013)

I woud not worry about those lemon being unwashed, I'd rather concern with what they have been spraid with to look so shilny and keep apperance for a long time.


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## GLC (Apr 3, 2013)

CharlieD said:


> I woud not worry about those lemon being unwashed, I'd rather concern with what they have been spraid with to look so shilny and keep apperance for a long time.



Those coatings, which are mostly modified waxes (shellac), aren't a problem. Most citrus is also treated post-harvest with fungicides, because they have to travel so far to market. None of them are all that bad, since we don't eat much of the peal, but it all is gone after a vigorous wash. "Vigorous wash" can be a hot water rub down with a scrubbie (of course, then you start thinking about what's living in your scrubbie after a couple of days) or with those tater gloves, the ones that don't really work on raw potatoes.


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## CharlieD (Apr 4, 2013)

I ususally drop them in a boiling water for few seconds if I need to use zest.


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## Addie (Apr 4, 2013)

CharlieD said:


> I ususally drop them in a boiling water for few seconds if I need to use zest.


 
Charlie, just wanted to let you know that a lot of your Kosher Rules make a lot of sense to me.


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## taxlady (Apr 4, 2013)

CharlieD said:


> I ususally drop them in a boiling water for few seconds if I need to use zest.


That should help get more juice out of the lemon too. I nuke my lemons and roll them on a cutting board to get more juice.


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## CharlieD (Apr 4, 2013)

Addie said:


> Charlie, just wanted to let you know that a lot of your Kosher Rules make a lot of sense to me.


 
Addie, you are way ahead of me, becasue they don't to me


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