Do you eat home made Misloach Manos from your friends?

seeker

Mon, Mar 02 2015, 8:40 pm

I have gotten good feedback on my homemade MM. I only give a few, and all to personal friends. I guess they must trust me. I always clearly label what the item is, who it is from, and details such as yoshon, parve (I aim to make it as universally acceptable as possible even though I don't keep all the frummiest standards myself) I also aim for real, healthy food such as soup and whole wheat breadsticks, or WW challah and salad, or something like that. I put effort into making an appetizing, un-turn-off-ish MM and hope people enjoy it.

On the receiving end, it depends who it's from. I don't receive many homemade things in general. If I know who it's from and trust them, I stick cakes in the freezer and have them for dessert on Shabbos sometime between Purim and Pesach. Real food I'll eat if it seems good, toss if I am unsure of the origins (I.e. how long has it been out of the fridge?)

MrsMarmite

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 3:14 am

Homemade goodies is my hands-down favorite thing to get - I happily eat it or freeze it. (no kashrus issues - who am I getting from that I wouldn't eat by? the one time a non- frum friend gave us, he was well aware we wouldn't eat from his house so he specifically bought hamentashen for us from a local bakery. it was really thoughtful.)
its a bit off putting to think that not everyone is enjoying the fruits of my labor - I love putting in homebaked stuff, always assuming ppl loved it as much as I did - but it doesn't bother me enough to stop Smile

still cheapest way to go!

DrMom

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 3:16 am

I am surprised how germ-o-phobic people are. In general, I assume my friends' cooking habits are reasonably hygienic if their homes seem generally clean.

I don't send the Department of Health to inspect their homes before I eat their homemade food when invited over for Shabbat lunch, so I see no reason why I wouldn't eat things their homemade food if they bring it to my door as MM.

chani8

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 4:26 am

I am fine eating other peoples food, because I keep in mind that they are a billion miles away from feeding me treif or even non kosher.

I just don't eat it if it's obviously a milk and meat mixture, or if there are bugs crawling out of the food.

DrMom

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 4:40 am

chani8 wrote:

I'm confused.

Your 1st sentence sounds like you'll eat other people's food because you know these people keep strictly kosher (not sure about the distinction between "trief" and "non-kosher"...).

Your 2nd sentence sounds like you'll eat anything except *obvious* basar-chalav mixtures and infested food.

chani8

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 5:38 am

DrMom wrote:

Sorry, it was sarcasm. If a frum person sends food, then it's kosher enough for me.

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 6:10 am

yup. never thought not to. Everyone around me pretty much keeps the same standards of kashrut. We eat whatever we get (that we like Wink

)

imasoftov

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 6:16 am

zaq wrote:

... a mosaic Chagall window made of jelly beans and licorice shoelaces glued in place with confectioner's sugar glaze and "grouted" with marshmallow fluff.

Now you've got me thinking. Fortunately I don't have enough time this year and I may kill the right neurons later this week so I don't remember it next year.

etky

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 7:37 am

Love the homebaked stuff and hope that people appreciate mine as well.
The only thing I avoid eating are any of those chocolate ball things made from crushed biscuits, marg, sugar etc. Aside from the dubious health 'benefits' that they offer, they obviously smack of 'lots of little fingers' having been there and who knows what else....

amother

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 8:02 am

That's so sad! Why are so many of us working on making home made yummy food?

Of course I eat the home made stuff I get! It's the best!
(honestly though we only get and give MM from close friends).

MamaBear

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 8:42 am

zaq wrote:

Lunch for your dh to take to work the next day?
Have you never heard of bal tashchit?

many people I know make their seudah a kind of buffet smorgasbord and incorporate stuff they received as MM. You could slice a hot dog into "coins" and serve on a platter side-by-side with your own meatballs, for example.

Ok, you are partly correct. The amount is mainly a secondary thought/issue for me. If it was proper food I would not throw it out just because it wasn't enough. Someone did the hummus and veggie thing last year and it was a small amount but that was saved. Hot dog was not. The reality is, these things are often not healthy and often ends up sitting around til we're settled at home and sorting through them all. Then the junk food factor and sitting out of the fridge factor makes me want to dump it. I like a "cohesive" seudah, not a mish mash.

dancingqueen

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 9:49 am

Of course! Do many of you not eat at other people's houses in general, or you just feel that unwashed kids are helping out more with shalach manot than with Shabbos meals?

greenfire

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 9:23 pm

zaq wrote:

...or it was just something horrifying like a mosaic Chagall window made of jelly beans and licorice shoelaces glued in place with confectioner's sugar glaze and "grouted" with marshmallow fluff.

sounds like a FUN art project [having nothing to do with purim]

MrsMarmite

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 9:27 pm

After reading this post, I actually changed my plans. I'd originally planned to make and decorate a particular kind of fancy-ish cookie but after realizing that many people may not even eat it (too bad for them. my cookies are awesome), I instead went made the easiest to make, throw everything together in one big bowl, no icing or theme matching anywhere in sight but still delish cookies. saved me hours! So thanks. Smile

zaq

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 9:34 pm

greenfire wrote:

sounds like a FUN art project [having nothing to do with purim]

EEEK! I have created a monster. The world will soon be flooded with Chagall windows reproduced in multiple forms of artificially colored sugar. There will be competitions, with prizes given (more jellybeans and confectioner's sugar). Internet forums will arise to discuss where to get the best prices on licorice shoelaces, which retailer has the widest assortment of colors (I'm guessing Jelly Belly), homemade substitutes for marshmallow fluff, and what materials (fluff vs. melted marshmallows, e.g.) work best in which climate. Halachic questions will arise, such as whether these items may remain on display on fast days, and whether it is permissible to eat a jellybean that fell off a mosaic on Shabbos.

rosenbal

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 9:42 pm

Ovens do kill germs. Who handles food after its out of the oven is a lot more important that what happened before it got in the oven. This is according to my husband the scientist.

I obviously always have my kids wash their hands etc anyway if they're baking in the kitchen. Still, it's best to do the post handling and wrapping on your own or with older non nose picking, super hygienic kids.

My 10 year old daughter is awesome with this. Teacher even picks her to be her water glass filler in school because she claims her hands are always clean and always where they should be. (That's the nachas I hear in parent teacher conferences LOL!!) I'm scared to think what she sees the other girls doing all day...

amother

Tue, Mar 03 2015, 9:46 pm

Nope.

Between kashrus questions and food allergies, in that order, all gone baked goods go straight into the trash. We don't eat in other people's houses either. Same reasons. I don't even make it to hygiene, but if everything else was equal I would probably toss a good lot of it for hygiene reasons, too.

FTR I never give anything homemade, because it's so painful for me to throw away so much food every year and I can't bear the thought of spending so much time and money just to have it all tossed.