Why don’t cookbooks talk about the cleanup?

November 1, 2023 by
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When you read a recipe in a cookbook (or online, for that matter), the final instruction usually revolves around how the dish should be served. Left unmentioned is the mess that remains. If a recipe discusses washing up, it’s to claim that it is a simplified or “one-bowl” affair that will leave fewer dishes to be washed. Occasionally the preface will say that even though a lot of bowls are needed, the final product is “worth the effort.” Although authors will often provide lengthy headnotes or include an entire section about the tools, equipment, and ingredients they feel are essential to achieve the best results. Rarely does anyone talk about the aftermath or strategies on how to best perform the cleanup. This is a flaw in cookbooks, says food writer Marian Bull in a wide-ranging essay on dishwashing, which she says is “the endpoint of cooking”.

User:Mysid, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bull’s article isn’t a diatribe about the proper way to do the dishes. She doesn’t have any timesaving advice or feel strongly that there is one best way to do the cleanup. She thinks that more cookbook authors ought to talk about the aftermath of cooking, and highlights a few recent tomes that do bring up the subject, like Food 52 Simply Genius by Kristin Miglore, Company by Amy Thielen, and Let’s Eat by Dan Pelosi. The reason that more authors don’t write about cleanup is simple, says Bull: “It would make them too depressing. People read recipes for inspiration and reassurance, not for a glaring reminder of chores”.

Although it is not common, Bull believes talking about the cleanup is worthwhile. Discussing the two page spread in Let’s Eat that features a photo of a smiling Dan Pelosi and his mother crouching in front of an oven, smiling as they both scrub away, Bull says “I appreciate the fantasy, and the advice. Thanks to Mrs. Pelosi, I now have a spray bottle in my kitchen full of distilled white vinegar. I have known about this trick for years but never acted on it.” Who know how many more good habits one could learn from someone who has a better cleaning method?

One point that I found interesting about the article is that older cookbooks (mainly from the era before refrigeration was common) used to spend significant amount of time talking about cleaning. That’s because properly washing up before and after a meal was important for hygiene purposes. Now that a majority of people (at least in the US) have dishwashers, publishers likely feel it is not worth devoting valuable print space to the cleanup, even though strategies to keep things tidy would be of benefit for those who have dishwashers as well as those who don’t. I’m on the fence about this. Frankly, I have so many books on my “to read” list that I would probably skip over the topic, but Bull’s arguments are persuasive. What do you think?

Category: Antipasto

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11 Comments

  • Jenny  on  November 1, 2023

    Peter Miller wrote a whole book on the subject: How to Wash the Dishes

  • FuzzyChef  on  November 2, 2023

    The worst are the famous restaurant cookbooks, that will use three bowls, a pot, a pan and a strainer for one side dish.

  • LONONsAPRON  on  November 2, 2023

    Julia Child commented on “the dishes” in one of her books I read years ago and it’s been my mantra every time I hesitate to dirty another kitchen gadget or appliance: “don’t worry about the dishes, they get cleaned up!” Julia, you are a gem!!

  • lean1  on  November 2, 2023

    Empty the dishwasher before you plan to cook.
    Clean as you go.

  • sayeater  on  November 2, 2023

    When I read through a recipe I’m always looking for ways to economize on dish/utensil use. Honestly I used to reject mise en place for all the extra dishes it created, but now find the increased calmness during cooking is worth the extra time to setup and wash it all. And of course starting with an empty dishwasher and clean sink is best.

  • Fyretigger  on  November 2, 2023

    I appreciate it when a recipe inserts labor saving tips along the way (like applying cooking oil spray to pan on top of the open dishwasher door). Beyond that, I sensibly mis-en-place (things that go in together go in the same bowl) and as much as possible clean as I go.

    I’ve used cutting board mats for decades. They prevent the need for mid-cooking cleaning of the cutting board. And if you compost or save peels for stock, you can throw one in the bottom of the sink while peeling and then have an easy lift and funnel for the compost bin or the veggie scraps bag.

  • anya_sf  on  November 3, 2023

    @lean1 Exactly

  • charjoy  on  November 3, 2023

    I don’t think this would be helpful in a cookbook and would waste space and result in either fewer recipes or a larger book. Cleanup is very personal…for example, I prefer to hand wash almost all of my cooking/baking utensils and other items to keep them in tiptop shape. I just accept cleanup as part of the process and get into the zone. There’s a quote I love and have framed and hung in my kitchen: “When you wash the dishes, the dishes also wash you.” I agree with other commenters that having an empty or nearly empty dishwasher and sink is very helpful, as is cleaning (or at least neatly stacking) as you go.

  • ozfoodie  on  November 3, 2023

    In ‘The Secret of Cooking’ Bee Wilson has a whole chapter dedicated to the dishes. 🙂

  • ellabee  on  November 4, 2023

    Thanks for the pointer to Bee Wilson. Her book is a how-to/beginner cookbook, which to me is the most appropriate kind to include strategies for managing cleanup (mats, scrap bowls, clean as you go, etc.). W/o a dishwasher, the routine of brief soak-careful drain-wiping out makes pot/pan/bowl washing easier on me & the sink.

  • ellabee  on  November 4, 2023

    Looking at the image that accompanies this post, I’d add that beginner cookbooks covering cleanup should also include the principle of orderly staging for cleanup: a quick wipe/rinse, stacking like with like. That practice is one primarily of safety for the dishes and equipment, and for people in the vicinity — but also promotes calm in the way that mise en place does, and makes washing go faster.

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