Dish soap -- rinse or leave?

[Danneaux]

I may have to duck 'n' run after posting this one...  

Porridge choice? No problem. Helmets yea or nay? The stuff of flame wars.

To rinse the dishes or leave 'em be?  This could go nuclear.  

Well, here goes...

This Muppets topic is motivated by my 2008 tour of The Netherlands and Belgium with my friend.  As it turns out, I'm given to rinsing the soap from my dinner dishes before drying them and he is not, choosing instead to simply dry the still-soapy dishes.  I could taste and smell the soap in the otherwise-delicious food he cooked, and it caused me some ehm, "gastric distress"; he claimed it made no difference and couldn't taste a thing beyond the food.

I prefer to rinse at home and on-tour 'cos I don't like the smell and taste of soap.  Give me my food, "soap-free, as it is meant to be".  

After I returned home I Googled the topic, and found there are ardent proponents in each camp, the Soapers and Rinsers.  Each have reasons they find compelling beyond habit and whatever might pass as familial norms.

So...which do you prefer, and why?

Best,

Dan.

[JimK]

Wow, turn over the smallest stone, and discover a tunnel to the other side of the planet!

I am a strict rinser, never having given rise to the the slightest awareness that the planet even had any other side!

I've been reading Ray Jardine, whose practice starts to round out the globe. He just skips the soap.

I have done some Zen retreats that incorporate orioke practice. Hot water is served after each meal. The hot water goes into bowl number one. One uses a spatula along with the water to get that bowl clean. The water and spatula are passed from bowl to bowl, and then finally one drinks the resulting soup of hot water and food scraps. Yummy enough.

Bike camping as a kind of mobile zen retreat. The pieces seem to fit!
 

[Relayer]

The "familial norm" in my case, as decreed by she who must be obeyed, is that my wife washes and I dry - my wife uses liberal amounts of soap in her washing process (not sure if liberal is the right word, excessive could be just as appropriate!).

My palate is not sufficiently sensitive to pick up the taste of soap on plates in later use, however my issue is the task of drying dishes can be extremely irritating when you find yourself merely pushing soap bubbles round and round a plate.   Rinsing is NOT an option, despite repeated pleas by me. 

I do my very best to keep my frustrations within and smile benignly as the bubbles go round and round, but occasionally it all gets too much (frustration and bubbles) ... and I blow the bubbles off in the direction of my beloved's face ... then a hasty retreat!!! 

[julk]

Definitely a rinser!

[Andre Jute]

+2. Another rinser. What's the point of preparing decent food, and lugging a decent mini bottle of wine along, if you ruin the taste with residual soap? Yech.

[triaesthete]

Is rinsing a North American thing? Most Brits don't seem to bother. Or they have dishwashers.....
 Anyway, out in the field clean water is a luxury so I lick the cutlery clean and eat the dishes as clean as possible then wipe them out with a handful of damp grass or sand and seawater.

[Danneaux]

Is rinsing a North American thing?

It may be, Ian.

My 94 year-old father remembers all GIs in his WWII camp being strongly cautioned (i.e. Ordered) to rinse dishes, as soap-caused gastric distress could down a platoon.

It may also come down to the soap being used.  Fairy and Dreft may be a bit kinder to the innards than Dawn and Palmolive.  But oh, the taste.    I'd prefer your grass, sand, and seawater, Ian.

Best,

Dan.
"To the taps, men!  Rinse-two-three-four!"

[triaesthete]

Bread also makes a good pot cleaner, as does snow!

[Danneaux]

...out in the field clean water is a luxury...

Man, you're right there, Ian.  I think I've found a way 'round the whole soap-rinse thing with freezer-bag cooking on-tour.  I prepackage my dried soups in zip-top freezer bags, then add bits of dried veggies and dried or preserved beef, chicken, or fish from pouch, tin, or sack.  Pour in a cup of hot boiling water, then trandfer the freezer bag to a homemade Reflectix (reflective mylar bubble-wrap) cozy to steep for 5 more minutes.  I eat from the pouch, using my little alu bowl for support.  When done, the empty pouch becomes a rubbish bag, destined for the trash skip.  No dishes to clean! 

Trip food=utility fuel for me, so this wouldn't work at home, where I crave variety and um, taste.

I use bread to sop-up the gravy on my plate at home.  I can see it working in camp.  Snow, too.  Good ideas.  The orioke practice Jim described is pretty clever.

Best,

Dan.

[JimK]

Here is somebody's nice description with more context:

http://www.35u35.com/submissions/the-gift-of-failure/

He spells it "oryoki". It's Japanese, what do I know?!

[il padrone]

Here in Aus with global warming, droughts and saline ground-waters we're careful with all water use. On tour when supplies are short it's neither  

For the ultimate in phosphate-free, non-soap-flavoured dishwashing, just combine a small quantity of hot water...... and fine sand. And scrub. The sand has great scouring action and the fine stuff absorbs much of the oils and gunge. A little more to rinse clean and you're right.  

[triaesthete]

The Orioki practice also assumes a vegetarian meal I suspect. Cleaning is always easier without the  animal fat.
Thanks for the link Jim
Ian

[Pavel]

Paper plates.

[Danneaux]

Paper plates.

I bow to and am humbled by your wisdom, Pavel.

Best!

Dan.

[richie thornger]

I'm with triaesthete.
I had some great plastic bowls that looked like kidney dishes.
They were great for pouring but they had to go.
You couldn't get your tongue in every corner to lick them clean.
Now I use quechua high sided square plates. They can handle porridge or cereal and you can lick them clean.
Anything else and a handful of grass or leaves. (I've not tried the sand method)
I do take some ecover and a few sponge scourers for sepcial occasions
If it is one of these magical days I definitely rinse, I didn't know there was another side to this argument either!
Non stick pans are also a must.