Reply To: The concept of ‘Bontamination’… Discuss.

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

I’ve been thinking about things we do when we are cooking or preparing food for a meal. Not so much the cleanliness of the plates, but the actually about the different ingredients we use to improve flavour etc.  Consider ‘Salt’.  If we get it in water to drink, the water is effectively contaminated with salt. However, If we add salt to mashed potatoes, it improves the flavour, as long as we don’t put too much in, the salt has now become a ‘Bontaminant’, a good addition.

Scrambled eggs… If we add a touch of black pepper, we bontaminate them, improve them, with the pepper.  However, If we were to do the same thing with a rice pudding, the Pepper would be regarded as a ‘contaminant’.

Many years ago I absolutely hated Garlic… We could buy cough medicine with garlic in it… I thought that it tasted like motor oil!!!  Ugh!!!

But these days, What about Garlic bread? With cheese topping…  Really nice…

So, in the right place, a bontaminant can be good.  The bread is not, in my taste, ‘contaminated’ with the Garlic.  But of course, not everyone likes Garlic, it is an acquired taste.

I’m often amazed when, the judges on cookery competitions ‘All agree’ that just the right amount of seasoning has been added to the ‘dish’.  How can that be?  Not enough Salt… Bland. Just enough salt, Bontaminated. Too much Salt, Contaminated… How can it all taste good for everyone? We are all different. That is why we have cruet sets on the dining table…

Consider ambient lighting in a room… I  happen to like purple colours… But not everyone does, that’s why the paint companies mage a range of colour tints. Same with Wallpapers.

So, Back to OCD…

My body will have it’s own ideas about how my food should taste… Likewise about touch, What is pleasant, what is not. The right temperature for a swimming pool…  We are all different in that respect. But our bodily systems are very similar, in that chemical processes are the same for each of us, but sometimes we may need an antacid to ease the stomach. That, if used correctly, is a bontaminant. But excess of use would be a contaminant…

So how much of anything do I leave on door handles then?  Is it really sufficient to be a contaminant? When I already have bodily systems that defend me against what could already be on it?  Are a small child’s hands Ever clean? Really?

Wannabe