Picture it: you’re out to lunch with a friend and you guys decide to split an order of chips and salsa. You’re eating along and everything’s going great until your friend chomps off only half her chip and…BAM – plunges the bitten-off end into the salsa.

Now you’re in a tough spot. Do you point out your friend’s fallacy, putting yourself at risk of looking like a germ-o-phobe? Or do you stand by while that treacherous bitten-off chip rampages through your salsa, leaving behind bits of spit and little crumbly things for the sake of keeping the peace? Or do you just not care?

Maybe you allow double-dipping from close friends and family, but not strangers. Or maybe you only allow a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife to double-dip because…well, you know.

Something to consider: that double-dipper may be leaving behind more germs than you think.

What’s the verdict, So Good readers? Do you stop that double-dipper in their tracks or do you just let it slide? Vote and explain your reasoning in the comments.

[poll id=”241″]

The following two tabs change content below.
My name is Sam and all I care about is food.

Latest posts by Sam (see all)

9 Responses

  1. Ettore Boiardi

    Double-Dipping is ok amongst those with whom you are familiar. If it was up to me, it’d be ok anytime. I am of the opinion that the superclean, antiseptic, hand sanitizer, shopping cart wipe, anti any germ practices we engage in compromise our bodies’ ability to build natural antibodies. “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger”

    Reply
  2. Sophie.

    Have to establish right from the start that double dipping is not allowed, prevents any awkwardness later.

    Reply
  3. Cynthia

    Do none of you watch Mythbusters?

    “By testing bacterial growth in petri dishes using sterilized chips and a salsa-like substance, they found that double-dipping adds just a small amount of bacteria to the salsa, and definitely not as much as sticking your mouth in the bowl.
    The truth is that most dips — store-bought or homemade — already contain bacteria. Double-dipping adds only a few more microbes than the multitude swimming in your salsa to begin with.”
    We take germs into our bodies every day. Who cares?

    Reply
  4. Shannon

    It’s not about me allowing double dipping. I think the practice is somewhat obnoxious. What if the double dipper had herpes, a cold, or the flu? No one would readily want to be exposed to any of that unnecessarily. If I were eating lunch with a friend, I would ask the server for a separate bowl of salsa. I would not want to eat after anyone, but strangers are an emphatic no. In some situations I have been in, we spooned dip onto our plates.

    Reply
  5. sf

    “That means that sporadic double dipping in a cup of dip would transfer at least 50 to 100 bacteria from one mouth to another with every bite.”

    Do you understand how microscopic (literally) an amount that is?

    Reply
  6. Smokin'

    Just don’t do it – not for microbial reasons, but for the sake of good manners.

    Reply
  7. TheGem

    I wholeheartedly encourage double-dipping. With all the antiseptic paranoids out there we need more germs to rebuild our immune systems!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.