Thursday, October 15, 2009

Fleur de hell

I made Fleur de Sel Toffee last week. It is tres delicioso! It is actually much easier to create than I thought and the trick to its fabulousness is really the Fleur de Sel (sea salt). The combination of salt and sweet is perfect in this recipe. I used French Grey Fleur de Sel that is actually imported from France. And worth every penny.

So while I was making this little vittle, I inadvertenly made something else. A huge mess of exploding fleur de sel when I failed to put the lid on properly and dropped it. After watching every perfect grey crumb go up and then down I had a thought cross my mind.

A fleeting thought. But also one that was rather unappealing. We don't live by the five second rule in this house but I will admit it did occur to me for a moment.....

Can I possibly scoop that back into the jar?

I hate to say I actually considered it for more than a quick minute.

Ugh.

I keep our house very clean and our kitchen floors are hardwood. Guess what? They are still dirty even if I cleaned them every 30 minutes.

I looked closely at the largest pile and saw how much pet hair is on the floor.
Never mind that it was a brand new jar. Never mind that I believe things can't possibly taste as good with out it.

Fleur de sel. More like Fleur de hell! Why do I like you so much anyway.

73 comments:

the walking man said...

Land O' Lakes just came out with a new buttery spread substance with Fleur de sel included. I love buttery like substances on my toastess' I would eat it if I dropped it face down on a floor that has not been washed since we moved in 20 years ago. Toast is a terrible thing to waste.

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

BWAHAHAHA! The Five Second Rule....some people think of it as the 11th commandment.

I'll admit that when my kids were wee ones, I did not sterilize pacifiers or teething rings and the like when they hit the floor. Everyone lived, PHEWWW! That was a close one!

The five second rule? I don't subscribe to it personally, but I understand how someone might, especially when it's something like fleur de sel....

Hit 40 said...

Pet hair....gross!! Toss the yummy treat. I can't do the 5 second rule either anymore due to cat hair.

Anonymous said...

Scoop it Sista! It's French!

Sultan said...

Ugh. Sadly I tend to drop things a lot so this is a daily conundrum for me.

Recipe for Fleur de Sel Toffee?

mommakin said...

Yeah, most folks who live by the 5-second rule don't have pets...

Vodka Logic said...

Shit the rule is 10 seconds in my house.. lol..

but with all the pet etc in with it I would have tossed it too...sadly

debra@dustjacket said...

Oh bummer, hate when that happens.
xxx

Lee said...

If it weren't for the dog hair, we would have the 10 second rule, but if a food item gets dropped on the counter, somehow dog hair ends up in it.

Christina Lee said...

ick sounds my house--hard-wood floors and dog hair!

Little Ms Blogger said...

Unfortunately, pet hair negates the 5 second rule!

Sorry....

Unknown said...

Disaster! F'ng Fleur de hell!

Chic Mama said...

How annoying!!! Never heard of it before though, sounds good.
I only heard about the five second rule the other week from 15 year old son...we have a dog though. I have been known to just wash the hairs of lollipops though, so much better than the tears you get otherwise. ;0)

Kat said...

Hardwood and tile in our house - but also a very hairy cat so no 5 second rule. Although I have been tempted and this is one situation that would have SORELY tempted me. Kathy

Kristina P. said...

I don't even know what this stuff is!

courtney said...

I totally used to live by the 5 second rule, and I have a dog. However, now my dog eats anything I drop within 3 seconds so I don't get a chance. Maybe that is a good thing?

AmyK said...

I have never heard of Fleur de sel salt. Now I have to go look for it. I love discovering new things. It's like the adventure of the day. I will do a 5 second rule but my husband cannot get past being one of 4 brothers. His rule is more like 30 minutes.

Unknown said...

YIKES! That stinks.

KaLynn ("MiMi") said...

I have lived by the 5 second rule for most of my life but since I have acquired a half dozen fluffy dogs, that rule has gone by the way side! I feel your pain, Jenny Mac! But like you, I would have thought seriously about it! Just think of this as a trial run! We all have to have trial runs in life, right? Next time it will be the best! Have a wonderful day!
=0)

Unknown said...

You know i've had this thought only about brown sugar. When we lived in Germany the only way to get brown sugar was to drive 40 mins to Cologne and pay 5 euros at the English Shoppe for a bag. I accidentally shook a container full of the stuff and the lid flew off and it went everywhere. I debated scooping it back up. For longer than 5 seconds...I didn't do it in the end but I thought about it.

Pramoda Meduri said...

heheh..jenny it happens sometimes..:)

Suburban Princess said...

Ugh I hate when things like that happen!!!!!
But I do love Grey Fleur de Sel too!

The Peach Tart said...

What a tragedy. I love fleur de sel. Have you published the recipe before for the toffee?

JennyMac said...

Hi Peachy. I have not published it but I will on Saturday just for you! :)

Emily said...

Ouch. It's painful to watch something like that spill. And I'm totally laughing at the thought of you picking up each individual grain of sea salt, brushing the pet hair off and placing it back in the jar!

Kimi said...

It's true...kids and pets totally void the five second rule.

Melissa said...

You mean not everyone uses the 5 second rule?
Thanks for the comment on my blog. LOVE yours!!

Eyeglasses & Endzones said...

Oh man that is a bummer...we got the kids a dog for their birthday and I am a horrible, horrible mom...I basically got rid of the puppy after 2 months because it was ruining my house.....

So on the up side...you still love your dog right!!! ;)

The Four Week Vegan said...

What a tragedy! I mean it. I've never used whatever it was, but now I see I must seek some out.

Rita Templeton said...

I've heard how expensive - and how delicious - fleur de sel is. That being said, I would probably have spent like an hour picking individual crumbs of it off the floor.

But that's just me. :)

Mira is triplet crown said...

Yeah, my rule is pick it up and inspect it for cat hair. If the ratio is too great of cat hair to food it's over. Otherwise, it's clean it off and go. Sick I know. But it's all fiber. And it's not like it's the bathroom floor.

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of this? But salty and sweet is my favorite combination. It's dangerous!

Badass Geek said...

We'd never have anything to eat in my house if we didn't live by the 5-second-rule.

Especially when I cook.

The Gypsy♥Belle said...

I so stopped using the 5 sec rule although it does cross my mind a lot!! Better luck next time hunny!

Chrystal

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Oh, that's just sad... so sad!

Psst... *whispers*.... and if you like sweet & salt together, try using coarse sea salt in your chocolate chip cookies. It's my secret ingredient... so don't tell anybody.

Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said...

Can you believe I have never in my life had any fancy schmancy salt? Not even when I had a side job at Williams-Sonoma. I know, right?! But sadly, we do follow the five second rule. And the fifteen second rule. And the....*sigh*

Grand Pooba said...

Wow imported from France? I don't blame you for thinking it. I would have done the same until I kneeled down and saw the combination of dog hair AND cat hair! *shudder*

The things we give up for our animals!

Lisa Anne said...

Okay I need to google this fluer word. It's in my picture hunting game on my DS and I don't know what it is so I can never find it.

Drahdrah said...

I've been there... not with fleur de sel, but with MANY other food items that I've spilled. Unfortunately, my floors are really too dirty to consider salvaging anything that falls.

foxy said...

OH NO!! Yeah, the dog hair alone kills the 5 second rule for me too. The last thing you want is a stray dog hair screwing up your toffee - and then inevitably getting stuck for an hour on your esophagus. Ick!

SPEAKING FROM THE CRIB said...

ok i have no idea what fleur de sel is but it sounds like it made one hell of a mess

Intense Guy said...

A little dog hair isn't going to hurt anything. It might even have some "good" vitamins in it.

I've gone to the 3 day rule ... but by then dropped popcorn is pretty stale.

I guess you could have at least recyled the salt by taking it back to the ocean and letting it go free..

Life Laugh Latte said...

I would rationalize the heck out of it. Like..."what if I was blind and had no idea what a dirty floor looked like. Then I would still eat it right? Or, if I cook with it, it will probably sanitize the salt and be ok. Or, salt is used to cure things so I'll be fine." See...I have issues. Holly at lifelaughlatte.blogspot.com

Jen said...

Oh that sucks. I still would have put it back. I know, I know.

The Blonde Duck said...

Awww! I hate it when that happens!

JenJen said...

My kitchen is hardwood too, and when the light shines "just so" after a hands and knees treatment, revealing some fresh funk I did not get, well hell I spit nails.


That has nothing to do with sea salt. Even the French kind.

Lawyer Mom said...

I was all about to say, "scoop it back! Scoop it back!" until I saw your mention of pet hair. Damn.

But, err, could you post the recipe? It sounds fabulous.

Tamara Hart Heiner said...

five second rule? We kind of go by the 30-minute rule in my house.

jennykate77 said...

I don't know why, but just reading this and knowing that you have dog hair on your floor too...well, it just made me feel better. That is my battle...dog hair. I hate it, but I love my Belle girl. I threaten to shave her, but a 95 pound black lab would look funny bald. Dontcha think? I'm not sure what the 'hell' fleur de sel is, but you just made it sound like the most fantastic thing. Should I buy some? If I do, what do I do with it?

Hope you're having a great week!♥

Children of the 90s said...

I feel your pain. I am forever doing things like that in my own apartment. No matter how much I clean, too, things always seem to be dusty and crumb-y.

Ju said...

I had to google it to find what Fleur de Sel was, and it made me want to try it for sure. Now, not sure about the dog hairs on it. It's a texture problem hahaha

linlah said...

I have the same rule because of the dog hair but some how some of that hair still ends up getting picked out of something.

Mr. Charleston said...

This is fresh sea salt. Not from an ancient sea bed but dried in the sun. That means everything that's in the oceans these days is also in that salt. So... it seems like there should be some way you could filter it through a strainer or something. Leave whatever hair behind and use it. You can bet Julia would.

Green-Eyed Momster said...

I'm sure your floors are cleaner than mine. I have a fast dog and he usually catches anything I drop before it hits the floor. (I'm very careful when making chocolate chip cookies. He can't have those! )
:)

Hugs!!

Green-Eyed Momster said...

He he he! I just noticed that your ads are for Fleur De Sel Sea Salts and Cleaning Wood Floors! Ha ha ha!
I wonder what your ads were for after yesterday's post!
Hugs!!

Carma Sez said...

Well that totally sucks.

Years ago I was baking with my childhood friend at her house. She has a dog. Dog hair ended up in the cookies and I still remember it almost 30 years later. I do not recommend the pick it up from the floor option for that reason.

Simply Me said...

new follower :)

Chelsea Talks Smack said...

pat hair.....? mmmmm....no i don't think the five second rule is allowed there lol

Ela said...

I'm such a germaphobe, which I'm quite sure is why my immune system lets me down and gives me horrid colds/flus...so I completely understand. And oh the pet hair...yeah, not so much.
Sorry that happened, please tell me it wasn't the whole jar...some stayed in the jar right?

Meg said...

I'm 100% obsessed with that name. Once you get pEts, the 5 sec rule is out the window. Tragic, but not nearly as tragic as me realizing I have to get fleur de sel in my life stat!!

Farnnay said...

picture please.

Confessions of a Mother, Lawyer & Crazy Woman said...

Pet hair is a deal breaker!

And - am about five posts behind - but Cap Juluca! Went there for our honeymoon, what an incredible surprise. Clearly, he is a keeper.

Melissa B. said...

We've, in general over the years, had the "5 Second Rule" in our household. Until one evening a couple of years ago. One of the chicas dropped brownies on the floor. The other swooped in to scoop up some of the mess, right into her mouth. The sticky brownies had adhered to about 10 years of kitty hair. Chica started wheezing and spitting, much like a real kitty cat. Coughed it all up, just like a hairball, in the sink.

Liz Mays said...

I would have considered the top of the pile as being safe but anything touching the floor is a no-no!

Dumbwit Tellher said...

You are so funny. I use to put into play the 5 sec. rule, but nowadays we are all immersed in germ warfare. Maybe it's just I'm smarter now, ha! I am so into the gourmet salts. I think I shed a tear while reading your post.

Happy..happy Friday to you JennyMac Xx

brokenteepee said...

We goats don't worry about such things as 5 second rules. As long as it doesn't land in the poop pile we are good to go...

Alexis AKA MOM said...

Oh no sweetie I think my luck is rubbing off on you!

Lord floors no matter what they don't stay clean. I use to think my mom was nuts sweeping all the time now I know why.

Cathi said...

i would definitely have been tempted by the 5 second rule....!!

great story, as usual!

LadyFi said...

Sounds like the way things go when I cook... Oh, and by the way, a little dirt and pet hair sure is good for you... ;-)

NKP said...

Ooh! What did you do?
I would have saved it... don't tell anyone! ;-)

Claudya Martinez said...

Too bad you can't wash it.

Anonymous said...

That's what we have immune systems for! ...and like anything else, if you don't use it you loose it (I'm only partly joking here - children who are raised in a sterile environment tend to have health issues as adults... from CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/04/05/cohen.allergies/index.html)

ladytruth said...

It's so true: no matter how much or how thorougly you clean, things just do not seem to stay spotless and germ free. Especially sandpits. And as children we used to eat sand. Can't believe we survived.