Microwave Etiquette 101: 12 Foods To Spare Your Coworkers From Office Odors
In a recent online post, an office worker explains how they took salmon to work for lunch and was shocked when coworkers complained of the smell. Yes, the poster had no idea that fish they left “over the weekend in the fridge at work” might smell strong. Thankfully, the original poster asks Internet users to name foods one shouldn’t reheat in the office. Here are their lunch taboo takeaways.
1. Seafood: Remove Food
Any kind of seafood product surely needs to remain in a seafood restaurant or at home. It isn’t only salmon that causes a smell — all kinds of marine flavors can torment one’s nostrils. “There are (only) two types of fish that are acceptable at the office,” declares an office worker, “Swedish and Gold.” I will add that even shrimp or fish-flavored snacks can stay away.
2. Brussels Sprouts
“Please don’t microwave broccoli or Brussels sprouts,” argues the next poster. “A guy in our office used to cook a steamer bag of one or the other almost every day, and it made the whole place smell.” I don’t know what is worse: the human or vegetable version of flatulence; both can remain out of the office.
3. Cauliflower
“Cauliflower is not okay,” says the next person. “It’s the worst of the lot for bad smells in the office.” I am not sure anyone alive would disagree with this notion — keep your cauliflowers in the ground or cauliflower cheese at home. You have been warned.
4. Sauerkraut
Pickled cabbage with a slightly fermented smell? What’s not to love? Seriously, I can’t believe anyone considered bringing this to work. “Don’t microwave sauerkraut,” suggests the following poster. “My husband had HR have a ‘talk’ with him after he once reheated leftover brats with fixin’s.”
5. Eggs
“Had a coworker once that would cook eggs in the microwave,” laments a violated worker. “He’d bring uncooked eggs to work, crack them up, scramble, add a dash of water, and pop them in the microwave.” That is just too gross to imagine — what is it with these people? As a result, the man in question was “despised” by everyone in the office — surprised much?
6. Cumin
The spice has surprisingly sour notes when it wafts through the room, so cumin is not my favorite flavor. Moreover, the idea of that aroma clogging the stagnant air in an office is off-putting — this is bad news for one person. “Everything else that has been listed I’ve heard about, but I had no idea about cumin,” they concede. “I cook with it a lot; I feel bad for my inadvertently offended coworkers.”
7. Broccoli
“I literally work in the coroner’s office, and one time I brought in cold broccoli, and my boss thought it smelled like decomposition,” recalls a thread member. “Mortifying!” I love the pun but have decided never to work in a mortuary.
8. Eel Livers
Thankfully, I have never experienced the smell of microwaved eel livers in my lifetime, and I hope never to do so. However, one unlucky corporate employee has to endure this every week. “We’re a small office, and one guy is from Hong Kong,” shares the observer. “He’ll heat eel livers in our microwave; no one cares because it’s his lunch.”
9. Indian Food
“Sorry! I love Indian food so much, but I would never bestow that upon a whole office,” states the next thread leader; however, disagreement is forthcoming. “Nah, let’s not prohibit the entire cuisine of a subcontinent,” replies the commenter. I love Indian food too, but we can agree the room needs swift ventilation after eating it.
10. Durian
“Everyone complains when I bring durian as a snack, and I don’t get it,” jokes a contributor who must know how intense the tropical fruit is. The taste is somewhere between custard and onion, but the smell is pure putrefaction — like a fetid organic body odor. I lived in Vietnam for four years and got stuck behind a durian truck on more than one occasion — it isn’t nice.
11. Popcorn
The heady scent of burnt butter will linger long after the corn has popped, so microwaving popcorn in the office can be brutal. “Only if you burn it!” notes a commenter who clearly hasn’t experienced the 99% of people who burn their microwave popcorn.
12. Onions and Garlic
“I had a colleague who cooked at work every day,” comments the final person. “It smelled like it consisted mostly of onions and garlic, and due to the office being a large open area, you couldn’t just close the door.” We must address the elephant in the room: Who is frying food during their lunch break, and where do they work?
Source: Reddit.
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