Staying Safe in the Kitchen
Megan Ogilvie of the Toronto Star writes:
For the unskilled cook, navigating a kitchen can be a daunting experience. There are innumerable potential dangers to avoid, from sharp knives to hot stove burners to deep-fat fryers.
But proper kitchen safety can reduce the risk of accidents, fires and food poisonings.
Bonnie Stern, owner of the Bonnie Stern School of Cooking in Toronto, helps beginners keep safe as they learn their way around the kitchen. Kitchen safety may seem to be just an issue of having common sense. But we all know that the simplest practices are the ones that are easiest to overlook or forget, even for the experienced cook.
Some of Ms. Stern’s top kitchen safety rules:
- Never put dirty knives into a sink full of soapy water. This is to prevent people from accidentally cutting themselves as they reach into the sink.
- Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove, instead of having them hang over the edge. This is a safety must not only in homes with little kids, since anybody passing the stove could easily tip the pot over themselves with a protruding handle.
- ALWAYS wash your hands before and after handling food. A very elementary rule.
- Use a meat thermometer to make sure meat is properly cooked.
- Don’t refreeze meat, poultry or fish. A cardinal rule in my home.
- When deep-frying, pat all foods dry before adding to the fryer, as water will make the hot fat splatter. Not only a safety tip, but one for frying as well.
The complete set of rules may be found here.
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POSTED IN: Cooking, Safety at Home
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