Cooking Hints and Tips   
Kitchen Safety

Store matches, lighters, sharp utensils and household cleaners in a cabinet accessible only to adults. Put child-safety latches on all lower-level cabinets. Unplug appliances when not in use and keep cords out of reach of children. Never pour hot liquid near a child and never leave hot drinks within reach. Use the back burners of the stove and turn pot handles toward the back. Watch out for tablecloths - since small children enjoy pulling on the cloth, glasses and plates can fall off. Keep stools and chairs away from counters and stoves. Be sure to keep alcohol locked away from children. Many kitchen accidents occur within seconds. It's best to keep small children out of the kitchen completely. Use a child-safety gate, if possible, in the doorway to keep children out of the kitchen completely when you are in another room. Food Safety: Proper food handling is essential. The main concerns are cleanliness, preventing cross-contamination, and keeping foods at safe temperatures. With just a little knowledge, you can save yourself a lot of misery. Washing Hands Wash hands thoroughly with hot soapy water, for a minimum of 20 seconds. Remember to lather up to the elbow. Pay special attention to nails and fingertips, one of the easiest and most crucial steps in food safety. Rings and bracelets can harbor germs, so either remove them or wash them carefully. It is important to wash hands in the following situations: Before the start of food preparation Between handling different food items, such as raw meat, poultry, or fish and vegetables (Don't forget to wipe off the faucet!) After using the bathroom or changing a diaper After touching a pet After tending to a sick person, blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing After handling garbage After touching your face or hair Tasting Food When tasting food while cooking, always use a separate tasting spoon, and get a new one each time - do not double dip and do not eat off the utensil you are using to stir. Do not use your fingers to taste. It is not sanitary and can cause a burn if the food is very hot. Always handle a tasting spoon by the stem, never by the scoop. Handling injuries If you get cut, quickly put pressure on the cut and clean and bandage accordingly. Clean knife and cutting board accordingly. Always wear latex or rubber gloves when you have bandages on your hands. Change bandage often. Preventing cross-contamination Bacteria from raw meats that is spread to other foods, utensils, or surfaces is called "cross-contamination". Mixing raw meats with ready to eat foods is the primary source of cross-contamination. This important and multi-faceted category includes the following components: Raw meats, poultry, and fish Always separate raw meats away from produce and ready to eat foods. At the store, have the cashier bag raw meats separately. At home, always store raw meats on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, so meat juices won't drip on other foods. Kitchen counters Wash well with hot soapy water and then use a disinfectant. Do not let pets walk on work surfaces and don't sit on work surfaces. Whenever you have finished working with one food, clean the counters well before introducing a new food. Cutting boards It is a good idea to have separate cutting boards, one for meat, fish, poultry, and one for foods that will be served raw. Plastic cutting boards should be sanitized with a bleach solution or by washing in the dishwasher. To make a bleach solution, use 1 tablespoon of bleach to one quart of cool water. Discard solution daily. Sanitize wooden cutting boards by rubbing with distilled grain vinegar, then air-dry or microwave for ten minutes. Cutting boards, especially wooden ones, should be visually checked to assure that food is not getting imbedded in cracks or crevices. Throw out cutting boards when they get excessively worn or hard to clean cracks appear. Wash cutting boards with hot soapy water after each use. Kitchen dishcloths, sponges, and aprons Repeatedly using the same cloth or sponge to wipe counters spreads germs. Remember to wash towels in the washing machine daily and put sponges in the dishwasher. Avoid wiping your hands on your apron, as you will pick up bacteria from the last time you wiped your hands. When handwashing dishes, allow them to air-dry - don't use towels to dry them as this will spread germs. Utensils and serving pieces for cooked and raw food If you take raw meat, poultry, or fish to the outdoor grill, have a new container to put food in after it is cooked. Wash or replace cutlery and utensils that were used while product was raw. If your meat, poultry or seafood was in a marinade, bring marinade to a boil for at least 3 minutes before using as a sauce. Uncooked foods Wash lettuce well (even pre-washed) by soaking in bowl of cool fresh drinkable water. Clean berries and other fruits with running water; the friction of the water will brush off bacteria. It is important to wash melons and other large fruits and vegetables that are not going to be cooked. Remember they came from a farm, grew on dirt, and have been handled by numerous people. If you cut an unwashed melon, bacteria from the surface will be pushed inside by the knife. To prevent cross-contamination, always wash foods in a bowl, not in a water-filled sink. If you wash raw chicken, meat, or fish, be sure to wash out the sink well to prevent cross-contamination. When using a food thermometer, always wash it between probes. Frequent hand washing is crucial in preventing cross contamination. Temperature Bacteria grows rapidly between the temperatures of 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F. This temperature range is known as the "Danger Zone". To properly store, hold, and cook foods, it is imperative to minimize the amount of time foods are at these temperatures. Pathogenic bacteria thrive in the Danger Zone; certain strains can double in number every 20 minutes. These are the bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses, but do not affect taste, smell, or appearance of the food. Any foods that have been in this temperature range for two hours or more should be discarded; they might taste all right, but can make you very sick. Don't marinate food at room temperature for longer than 1 hour. Refrigeration Your refrigerator is one of the most important items in your kitchen for keeping foods safe. Always refrigerate perishable items immediately to minimize reproduction of pathogenic bacteria. Refrigeration will not, however, completely protect foods from spoilage bacteria. This family of bacteria can multiply at low temperatures, and diminish the quality of foods, contributing to off-flavors and aromas. It is important to maintain the temperature of your refrigerator below 40 degrees F. Ideal refrigerator temperature is between 36 and 38 degrees F. Frequently check the temperature with an appliance thermometer. If your refrigerator exceeds 40 degrees F for over two hours, dispose of all perishable foods. When refrigerating cooked foods, divide food into smaller portions so they will chill faster. It is also important not to overfill your refrigerator, as cold air circulation is necessary to keep foods chilled. The door areas of the refrigerator have frequent temperature fluctuations from opening and closing, so don't store perishable foods on the door. Keep eggs in the carton inside the refrigerator instead of the egg rack, and don't store milk in the door racks. If food spills in your refrigerator, wipe up the spill immediately and sanitize if necessary. Do weekly checks to assure that food is not spoiling, and occasionally wash all surfaces with warm, soapy water. To keep odors from forming, leave opened box of baking soda on a shelf and change very few months. Thawing frozen foods There are three safe ways to thaw frozen food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Leaving food on a counter or thawing in hot water will cause food to be in the Danger Zone. Refrigerator thawing can take a long time, but it is the safest method. Plan ahead, as large food items, such as a turkey, may take 24 hours for every 5 pounds. For smaller items, such as chicken breasts, put in the refrigerator in the morning for dinner that evening. Foods that are thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen safely, with some loss in aesthetic quality. Cold water thawing is faster, but can be more complicated. Meat should be wrapped in a leak-proof bag or else it will absorb the water. Keep water cold by changing it every 30 minutes. A bag of chicken breasts that weighs under a pound will defrost in less than an hour, and a large turkey takes 2 to 3 hours for every 5 pounds. Foods thawed in cold water must be cooked before refreezing. If food is thawed with a microwave, it must be cooked immediately following the thawing. During this process, some of the surface areas might start cooking and are in the danger zone. For this reason, we don't recommend microwave defrosting. Foods thawed in the microwave must be cooked before refreezing. Cooling soups, stocks, and hot liquids quickly When making a large batch of soup or stew, it can often take a long time to cool. Since foods should not be in the Danger Zone for more than 2 hours, here are some pointers to cool foods down quickly. Liquids are best cooled in metal containers. Plastic insulates heat and cools more slowly. Set container in an ice-water bath that reaches the same level as the liquid in the container. Stir ice-water bath occasionally to accelerate cooling. Storage instructions and "use by" dates Pay attention to storage instructions, such as "Refrigerate after opening" and dates on containers. If items have been stored improperly, it is safest to discard them instead of risking illness. Refrigerator Wisdom Your refrigerator should be set to a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This is low enough to help slow enzymatic processes and the growth of bacteria, but not cold enough to affect food quality by allowing ice crystals to develop. It's a good idea to keep a refrigerator thermometer in the fridge to make sure the temperature is low enough for food safety. Always cover food in your refrigerator. The air inside your fridge is extremely dry and foods will quickly dry out, lose quality, and become unappetizing in a short period of time if not covered. Covering foods also prevents bland or delicate foods (like dairy products) from acquiring odors from other foods (like cabbage). The cool temperatures in the refrigerator slow down the process of enzymes in the food and slow down bacteria reproduction. This prolongs food quality, taste, and texture, and keeps food safer longer. Refrigeration does not kill bacteria and can not improve food quality. Don't be afraid to put hot foods in the refrigerator. The appliance is made to cool down foods. The chilling process will happen more quickly in the fridge, once again giving bacteria less time to grow in the temperature danger zone of 40 - 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a large casserole or dish that needs to be chilled, separate the foods into smaller, shallow (no more than 3" deep), individual containers for faster cooling. It can take a pot full of hot chicken soup 24 hours to cool to a safe temperature in the refrigerator! Divide and conquer bacteria! Don't overload the refrigerator. There should be enough space between foods that air can freely circulate around them. This way the temperature will be more even throughout the appliance. Use your refrigerator thermometer to check the temperature of the crispers and shelves. The coldest part of your fridge is not the place to store fragile foods like lettuces and delicate fruits. In a lot of refrigerators, the top shelf is the coldest spot; lettuces develop ice crystals there, so make sure to store them on a lower shelf. Foods that need refrigeration should be placed in the refrigerator within 2 hours after eating to help prevent bacteria growth. If the ambient temperature is more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, that time safety zone shrinks to 1 hour. Don't violate this rule!!! At least once every three weeks, remove everything from your refrigerator. Working quickly (remember the 2 hour rule!!), wipe down all the interior surfaces with a baking soda solution. Dry thoroughly. Pay attention to the seals and gaskets too.

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