Cooking is a great skill to learn. It is a skill that you will use for the rest of your life, and it makes life a lot easier when you can cook with what you have available. That being said, cooking safely is just as important as knowing how to cook. Cooking is a very fun but dangerous skill when one does not know all the safety precautions that one must take.
Always wash your hands
This may seem very self-explanatory, but it is one of the most important safety tips when it comes to cooking. When cooking, you touch a lot of different foods that you will end up eating. When cooking, it is essential to wash your hands to ensure no bacteria will spread to your food. Not only that, but not washing your hands after cooking is just as important, as you have just touched many foods that can aid in the spread of germs around your house.
Organize your workspace
Organization is a great tool to have, whether you are in the kitchen or not. Keeping your tools in a safe and clean place can not only make your experience better, but it will also ensure your tools aren't rusted and unsafe to use. Organizing your workspace will make the resistance to cooking a lot less as you have everything set up and ready to use, which is one less excuse as to why you shouldn’t cook. It will also allow for an easier experience for someone who may be visiting and wanting to use your kitchen. It creates a more enjoyable experience for everyone interested in using your kitchen.
Learn how to handle a knife
Learning how to handle a knife is essential to being safe in the kitchen. Knives can be very dangerous, as more than half of the injuries in the emergency room are caused by a knife. Not only that, but a lot of people make the mistake of keeping a dull knife. A dull knife is one of the easiest ways to cut yourself, as it makes you apply more pressure to the object you are cutting, thus making it easier to slip off of the object you are cutting.
Pay attention to hot surfaces.
Hot surfaces are one of the leading causes of injuries in the kitchen, as well as messes made. Paying attention to hot objects before you pick them up is a great way to prevent injury. Picking up very hot objects can lead to a dropped pan or pot, which may land on your foot, causing an even greater injury. Proceeding with caution is the best way to avoid all of these injuries, as it prevents them at the source.
Beware of steam.
This last tip many experienced chefs may not follow, but it will lead to much less injury and a lot fewer broken objects. When lifting the lid from any piece of cookware, whether a pot or a pan, it is crucial that you put a glove or towel over your hand to guarantee that you will not burn yourself on the steam and potentially break the lid after dropping it. A great tip to avoid a steam burn even with a glove on is lifting the lid towards yourself as you are letting the steam seep out of the side that you are not facing.
Cooking is a great skill to have. It is something that will benefit you throughout your life once you have learned it. That being said, it is also a hazardous hobby and can be taken much too far when not proceeding with caution.
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