First and probably most important is keeping your kitchen, cooking tools, hands, and anything that comes in touch with food CLEAN. Use separate cutting boards for meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables and fruits. A cutting board that has been used for meat should not then be used for any other food until it is cleaned. The same is true for the other foods. The avoids cross-contamination. You can cut/chop different types of vegetables an fruits on the same surface without cleaning between each item. There is no bacteria to transfer.
Keep your foods properly refrigerated until you are ready to use them.
Remove jewelry (watch, bracelet, rings) when cooking to avoid introducing bacteria from your jewelry into the food.
Use sharp knives at all times. Dull knives cause more accidents because they "slide" off of fruits and vegetables instead of "biting" down into them. When a knife slides it can cut you.
Wash your pots/pans, bowls, and utensils as you go to maintain a clean work space and reduce the possibility of contamination. Wash hands frequently, if you touch a protein (eggs, chicken, beef, pork, etc.) wash your hands before touching anything else. This will avoid cross-contamination.
Handle all items coming out of the microwave with care especially if they are covered. Steam can build up quickly in microwaved foods and burn you if you are not careful.
Lift pot lids with away from you to avoid being burned by steam and droplets of hot water that gather on the lid. Use hot pads.
When removing hot items from the oven, stove, or microwave always have a cleared space ready with a hot pad set out for the pot. This avoids standing in the kitchen with your hands full of a hot dish and no where to set it down.
Close microwave doors, oven doors, and cabinets doors as soon as possible to avoid accidents.
Keep knives in a knife block if possible instead of in a drawer to avoid cuts. When you walk with a knife, keep it pointed down at the floor. If you fall or bump into someone or something you are less likely to be hurt.
Do not overheat oil. If it starts to turn a darker color or "shimmer" it is too hot. Turn it off and remove from the heat. When adding anything to oil be sure there is no water on the food it will spatter oil all over you and the kitchen, you can be hurt. Put a pot lid on top of a pot of oil that is spattering and remove it from the heat.
Wipe up spills on the floor immediately.
Read your recipe through before you start. Set out all bowls, pots, pans, utensils needed. Then set out your necessary ingredients, measure ahead of time if you may be interrupted. This will avoid doubling up on things like salt and ruining your food. Wear an apron to protect your clothes and have fun.
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.