Jul 30 2009
Preparing Delicious, Healthy Meals Starts with Safe Cooking – part 1
Following a few simple safe cooking guidelines can help keep the kitchen safe and enhance your cooking experience. For example, knowing how to properly heat your cookware and work around a stovetop will help you prepare meals in less time, with better tasting results.
Use the guidelines below as you prepare everyday meals for more enjoyable cooking and a safer cooking environment for your family.
Stay in the kitchen: Never leave any heated cookware unattended.
• Unattended cooking is the number one contributor to cooking fires – the leading cause of fires in homes across America.
Keep air flowing: Turn on the exhaust fan or open a window before cooking.
• It is important to make sure that your kitchen is properly ventilated.
• If accidentally overheated, non-stick cookware can emit irritating fumes, as can any type of cookware preheated with cooking oil, fats, margarine, and butter.
Watch for feathered friends: Keep your pet bird out of the kitchen while cooking.
• Cooking fumes from unattended or overheated cookware can damage a bird’s lungs with alarming speed. This is why you should always move your birds out of the kitchen before cooking.
Watch the temperature: Don’t let your pans get too hot.
• Temperatures can rise very quickly in an empty pan left on high heat. High temperatures can lead to intense spattering when food is added, which can be a burn hazard. And, once you put food into an overheated pan, you’ll burn the food.
• Avoid preheating empty cookware on high heat. Medium heat is sufficient.