You read the five rules I think you can break, right? Now here are five rules I really do NOT break in the kitchen.
1. Put food away after cooking. Yes, pretty quickly—meat spoils quickly, even on your kitchen counter in the dead of winter (more quickly, of course, outside in summer heat). Here’s my story: I was pretty cavalier about food safety until I made myself sick. I had some barbecue one night and must have delayed in putting the leftovers away. Two nights later, I decided to enjoy the leftovers for dinner. I was sick within about two hours (typical food poisoning) and sick all night. I am thankful to this day that I was the only one I fed that night! Now I am the paranoid one whisking dishes into the fridge when everyone has eaten. Trust me on this and follow my lead. (The US Food Safety and Inspection Service says to put food away within two hours; within one hour if the temperature is above 90F.)
2. Don’t cross contaminate. This is another absolute. If you only have one cutting board, cut vegetables first then your meats. You might also like to buy the color-coded food cutting boards I love so much—red for meats, yellow for chicken, white for vegetables and blue for fish. These are typically dishwasher safe, so use one, put it into the dishwasher and move on.
3. Don’t put a non-stick skillet on the heat without something in the pan. I am a big fan of non-stick pans in low-fat cooking—they are a truly useful tool. But if you let the pans get too hot without food in them, then you release some toxic fumes into the air. The coatings are durable, as noted in Dupont’s own website, but some fumes are released at high temperatures. Err on the safe side, and don’t overheat these pans.
4. Wash your hands. Often. This is closely lined to not cross-contaminating. Wash your hands before you start cooking. After cutting meat or poultry, wash your hands. Crack an egg? Wash your hands.
5. Use a thermometer. If you read my recipes, you know I really like beef rare. But USDA still recommends cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of 160F. To be sure, use a thermometer. My favorite is an instant-read digital thermometer. The USDA website talks about temperatures for all meats and even how to use a thermometer. Worth a read.
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