Safe Cooking Tips.
I love to cook and as a homemaker I am responsible for making sure my family’s food is safe. Even after all my year’s experience I still take the time to make sure I practice cooking safe tips to ensure the food I prepare is safe.
In today’s world of refrigeration, I would think I wouldn’t have to worry, but there are still many things I need to be aware of when I cook for my family.
My number one concern is keeping the bacteria that causes food poisoning out of my kitchen. From my Home Economics class, I remember learning about the food danger zone of 40°F to 140°F. Cooked food is in danger of growing bacteria if it is not kept hot at least 140°F and cold food needs to be kept colder than 40°F.
My food thermometer is a must in my kitchen.
Here are a few more tips I have learned over the years:
- Nuts will go rancid, so they are best stored in the freezer.
- Store pasta, flour, sugar and beans in glass jars to keep the weevil bugs at bay.
- To keep bacterial growth from forming on meats unwrap and store them on a plate, loosely covered in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
- Dairy products keep longer if you transfer them from cartons to screw-top glass jars.
- Store mushrooms in paper rather than plastic and it will keep them from becoming slimy.
- Be careful with cross contamination…keep raw food to be eaten away from raw food to be cooked.
- Always thaw food in the refrigerator, not on your countertop.
Do you have any cooking safe tips you can share?
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Thanks, Tracy. I never knew that mushrooms should be stored in paper or that I should keep nuts in the freezer.
I never knew that before a couple years ago. Now when I bring them home I transfer them into a brown paper lunch bag and they keep so much longer.
Great list! I always use a separate cutting board for raw meat and make sure to sanitize it each time. Also, for spinach, and other veggies, I try and wash it in an all natural solution to kill any bad guys that try and sneak in our foods…
That is a great tip! I have two different cutting boards…one for veggies and one for meat and I also sanitize them after each time I use them.
This is what I need!Thank you!
How do you sanitize your cutting boards? And I have some brazil nuts that are not shelled. Is it fine to keep them in the cupboard? I am dropping by from the HomeAcre Hop. 🙂
Kristie what a great questions! I have two boards; a wooden one I only use for vegetables that is just wiped off with warm soapy water (I season my wooden board with mineral oil every couple months), and a hard plastic one I use for meats. The plastic one gets wiped off and then I spray it with straight white vinegar, let it sit for a few minutes and then wash it when I do dishes.
Thanks Tracy!
I did not know that mushroom trick! Now I know. We had to replace our refrigerator several years ago. We purchased the kind with ‘3’ sections. The middle drawer is supposed to be for keeping things you reach for often. I placed a small carton of sour cream in it by mistake and it spoiled very quickly. Live and learn!
Thank you for sharing with us at Home Linky. You always share wonderful things.
Thanks Shirley for stopping by…