Cooking at Home: A growing trend 

Great news—more people are cooking at home today than they did thirty years ago, with the biggest increase seen in men. ^[1] This rise has followed the explosion of cooking shows, endless online recipes, and step-by-step video tutorials. 

Kitchen Fire safety: The Riskiest Room at Home

Kitchen safety rules

Whether you’re cooking at home or in the school foods lab, be sure to follow these kitchen safety rules to prevent accidents. The rules are adapted below from Taste of Home’s “Top 10 Kitchen Safety Do’s and Don’ts.”

Rule 1. Learn how to extinguish a fire.

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Before turning on the oven or stove, always make sure you know where the fire extinguisher is and review its use instructions. Fires can spread in just seconds, and most kitchen fires are caused by grease or electrical problems.

Important Safety Tips

• Never pour water on a kitchen fire. Water can cause grease fires to spread and flare up rapidly.
• For small stovetop fires, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or use baking soda to smother the flames.
• Use a fire extinguisher if the fire is larger or not easily controlled. (A Class K extinguisher is best for kitchen fires, but a multipurpose extinguisher is common in homes.)
• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. Use a fire extinguisher only if the fire does not go out.
• For a microwave fire, turn off the appliance and keep the door closed to contain the flames.

In the video below, a firefighter demonstrates what happens when water is thrown on a grease fire—something you should never do. He also introduces the simple acronym PASS for using a fire extinguisher:

• • Pull the pin
  • Aim at the base of the fire
  • Squeeze the trigger
  • Sweep from side to side

Rule 2. Learn how to use knives.

A dull knife is more likely to slip and cut you than a sharp one. Keeping your blades sharpened is one of the easiest ways to ensure safety. Also, it would be best to choose the appropriate knife for the task at hand. In other words, do not use a meat cleaver to slice strawberries. The “Basic Knife Skills” video demonstrates how to hold and use knives properly.

>Rule 3. Wear safe clothing and tie back hair.

Avoid wearing long, baggy sleeves in the kitchen. Loose fabric can easily brush against a flame or hot surface and catch fire. Instead, choose tops with fitted sleeves or no sleeves. Stay away from synthetic fabrics—when overheated, they can melt onto your skin, causing severe burns.

No one wants hair in their food! Even clean hair can carry bacteria and contaminate meals if it falls in. Always tie back long hair before entering the kitchen. If your hair is too short to tie, use a hair covering such as a hat or net to keep food safe and sanitary.

Rule 4. Wear shoes with closed toes and rubber or leather soles. 

Have you ever dropped a knife, broken a plate, or spilled hot liquid? Now imagine it landing on your foot. That’s why close-toed shoes with low heels are essential in the kitchen. Leather shoes are the best choice—they provide protection from:

• Sharp falling objects like knives or broken glass

•  Spills of hot water or oil

• Other unexpected kitchen accidents

The right footwear doesn’t just complete your outfit—it helps keep you safe.

Rule 5. Prevent burns.

Always turn pot and pan handles inward and use the rear burners when possible to prevent spills and burns. Keep dry potholders or oven mitts nearby when handling hot cookware. Never use wet mitts or cloths—moisture conducts heat and can cause painful steam burns.

Rule 6. Always stir and lift away from you.

Lift the lid on a pot of hot food away from you. A hot pot will collect steamy condensation under the lip. This condensation can drip onto your skin when lifting off the lid toward you, causing burns. The same goes for stirring. Make sure you always stir away from your body.

Rule 7.  Don’t set a hot glass dish on a wet or cold surface.

Glass expands when it gets warm and shrinks when it cools quickly, which can cause it to break. The best place to set hot glass lids and pans is on a trivet, cutting board, or potholder to avoid breakage.

Rule 8. Don’t use metal utensils on nonstick, Teflon pans.

Avoid using metal utensils on Teflon or nonstick pans—they can scratch or chip the coating, causing flakes to mix with your food. To protect both your cookware and your health, use wooden, silicone, or plastic utensils instead.

Rule 9.  Don’t use the same cutting board for raw meat, fruits, and vegetables.

Attributions

This chapter is an adaptation of “Chapter 17. Food Safety” in Human Nutrition:2020 Edition by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition Program licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.