Kitchen Safety for Everyone
There may be no better way to impress your friends, neighbors and romantic interests than with your amazing cooking abilities. Whip up a scintillating spaghetti dish or a chicken a la delicious and suddenly you can’t get people to leave your apartment. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or hanging onto your cookbook for dear life, cooking can be a dangerous activity. The staff at Apartments.com wants your culinary adventures to be as tasty as they are safe so we’ve compiled a list of tips to make your kitchen the most popular room in the apartment. Being a safe chef, however, starts way before the kitchen…
At the Grocery Store
Don’t buy leaky or torn packages.
Don’t buy foods on or past their expiration dates, even if it will save you a few extra dimes.
Pick up refrigerated and frozen items just before heading to the check-out counter.
Raw meat and fish should not be packed into bags with vegetables or fruits or any cooked foods.
In warm weather, transport all perishable items in the car with the air-conditioning on. If you live 30 minutes or more away from the store, bring a cooler with ice.
When You get Home
Take perishable items into your apartment first and immediately put them away. Make sure the packages are securely wrapped and put items into their specified drawers, where the temperature is the coldest.
Check the temperature in your unit with an appliance thermometer. The refrigerator should be at 40 degrees and the freezer at 0 degrees.
Don’t wait forever to get cooking! Your foods will taste better if you use them sooner. Fresh poultry, fish and ground meats should be used (or frozen) within two days. Beef, veal, lamb and pork should be used in 3-5 days. Fruits and vegetables will quickly show their age if not used. Throw them out if they have lots of brown spots or are moldy or slimy.
Make cooking much easier by washing all your fruits and vegetables as soon as you get home. Use a sink sprayer or rinse them in a colander to wash them. Scrub hearty vegetables like potatoes and carrots. You may opt to buy a special spray for washing produce; these contain surfactants that can loosen surface substances and lift them off. Don’t use homemade cleaning solutions as they can change the flavor of your food.
Store washed produce and fresh herbs in zip-loc bags in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
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