Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Cooking
Cooking Tips by experts
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Cooking Cooking Tips by experts |
|
|
|
|
10 Easy Ways To Protect Your Family From Food Poisoning
Do you realize the many ways that bacteria can contaminatethe food YOUR FAMILY eats? Do you know how to tell if yourfood is THOROUGHLY cooked to keep YOUR family safe from FoodPoisoning? Do you know what to do if you or SOMEONE YOU LOVEgets Food Poisoning? When it comes to food preparation and storage, "CommonPractices" could be POISONING your family! Here's how to avoid the problem entirely: 1. Plan For Safety Make sure you have the right equipment, including cuttingboards, utensils, food thermometers, cookware, shallowcontainers for storage, soap, and paper towels. Make sureyou have a source of clean water. Plan ahead to ensure thatthere will be adequate storage space in the refrigerator andfreezer. 2. Shop Smart Prevention of food poisoning starts with your trip to thesupermarket. Pick up your packaged and canned foods first.Buy cans and jars that look perfect. Do the cans have dents?Don't buy canned goods that are dented, cracked, or bulging.These are the warning signs that dangerous bacteria may begrowing in the can. Are the jars cracked? Do they have lidsthat are loose or bulging? The food may have germs that canmake you sick. Look for any expiration dates on the labelsand never buy outdated food. Likewise, check the "use by" or"sell by" date on dairy products such as cottage cheese,cream cheese, yogurt, and sour cream and pick the ones thatwill stay fresh longest in your refrigerator. 3. Store Food Properly After shopping, get home as soon as you can. Then put foodinto the refrigerator or freezer right away. Make sure toset the refrigerator temperature to 40° F and the freezer to0° F. Check temperatures with an appliance thermometer. Besure to refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods,and leftovers within 2 hours of shopping or preparing. Placeraw meat, poultry, and seafood in containers in therefrigerator, to prevent their juices from dripping on otherfoods. Raw juices may contain harmful bacteria. Eggs alwaysgo in the refrigerator. 4. Prepare Food Safely Wash hands and surfaces often. Bacteria can be spreadthroughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensilsand counter tops. To prevent this, wash hands with soap andhot water before and after handling food, and after usingthe bathroom, changing diapers, or handling pets. Washeverything else before and after it touches food. Use papertowels or clean cloths to wipe kitchen surfaces or spills.Wash cloths before you use them again for anything else. Usethe hot cycle of your washing machine. Wash cutting boards,dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot, soapy waterafter preparing each food item and before you go on to thenext item. A solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach in 1 quart ofwater may be used to sanitize washed surfaces and utensils. 5. Cook Food Thoroughly Cook food thoroughly until it is done. Cooked red meat looksbrown inside. Poke cooked chicken with a fork. The juicesshould look clear, not pink. Dig a fork into cooked fish.The fish should flake. Cooked egg whites and yolks are firm,not runny. Use a food thermometer to check the internaltemperature of meat, poultry, casseroles and other food. Usea thermometer with a small-diameter stem. Insert thethermometer 1 to 2 inches into the center of the food andwait 30 seconds to ensure an accurate measurement. Checktemperature in several places to be sure the food is evenlyheated. 6. Chill Food Promptly Place food in the refrigerator. Don't overfill therefrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe.Divide food and place in shallow containers. Slice roastbeef or ham and layer in containers in portions for service.Divide turkey into smaller portions or slices & refrigerate.Remove stuffing from cavity before refrigeration. Placesoups or stews in shallow containers. To cool quickly, placein ice water bath and stir. Cover and label cooked foods.Include the preparation date on the label. 7. Transport Food Safely Keep cold food cold. Place cold food in cooler with a coldsource such as ice or commercial freezing gels. Use plentyof ice or commercial freezing gels. Cold food should be heldat or below 40° F. Hot food should be kept hot, at or above140° F. Wrap well and place in an insulated container. 8. Reheat Food Correctly Heat cooked, commercially vacuum-sealed, ready-to-eat foods,such as hams and roasts, to 140° F. Foods that have beencooked ahead & cooled should be reheated to at least 165° F.Reheat leftovers thoroughly to at least 165° F. Reheatsauces, soups, and gravies to a boil. 9. Serve Food The Safe Way Use clean containers and utensils to store and serve food.When a dish is empty or nearly empty, replace with freshcontainer of food, removing the previous container. Placecold food in containers on some ice. Hold cold foods at orbelow 40° F. Food that will be portioned and served shouldbe placed in a shallow container. Place the container insidea deep pan filled partially with ice to keep food cold. Oncefood is thoroughly heated on stovetop, oven or in microwaveoven, keep food hot by using a heat source. Place food inchafing dishes, preheated steam tables, warming trays and/orslow cookers. Check the temperature frequently to be surefood stays at or above 140° F. 10. Complete Your Meal Experience Safely Cooked foods should not be left standing on the table orkitchen counter for more than 2 hours. Disease-causingbacteria grow in temperatures between 40° F and 140° F.Cooked foods that have been in this temperature range formore than 2 hours should not be eaten. If a dish is to beserved hot, get it from the stove to the table as quickly aspossible. Reheated foods should be brought to a temperatureof at least 165° F. Keep cold foods in the refrigerator oron a bed of ice until serving. This rule is particularlyimportant to remember in the summer months. Leftovers shouldbe refrigerated as soon as possible. Meats should be cut inslices of 3 inches or less and all foods should be stored insmall, shallow containers to hasten cooling. Be sure toremove all the stuffing from roast turkey or chicken andstore it separately. Giblets should also be storedseparately. Leftovers should be used within 3 days. Discardany food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Terry Nicholls Copyright © by Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved. About The Author Terry Nicholls is the author of the eBook "Food Safety: Protecting Your Family From Food Poisoning". In addition, he writes from his own experiences in trying to start his own home-based business. To benefit from his success, visit My Home-Based Business Advisor - Helping YOUR Home Business Start and Succeed for free help for YOUR home business, including ideas, startup, and expansion advice.
MORE RESOURCES: See the complete list of Articles on Cooking Tips here Have a look at Best Selling Books on Cooking Tips
See also : Other articles on
Depression,
Grief Loss,
Happiness,
Humor,
Inspirational,
Motivation,
Latest info on : Cooking tips
Cooking-Tips - Google News Why not be an expert yourself ? If you can write on
any of the above topic, you are welcome to submit your Submit
your article here |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What's the Thick on Roux? Thickening Soups and Sauces Soups and sauces can be thickened in a variety of ways. A sauce must the thick enough to cling to the food, but not so thick it stands up on its own. Moms Easy Cooking - Fast Meal Ideas For Busy Moms Every busy mom worries about how to prepare fast, nutritious meals for her family. Working moms often find they have very little time for meal planning and preparation. Kitchenaid Stand Mixers - A Kitchen Work Horse Kitchenaid stand mixers are very popular in today's kitchens and it is easy to see why. These stand mixers have stood the test of time and have shown themselves to be kitchen work horses. Digital Thermometers Types of digital thermometers & their culinary uses.Thermocouple:Of all food thermometers, thermocouple thermometers reach and display the final temperature the fastest - within 2 to 5 seconds. Fruit Cake Are you the fruit cake in your family? Before you raise your eyebrow, I would suggest you read on to know what I mean.The fruit cake has tantalized the world for centuries. Secrets of Great Breads Often we field questions about making great bread. Great bread is a matter of using the right ingredients and the right techniques-there's no single secret that will make perfect bread. Little-known Tips for Easy Holiday Baking Are you wondering if you have the time to bake homemade Christmas cookies this year? Every year at about this time we all start to get a little panicked that the holidays are coming up fast and we're not really ready yet. Here are a few little-known tips and tricks, for almost every type of cookie, to help you get the most out of the time you spend baking. 10 Simple Ways To Safely Store Food Storing foods can present its own set of problems. Anddifferent types of foods have different storage requirementsto prevent bacteria from setting in. 10 Easy Ways To Protect Your Family From Food Poisoning Do you realize the many ways that bacteria can contaminatethe food YOUR FAMILY eats? Do you know how to tell if yourfood is THOROUGHLY cooked to keep YOUR family safe from FoodPoisoning? Do you know what to do if you or SOMEONE YOU LOVEgets Food Poisoning?When it comes to food preparation and storage, "CommonPractices" could be POISONING your family!Here's how to avoid the problem entirely:1. Plan For SafetyMake sure you have the right equipment, including cuttingboards, utensils, food thermometers, cookware, shallowcontainers for storage, soap, and paper towels. Grill Your Corn for Maximum Flavor There's two basic theories on grilling corn. Some people prefer wrapping the corn in aluminum foil or its own husk, maybe with a little butter and seasonings, then cooking it on the grill until done. Alone In the Kitchen: Stirring Up Mindfulness Put on your apron! It's time to stir up a batch of mindfulness.Julia Child, the trilling television chef who taught millions of Americans how to prepare French food without being hoity-toity, died in her sleep at the age of 92 recently. Using Bread Machine Mixes in Your Oven You don't have to own a bread machine to enjoy the variety of bread machine mixes. And you don't have to make blocky, square loaves with holes in the bottom. 10 Smoky Tips To BBQ Food Safely Cooking outdoors was once only a summer activity shared withfamily and friends. Now more than half of Americans say theyare cooking outdoors year round. How to Prepare the Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes Would you like to prepare the best Garlic Mashed Potatoes that you enjoy at your favorite restaurant, but have no idea where to start to achieve that wonderful and delightful flavor?There are a variety of ways to create the best garlic mashed potatoes that you have ever tasted but when it comes down to which way is best is according to your own taste buds.When you take a look at garlic you will see that there are various kinds of garlic that you can use for your mashed potatoes such as German red garlic, Spanish Roja garlic, Leningrad garlic, and Yugoslavian. How to Make Sandwich Rolls with Your Bread Machine For that next picnic or family outing, consider making sandwich rolls with your bread machine. They are quick and easy and so much better than what you buy from the stores. Working with Eggs Bad eggs are rare but they do occur. Crack eggs into a separate bowl before mixing with other ingredients. 10 Deadly Bacteria That Can Get In Your Food (And How To Stop Them From Getting There) Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in ourenvironment. Not all bacteria cause disease in humans (forexample, some bacteria are used beneficially in makingcheese and yogurt). Wok this Way! (Part 1 of 5) IntroductionWoks have been synonymous with Chinese cooking since the emergence of Chinese cuisine. They have been used for some 3000 years in China for a variety of cooking methods, including stir frying, boiling, and steaming. Baking Bread and Your Freezer There's a lot of bread in our freezer. In our exuberance, we often bake more bread than we can eat in a day or two. Cut The Take Out A long hard day at work. You get home and need dinner.
|
|
You are here |
|
| Cooking Tips Home | All Cooking Tips- complete list | |
|
Main Home | | Meditation Corner | |
|
|
| Recommend us | |
|
[About
us] [Contact] [Privacy
Policy]
Copyright 2006, Meditation
is Easy.com, All
rights reserved
