Although many of us are quite sanely observing the safety guidelines followed by professional cooks, it is easy to encounter all sorts of mishaps in the kitchen. We strongly encourage you to follow these simple safety rules with religious devotion when cooking a dream recipe in the kitchen. These precautions will ensure that you as well as your near and dear ones are there to enjoy delicious meals for a long while!
1. First things first, and hygiene is the top priority with all the experienced chefs. Do wash your hands with a soap or hand-wash thoroughly before handling any food items.
2. Thoroughly wash all raw vegetables and fruits under running water to remove dirt, dust and any traces of insecticides on them.
3. Raw poultry, meats and fish should also be washed thoroughly under running cold water.
4. It has been said that ‘Machines and loose clothes do not match’, same goes here with the only exception that long hair is also added to it. So if you have long hair or wear loose clothes then there is a chance they can catch fire and cause you serious burns. So don’t wear loose clothes when cooking and tie back your hair.
5. When preparing vegetables or meats or whatever, always use a chopping board. Please, never try and cut vegetables and the like on the go and with your bare hands. Also while cutting point the knife away from your body. It also makes good sense to have separate chopping boards for vegetables and meats.
6. While cooking on the cooker always make it a habit to turn the pan/pot handles towards the back or sideways. This can be a real life saver for you and your kids. The kids can easily knock off a pan housing boiling contents and seriously burn themselves. Also your sleeves can get stuck with the handles and trip them over before you notice!
7. While taking off the pot lids always open the lid away from you. And when opening a pressure cooker, do make sure that its steam has been released before hand by taking off the weight on top of it. Even after this, the indicator knob on the pressure cooker stays up for a while. Only remove the pressure cooker lid when this indicator knob goes down on its own.
8. Use a purpose built heat-proof cloth or a pot holder to handle the pots whether on the cooker or in the oven. Never use a wet cloth to handle hot pots/pans. The wet cloth can generate steam, which causes more serious injuries than the fire itself. (Reasons for this can be found in your high school physics book 
)
9. It is a wise idea to invest in a small in-expensive dry powder fire extinguisher specially for the kitchen. If you can’t get your hands on a fire extinguisher, by all means do try and find a cheap fire blanket and keep it handy.
10. If unfortunately you do encounter a burn, hold the exposed area under cold running water immediately and then call for help.
Stay safe with your family and enjoy the culinary delights for a long time to come. Happy cooking and eating!
Some of the safety tips courtesy of our Scottish Master Chef Harry.
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