I started to read a healthy-cooking article, and it reported that according to the CDC, every year 1 in 6 Americans get food-related illnesses; which I think is an amazingly high number. Part of preparing food for my family and friends is that I want to give them a gift that replenishes the body and mind. I certainly do not want anyone to get sick from my efforts! It made me think about what I do or should do, to make sure none of my folks are part of that statistic. When I started to think about it, I realized food safety starts much earlier than sitting at the table to eat.
Obviously, I pay attention to the recipes I use, and the special dietary needs of those I feed. I pay attention also to the food I buy or attempt to grow. But critically, what I am thinking about now is the act of prepping and cooking the food and how to keep me personally from introducing a food-based illness.
To start with, clearly home cooking is not the same as professional cooking, so there is no expectation for us to meet high regulatory standards. But common sense goes a long way in making the right decisions with regard to cooking. Most of us home cooks, in fact, do these things without even thinking there is a reason behind these actions, but in some cases it is just the way we were taught.
Wash Hands: It all starts with getting myself ready to cook. I start by washing my hands before and during food preparation. What that means to me is that I use soap and water, and spend a good 15-20 seconds washing up (especially in the beginning, and after handling meat). This also means that near my kitchen sink I have some mild soap, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, because all that washing can leave my hands very dry and cracking. If my hands are oily I use Dawn dish washing liquid to remove that, but otherwise I stick to mild soap.
- Side Note: When home I tend not to use my apron so am in my work or home clothes. When in a professional kitchen I start work in my “kitchen t-shirt” and once I start to cook I put on the apron. The apron was originally used to save clothes from staining, but also is a safety issue to allow another layer between me and a hot spill. I cannot tell you how much I spend at the dry cleaners getting stains out of my daily clothes! I probably should wear an apron whenever I cook.
Wash Food: Most foods I keep in original unwashed states, like squash and apples, until I am ready to use them. But at the start of cooking, I gather and wash the fruits, veggies, and herbs that I am going to use. As everyone knows by now, I do not wash meats.
My way of cleaning veggies and fruits is to put a colander in the sink, so if food slips from my hand it does not fall into the sink; the sink is a known dirty place full of bacteria. (In fact the kitchen sink has more germs than a toilet.1) I use a veggie brush on certain hard foods, and just rubbing and running water for more fragile greens. I will wash the outside of fruits and veggies I will be peeling (potatoes, carrots, avocados, lemons). For especially dirty mushrooms I use a slightly damp paper towel or my veggie brush to wipe the dirt from them.
Clean Work Space: I also want my work space clean. I use a damp rag to clean up while I prep and cook, but this is just to keep things ordered and semi-clean of debris. At the end of my cooking I clean counters, stove, and my wooden cutting board with soap and water, and use a clean rag. If I have been cooking with meat I clean up using paper towels and may even use a disinfectant wipe or two.
Defrost Properly: If I know what I am going to cook is in the freezer (properly stored at 0F or -18C), I move the food to the fridge the day before. The fridge is warmer (<40F or 4C) and the difference will allow the food to defrost without the introduction of bacteria. I put the frozen item in a bowl to catch any water or stuff that may leak. (Once in an emergency I cooked a frozen chicken in a pressure cooker; it worked and tasted fine, but the outside looked weirdly pale.) I occasionally will defrost ground meat using the microwave, but then cook it right away. My general go-to is to always defrost by placing the item in the fridge. I never place a frozen item on a counter top or in a sink with warm water to defrost.
Clean Equipment: If I have used special equipment, like a mandolin or immersion blender, spice grinder, or standing mixer, I take care to clean them as well. (I do not want to use dirty appliances, or have to clean them when I start cooking next time.) This means taking them apart to clean all of the tool, and then I place it on my dish drainer to air dry. Of course, I sometimes run out of time and do a quick clean; if my dish has meat in it I do not skip this cleaning process.
USDA Temps: Meat, poultry, and fish preparation are a critical component to food safety, and need to be stored and cooked at appropriate temps. The concern is to avoid the “40F – 140F danger zone” at which meat-loving bacteria grow (in as little as 20 minutes).
- Storage of meat should be in the freezer or fridge, if raw I put them in sealed containers or wrapped and in bowls so that juices cannot contaminate other foods.
- I never cook meat in the oven at lower than 325F, my minimum oven temp for meat, poultry and fish is 350F or higher depending upon the dish. An exception is when making meat-based confit which requires low temp cooking but the food is encased in oil or fat which reduces risk.
- Internal temps for cooked beef, pork chops, lamb, veal and roasts must reach 145F.
- Ground meats (beef, pork, lamb, and veal) need to reach 160F, and ground poultry 165F.
- I rest cooked meat that is covered for ~5-10 minutes and serve immediately. Resting is okay because the meat is actually still cooking while it sits.
- Then after serving, all meat left overs I want back in the fridge within the hour.
- USDA recommends reheating meat leftovers to an internal temp of 160F.
Sanitize Meat Stations: A note here about cutting boards, I use a different cutting board for meat. It is a plastic one that is easier to clean, can go in the dishwasher, and does not absorb meat juices. I clean my meat work station right after I am done with the meat prep. After washing the board by hand using soapy water and a scrub brush, I leave it in the drainer to air dry.
Proper Storage: One way people get ill is from eating food that has been improperly stored or eating things beyond a reasonable use-date. So as part of my weekly activity I empty out the fridge of raw food and make my kitchen “dump meals” I have spoken about before (where I dump everything a few days old into a dish like a veggie scramble or casserole, and cook it up). I also review the left overs in the fridge to make sure they are all still edible, and make sure the older foods are in front of the most recently made leftovers. After cooking I make sure to store food in the fridge, if appropriate, right after eating. If it is a meat item I tend to get it in the fridge within the hour of being cooked.
When to Toss: I use my senses for this. If some food is discolored I will not use it. Avocados and apples discolor when exposed to air but are still edible, carrots and cauliflower no. Texture is another key, soft avocados are great, soft squash no. Dairy curdles when bad, but stale bread can be used. Visually I look for mold. But moldy Parmesan or hard cheeses can be trimmed (but not softer cheeses), moldy food that are porous (bread) are a no. I also use my nose, if food smells rancid, vinegary, or sour I toss. I also toss flour that smells musty, or fish that are too fishy smelling. But an article I read had a good reminder, that E. coli and salmonella are themselves orderless so proper handling is key, as what you cannot see can harm.
This ends my simple overview on what I do to prevent food-borne illnesses. Let me know if there are other important tips to share on what you do. Hopefully none of us experience having a loved one getting sick from our food. The idea of it makes me shudder.
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CBS News: Swapping out red meat for plant-based sources of protein reduced heart disease risks in a review of research. The studies, involving 1,800 participants, looked at diets that included poultry and fish, diets that included just fish or just chicken, diets with or without dairy, diets with more carbohydrates (like bread and cereal) and diets with plant proteins (legumes, soy, or nuts). The Harvard authors recommended that consumers follow healthy vegetarian and Mediterranean-style diets, both for their health benefits and to promote environmental sustainability.
NEWS: As I predicted in January, the market for Coconut Oil is tanking according to CookingLight. As more people identify this oil as unhealthy to consume, its wholesale prices have fallen 50%, its actual usage in USA has dropped by 100k tons in recent years. The flip side is that since it is cheaper to buy, the cosmetic industry it using more of this oil for its purposes.
Headings: I changed the GERMAN heading with ETHNIC FOODS since I have been posting foods from all over the world that I particularly like. Germany is just one country among many and will probably always have more recipes than the other countries, since that is my familiar place.
Article: I added one on braising and one on roasting veggies.
Recipes: I focused on Japanese soup. Updated how to make Dashi and added a veggie kombu-mushroom broth. Add a generic how to make miso soup, and added a quick Miso Ramen Noodle soup.
—Patty
