For many seasoned cooks and culinary arts students, safety tips in the kitchen are part of their everyday routine. However, for those who are just starting out in the culinary arena, safety knowledge in the kitchen is a priority before you even think of purchasing ingredients to cook with.

Here’s our take on some of the basics to consider before, during and after you’re in the kitchen:

Before you head to the kitchen

• Make sure you’re wearing the correct clothing (and that doesn’t mean you have to be in chefs’ whites). For example, wear shoes with rubber soles so that you don’t slip and hurt yourself. Tie your hair back so that it can’t get singed and roll up long dangly sleeves so that they cannot get burned or dipped into sauces whilst you’re cooking. Again, the same can be said for dangly jewellery, so don’t wear it in the kitchen.
• Wash your hands well with soap and water before you enter the kitchen (and during and after you’ve worked with any foods, especially meat or poultry).
• Make sure your plugs for all your appliances are wired correctly and in good working order. Get rid of appliances that are broken. If you use broken appliances like blenders, can openers etc. you are more likely to hurt yourself.
• Get yourself a fire extinguisher (and service it regularly) and make sure it’s accessible in the kitchen should there be a fire. (Or at the very least, get yourself a fire blanket).
• Get a list of emergency numbers to call if there should be a fire, gas explosion, you slice your fingers on a sharp knife or someone becomes ill. Sounds a bit much but in a panic, you will be very grateful you had these numbers laminated and stuck on your wall.

Once you’re in the kitchen

• Make sure your knives are stored on a magnetic strip or in a knife block or knife roll.
• Don’t leave oven gloves, dish towels and pot holders near open flames or extreme sources of heat as they may catch fire.
• Keep your food stored correctly and at the correct temperature. Raw meats and chicken/poultry should be stored separately from other foods to avoid contamination.
• Don’t leave the kitchen whilst you’re cooking – you may forget about the pot or pan you have on the stove which may not only result in you burning your dinner, it could also start a fire.
• Keep pot/pan handles facing inwards (i.e. Away from the outside of the stove) so that you don’t accidentally bump the handle and cause the pot to slip off the stove.
• If you spill liquids or foods along the way – wipe them up immediately so that you don’t slip.
• Be careful when opening a pot lid on a boiling or simmering pot/pan as steam can also burn you. The same can be said for opening a steaming bag of popcorn from your microwave – if you’ve ever made popcorn that way, you’ll understand what we mean.
• Never stick metal utensils into electrical appliances that are connected to electricity (such as sticking a knife into a toaster that’s plugged in because you’re trying to retrieve your half burnt toast). If you do this, you will undoubtedly electrocute yourself. Switch off the appliance at the wall before you attempt any such food rescue.

Leaving the kitchen

Before you leave, clean up your kitchen thoroughly – any spills should be cleaned along the way, but ensure that chopping boards, knives and appliances are thoroughly cleaned before leaving. When you wash knives, make sure you wash them separately so that you are aware there are knives in the sink underneath all the soap. You don’t want to stick your hand in a sink full of soapy water and slice your finger with a knife you couldn’t see.

• Wash your hands again.
• Make sure all appliances / gas and electrical connections are turned off.
• Make sure all food is stored away correctly and at the correct temperature.
• Make sure cleaning supplies are packed away in the correct place and store chemicals in a locked / secure place

We hope that you’ve found these kitchen safety tips helpful. Many are common sense, so just remember to keep things clean, stored well, plugged in correctly and working properly and the rest should fall into place.

Handling knives correctly in the kitchen is possibly an area of safety that should be revisited from time to time just to ensure that accidents with knives are minimal if at all.

Happy cooking in a safe and clean kitchen environment!

(Image credits: Image 1: Shutterstock; Image 2: www.rodalenews.com; Image credit 3: hrbuni.com)

(Additional content sources: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/basic-rules-of-kitchen-safety.html; http://www.straighten-up-now.com/kitchen-safety-tips.html)