The kitchen is the hub of the home and the place to prepare delicious dishes for your family and guests. But it can also be a breeding ground for bacteria, which can cause severe illness. Consider these three healthy practices to make sure your family and guests enjoy safe, tasty meals.
Gage Temperatures
You may pride yourself in your cooking prowess. But just like a restaurant chef, you need to make sure that your meats are cooked all the way through. What’s the best way to do it? By using a thermometer. There are minimum recommended internal temperatures for foods. Ground meat should reach a temperature of at least 160 degrees, poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees, and fresh pork and finned fish should reach a minimum of 145 degrees—according to house and home experts at BobVila.com. Don’t ruin a fine meal by allowing your family or dinner guests to get sick from undercooked meats.
Refrigerate Your Groceries the Right Way
In order to refrigerate your foods within a safe temperature range to avoid spoiling before you cook them, invest in a food thermometer for your refrigerator. Your items should be refrigerated between 32 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Set your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
When you return home from grocery shopping be sure to refrigerate your items right away—two hours is the most time that perishable foods should be kept on your counter. During the summer, it only takes an hour for illness-causing bacteria to begin to grow.
Don’t Touch Ice With Your Bare Hands
While you may enjoy preparing beverages for your family and guests, avoid handling ice with your bare hands. Even if you think your hands are clean they’re breeding grounds for bacteria. You could contaminate not just the ice in their drinks, but also the remaining ice in the bucket. Instead, use an ice scooper or a pair of tongs, or invest in an ice maker with an automatic dispenser.
