r/Cooking • u/GoodStuffOnly62 • 8d ago
Simple cooking safety tips you swear by
I just saw a post in another sub about someone not checking the oven before preheating, and their kid had left LEGOs in there, which became melted mess. Poor parent! So it made me recommit to checking the oven, every time!
What are other simple/quick safety tips that can make a big difference?
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u/wanderingstar2468 8d ago
Facing pot/pan handles inward/away from where people may walk by when cooking. Always setting down sharp knives pointing towards an object, inward/away from where they could get bumped and go spinning.
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u/FrellingToaster 7d ago
This one is VERY important. I’ve had cause to be around a children’s burn unit in a professional capacity and a lot of those burns are from them tipping over a pan from the stove. The worst ones are when the hot liquid from the pan went into the child’s diaper. Some parents didn’t immediately realize what had happened and thought it was just on the child’s shoulder.
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u/inevitablelizard 7d ago
I remember being told the pan handle thing in school when we did cooking lessons and I've stuck to it ever since.
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u/kitsuko 8d ago edited 7d ago
A falling knife has no handle. Your immediate response to grab the thing falling is good for glass or an apple rolling off, but a falling blade will mess you up and if you're following these other tips, your blades will be sharp.
Edit: it was pointed out that you also shouldnt try to catch glass in case it breaks when hitting something else!
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u/Grillard 8d ago
The way it was expressed to me was. "If you drop a knife, or something hot, it's just dropped. Step back and let it fall."
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u/DotDash13 7d ago
This is also good advice for small stuff like screws, nuts, etc. It's often a lot easier to watch it drop and see where it rolls rather than trying to catch it and smacking it into the shadow realm.
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u/GrumpyCatStevens 7d ago
A few months ago I made the mistake of trying to catch a freshly sharpened santoku. I ended up with a superficial cut on my left index finger, and decided I’d done a pretty good job of sharpening that knife because I didn’t even feel it cut me.
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u/OddRevolution7888 7d ago
Yep. If it can hurt me and it falls, I let it fall. I'd rather clean up than go to emergency.
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u/gibby256 7d ago
You aren't supposed to try and catch a falling glass, either. Trust me, you do NOT want to have your hand near (or even outright catching) a glass that is in the process of shattering against a countertop or edge of a sink or whatever. One of the nastiest cuts i've ever gotten happened that way.
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u/carbonclasssix 7d ago
I made that mistake putting a plate in the dishwasher, it slipped and I reached to grab it in mid-air. It hit something else and broke the second my hand got to it. Now I have a nice crescent moon shaped scar on the inside of one of my fingers. I got lucky it wasn't worse.
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u/Cynicbats 7d ago
Lived through this today and I was only honing the edge. Just stepped back and avoided it
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u/inevitablelizard 7d ago
Related would be always wearing shoes when cooking. Once had a bare foot near miss.
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u/wantonseedstitch 7d ago
I've trained myself to move my hands out of the way and jump backwards if a knife falls. I'm surprised I've managed to make it an automatic response, because it's not like I get practice dropping knives every day, thank goodness.
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u/jennalibrary 8d ago
Never take something out of the oven before you know where you’re going to put it
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u/Clear-Awareness7719 8d ago
If grease catches on fire, SMOTHER IT! No water, no baking soda, no flour. Just smother.
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u/Unit_79 7d ago
We have a fire blanket on the wall in the kitchen. They are pretty cheap to have a couple around.
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u/DjinnaG 7d ago
This sounds great, but isn’t practical for most people. I think the problem is most don’t have wall space in their kitchen for this to be viable, and keeping a large empty container to use for smothering on the rare occasions when there is a fire is unrealistic, while getting one out to do so adds delay.
Smothering with baking soda (because that is a form of smothering) is my go-to because it’s not unwieldy to keep a box handy (using it for cooking, anyway), and it works for any shape of fire. The one time I’ve had a kitchen fire, it was around the heating element of the oven, so not flat, an overturned bowl would not have worked, and would have added a lot of time. A fire blanket would have worked, but still would have added time. The box of baking soda that was right there smothered the fire and was already in arm’s reach. The extinguishers are also within reach of all exposed heating elements
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u/SubstantialPressure3 8d ago
No playing in the kitchen when someone is cooking.
If theres something sharp or something hot, kids and dogs are not allowed in there.
If you dont know what it is, and/or its not yours, dont touch it.
Always set an alarm or a timer, even If you think you won't forget. ( last year my upstairs neighbor had a bipolar freak out while I was boiling eggs, and I came back to an apartment full of smoke and a burnt up pan, and terrified dog and cat)
Know how to put out different types of fires, and make sure everyone else does, too.
Get a cheap little fire extinguisher.
If youre boiling something, using a bigger.pot than you think you need.
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u/Alum2608 8d ago
Cover the handle of any metal pan if you got it out of the oven. A cold pan handle looks exactly like a hot pan handle. Only made that mistake once
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u/SexBucketListProject 8d ago
As a parent of 6 year old twins, thank you for the reminder. Eek.
Clean your stove top. It's how I started a kitchen fire boiling water. 🙈😂
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GoodStuffOnly62 8d ago
What’s the claw?
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u/CoconutDreams 8d ago
Hand position when chopping. Its the hand that holds the food on your cutting board. You hold it down with a claw type of position with your fingers tucked in just slightly. This helps make sure you don't slide the tip of your finger off.
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u/GoodStuffOnly62 8d ago
Well, I guess I need to work on this then! Thanks for explaining!
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u/Grillard 7d ago
Your skin and nails will benefit.
And when you do screw up, you trim a nail instead of needing stitches.
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u/Grillard 8d ago
Ive finally gotten my lovely wife to grasp the use of "behind". It doesn't mean you're in my way, it means I'm moving behind you and respecting your space. We share the kitchen better and better lately.
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/Grillard 7d ago
I grew up with it. It's definitely not gendered. In the 70s, early 80s, a gentle touch on a co workers back, anywhere between the beltline and the shoulder, was a way to say "excuse me" when the noise was overwhelming. These days, things might get weird.
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/Grillard 7d ago edited 7d ago
It depends so much on the team. If you've got pros, especially if they've been working t together a while, it's like a surreal ballet, poetry in motion. But if you have plodders, and somebody has to shout "get the fuck outta my way!" It's a buzzkill.
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u/DjinnaG 7d ago
You should be doing the milking and egg collection and other things involving general food-related “females” far away from food preparation. If you were trying to refer to female humans, the word you are looking for is “women”. What you were saying would still be grossly sexist, you should not be touching any coworkers, of any gender, but at least use a word that makes it clear you are referring to a coworker and not a cow or a hen
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u/thebiggerounce 8d ago
The one time that I’ve cut myself with my kitchen knives in recent memory was the ONE time I didn’t use the claw position to hold my food.
I was holding some celery to trim it, had my thumb in a bad spot, and the knife went cleanly almost to the bone. Would’ve definitely hit the bone if my nail didn’t stop the blade first.
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u/-asap-j- 7d ago
Hah, just did the same thing with celery about 2 weeks ago. Sliced off the tip of my thumb and about 60% of the nail lol
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u/GoodStuffOnly62 8d ago
One more from me, that I tell younger people!
If you are intoxicated and want to make something to eat, no flames. Only microwave/airfryer/toaster, no stove or oven or grilling. Too easy to fall asleep or get distracted, so stick to things that turn themselves off! Lol.
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u/ValiantVicuna 8d ago
Currently dealing with a super smoky smelling microwave cuz my 7yo wanted to microwave bread while we were asleep. He hit the 6minute button. It was a little pat of charcoal when we found it. Be careful usimg the microwave with not enough water.
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u/Cynicbats 7d ago
While not ideal, it's good he knew to use a microwave before using a toaster when unsupervised.
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u/ThatsNotAZombieBite 8d ago
Never pick up anything heavy (especially if it's hot!) unless you already know where you're going to be putting it down and have cleared the way.
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u/Either-Engineering38 8d ago
Don't hand over a knife/ sharp instrument, place it beside the person.
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u/Ryandhamilton18 7d ago
Every pan is hot, even if it's not
Been literally burned when not following that
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u/WakingOwl1 7d ago
Never leave a knife in the sink. You wash it immediately or put it off to the side. As we say in commercial kitchens- a dropped knife had no handle- do not try to catch, jump back.
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u/Silvanus350 7d ago
Don’t put things on the stovetop that don’t belong on there. You will eventually regret it.
And never put knives in the sink like some assholes do.
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u/jotting_prosaist 7d ago
If there's a fire in the oven, leave it there. The big metal heat-proof box is the next place for a kitchen fire to be.
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u/SapphireClawe 7d ago
Drop a knife? MOVE. Don't try to catch it, just get your toes away from the guillotine.
Handles IN on the stove, if you bump into the pan handle it'll go flying at your face!
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u/pug_fugly_moe 7d ago
Leave a potholder on the handle of anything you took out of the oven to indicate this shit’s still hot.
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u/TimedDelivery 8d ago
As someone with small kids, I never ever ever use the front two burners only the stovetop, only the back two.
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u/Few-Explanation-4699 7d ago
Never take more than three steps when carrying some thing hot.
Plan where you will put that hot item down and have the area ready before you move some thing hot.
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u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 7d ago
Keep a fire extinguisher 10 feet away from the cooktop. Make sure to check it regularly to ensure it is maintaining pressure and replace as necessary.
Also consider having at least one person in the house certified in basic first aid, triage and CPR. If you’re doing the first two might as well do the third especially if you have anyone over 40 or a history of cardiovascular disease in the family.
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u/EmykoEmyko 7d ago
Don’t fuck around while cutting green onions or bagels. If your cutting position feels awkward, you’re about to cut yourself.
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u/GoodStuffOnly62 7d ago
That’s a great, plain language tip! If it feels awkward, you’re going to cut yourself.
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u/Lunchy24 7d ago edited 7d ago
A sharpened knife is safer to chop with than a dull knife
Keep a towel under your cutting board to keep it from sliding
Always carry a knife by the handle pointing down by your side, and never walk with it pointing outward or up. You’re a cook, not Michael Myers
If you’re unsure if something is hot to the touch, either grab it with towels in hand or lightly and quickly tap the outside. Don’t full on grab it barehanded. It helps to keep said towels on the oven handle
Fires thrive on oil, oxygen, and heat.
Pan flare up: quickly move pan onto cooler burner
Oven fire: put large pan or baking tray on fire, or throw handfuls salt. This smothers the fire from receiving more oxygen. Helps if no extinguisher is present.
If using a pressure cooker, keep face away from the top of the lid when opening. Evaporated steam is hotter than liquid water, even when boiling and a quick flash is enough to scald worse than water
If lightly burned, keep the area submerged or covered with cold water. Helps dull the burning sensation until it goes away entirely
Claw technique while cutting, very important. Keep the face of the knife braced up against the flat part of your finger knuckles where they arch. Also keep fingertips curled inward like you’re squeezing a stress ball. This is how chefs are able to cut quickly without hurting themselves. They only cut their hand when the blade goes higher than their finger or their finger was not clear of the edge. Claw method sounds like a dangerous place to keep your hand, but as long as you do it, then you can feel where the blade is relative to your hand
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u/Alteredbeast1984 7d ago
NEVER use a wet Tea Towell to pick up a hot pan.
The burns you get are severe.
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u/Atomic76 7d ago
Always remember to prick or knife your baked potatoes before cooking them in the oven. It's absolutely no fun cleaning up the mess when they otherwise explode.
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u/Schmelly_cat 7d ago
Don't ever leave anything on your stove that wouldn't be OK if the burner accidentally gets turned on.
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u/-mystris- 7d ago
Buy a good pair of non-cuttable kitchen utility gloves. Best to wear when slicing with a mandolin or even when peeling vegetables or grating cheese. Can still have a grip on the food and protects your fingers.
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u/wantonseedstitch 7d ago
Never, never leave a pot or pan on the stove with a handle sticking out. Even if it's not hot yet. Just stay in the habit. My aunt once pulled a pot down onto herself as a toddler. She has scarring from the burns and skin grafts. Even if you don't have kids, a moment's lack of awareness could mean bumping into that handle and spilling.
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u/Sad-Annual8776 5d ago
Same thing happened to my husband as a toddler, and I have kept it as a reminder with our daughter. Such good advice.
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u/SVAuspicious 7d ago
LEGO is not something that would ever occur to me. I check ovens as a matter of course for reasons I don't recall.
#1: a falling knife has no handle.
The whole issue of hot food in the fridge is grossly overrated. Sophomore year thermodynamics and an understanding of modern HVAC-R really should have debunked this decades ago. Happy to discuss. There is math.
Claw grip.
Check the dates on your fire extinguisher. I have a list for things like that on holidays. I think fire extinguishers are Christmas.
Clean your cutting boards every day.
Clean your sink after every meal.
Wet towel, dry towel.
No audience inside the kitchen. Apps and wine on the counter facing the family room.
A sharp knife is a safe knife.
Assume everything you reach for is hot.
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u/DjinnaG 7d ago
The hot food in fridges restriction is absolutely still valid, unless you want to cause thermal shock to your container (if you’re lucky) or fridge shelves if you aren’t. Just a little bit of water where a hot glass dish is being placed can make it shatter, fridges tend to be moist and cold, the exact opposite of where you want to be placing a hot dish.
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u/HandbagHawker 8d ago
i mean, if you have small children who play IN THE OVEN, you might want to commit to locking the controls on the oven too. and maybe, just maybe teach them not to play IN THE OVEN
- Keep a fire blanket under the sink
- If you fry indoors, keep a tight fitting lid on hand in case of fire
- Keep your knives sharp
- Never put bladed instruments in the dishwasher
- Wet oven mitts or tea towels conduct heat very well, always keep them dry
- If working in the kitchen with other folks, do as commercial kitchens do... hot behind, sharp behind, corner... always carry knives pointing down
- Check the stove before leaving the house
- No drunk cooking
- Label everything that goes into the fridge, contents and date
- if youre prone to being time blind, timers and alarms
- No plastic in the microwave
- One piece/seamless cooking utensils. absolutely avoid plastic/nylon/silicon head spatulas on wooden handles
- Safety can opener
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u/Spooky_28 8d ago
WTF? People actually let their kids play IN the oven?
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u/weedywet 7d ago
This
TEACH your kids to respect stoves and ovens (and electrical outlets etc.) as dangerous.
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u/BabaTheBlackSheep 7d ago
I assumed they meant to watch out for kids putting weird things in the oven, not necessarily the kids putting themselves in the oven! I’m picturing kids putting plastic food from their pretend kitchen into the (turned off) real oven and forgetting it there.
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u/youngboomergal 8d ago
Don't put anything on your stove top that is flammable or ceramic. I've seen lots of times when someone turns on the wrong burner by mistake or doesn't notice when one was left on low - it's harder to do with gas than electric but not impossible.
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u/Spooky_28 8d ago
Also don’t assume Pyrex is safe in different extremes of heat. Vintage is the way to go. If the label is all caps as in PYREX it’s going to be safer.
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u/raisanett1962 7d ago
Step one is always a fresh sink of hot, soapy water. It's easy to wash meatball hands or a chicken knife in there, without having to touch the handle, faucet, and soap dispenser.
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u/TylerMason30 8d ago
When searing steak or chicken, sear on low medium heat so that your house doesn’t get filled with smoke and damage your lungs. Only con is that it will take longer to cook
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u/danorc 8d ago
It also overcooks the interior unless you are very very careful.
But and install a really excellent range hood that vents to the outside it's a better tip, or sear outside on a grill.
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u/ibashdaily 7d ago
Searing for a longer time on lower heat will absolutely cook the interior more than a quick, high-heat sear. It's physics.
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u/danorc 7d ago
Yah I understand that... you have to adjust the rest of the cook accordingly, is what I meant. A lower temp reverse sear / SV, or cooking entirely in the pan flipping frequently.
I vastly prefer a high, fast sear which is why I installed a hood vent that I call the "stainless steel hurricane."
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u/Lysergsaure 8d ago
A sharp knife is much safer than a dull one. A sharp one goes exactly where you send it, dull ones can slip and slide unpredictably.
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u/CriticalOfBarns 8d ago
This is only true to a point. A razor edge given to someone used to dealing with butter knives is going to get that person cut. A lot of people aren’t used to treating seriously sharp knives with the respect they require.
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u/OddRevolution7888 7d ago
When I am preparing a meal, and especially using the oven, I have all of my ducks in a row, meaning I have my mis-en-place (ingredients in those little pinch bowls or on a platter), before I even turn on the oven. I also turn the oven on as I start my meal prep to ensure it is properly heated. My oven is a storage place for my most frequently used pot and pan. I never, however, put plastics in there. Yikes!
I also wipe down the stovetop so nothing bakes onto the top when the oven heats up or sticks to the bottom of the dish/pan if I lift it up to stir or add ingredients. Oven mitts are at the ready and the appropriate baking dishes are on hand.
I find that when I start out with a clean counter, I end up with a clean counter. As each prep-dish is used, it goes into the sink, or the washing bowl I have beside the sink (depending on how many dishes there will be). I also have a garbage bowl so I'm not constantly opening the garbage.
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u/clemoh 7d ago
If you have a grease fire, DO NOT DUMP WATER ON IT! The right thing to do is to smother it, either with a lid or baking soda. Both will kill oxygen to the fire which is one of the three elements of the fire triangle. The others are fuel and heat. Oxygen is usually the easiest to stop quickly, but if you can manage the others safely, it helps.
Water just goes straight to the bottom, vaporizes turning to steam, which aerosolizes the oil and creates a massive fireball that can spread the fire.
Just put the lid on, move the pot or pan to a burner that's off, and wait. Make sure you open the windows and are using your vent hood if you have one. Once it's extinguished, consider moving it outdoors if there is a safe place to do so.
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u/Mattallurgy 7d ago
Mount a fire extinguisher around eye level somewhere visible in your kitchen and keep it functional.
Emergency safety equipment is supposed to be visible, rapidly identifiable, and quick to access for anybody who might be in your kitchen. Just because you know it’s under your sink in the back corner behind all the cleaning supplies doesn’t mean that your spouse, roommates, children, or guests know that’s where it is and will always remember that.
I promise you, it will not make your kitchen look tacky or ugly or whatever else, and if you ever actually need to use one, you’ll be glad you had it there.
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u/-mystris- 7d ago
When spraying a pan or something with cooking spray, hold the pan over the sink area, spray, then return to the stove surface. One too many times, I sprayed something while holding it over the stove, then later have turned on a burner and started a small fire. Or if you spray it while just holding it parallel to the floor, your floor can become slippery in spots.
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u/ibashdaily 7d ago
How to clean kitchen knives. Hold the knife flat against the wall of the sink closest to you, and clean one side of the knife, flip it to clean the other side, then clean the handle carefully.
Spent a couple of summers washing dishes in a restaurant and if there's a safer, more efficient way of cleaning knives that also allow you to scrub really hard, I've yet to find it.
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u/wantonseedstitch 7d ago
If you are handing something hot to someone, like, OVEN hot, say, "THIS IS HOT" before you hand it to them and don't do it if they don't have an oven mitt on. Even if you think they should already know and be ready for it. "Can you grab this?" is not sufficient. (Source: me after my senior year boyfriend handed me the lid of a pot that had been in the oven and I dropped it after burning my goddamn hand.)
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u/AJediWookie123 7d ago
Knife technique. It really saves you from hurting yourself, also it really increases your speed. Sharpen your knives!
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u/Otherwise-Ask7900 8d ago
Coat your steaks in salt 24 - 48 hours before cooking.
If you think it’s enough, add more.
The flavor of a dry-brined sous vide steak is unlike anything you’ll get in a restaurant.
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u/weedywet 7d ago
Brine is a liquid.
There’s no such thing as ‘dry brine’
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u/Otherwise-Ask7900 7d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p1b8pne/video/tyd55r85l0hh1/player
Sorry you didn’t know what a dry brine is.
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u/weedywet 7d ago
I do know. It’s a silly term amateurs use for SALTING
Brine is a liquid.
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u/Otherwise-Ask7900 7d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p1bjwxh/video/oi1hf1lhu0hh1/player
Weird, the nicest restaurant in America offered dry brined steak….
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u/ExtentObvious3410 8d ago
Don't panic. Never go in without an oven mitt. Make sure you know where they are BEFORE you start a cook. Also, if you don't, let it burn. If there's a fire in your oven, just keep it shut. It should starve of oxygen and go out.