Playing It Safe in the Kitchen: Basic Kitchen Safety

Preparing the Food:

• Before using a sharp knife, can opener, blender, electric mixer, the range or oven, be sure someone older is in the kitchen to help you and answer questions.
• Always dry your hands after you wash them to avoid slippery fingers.
• Wipe up any spills right away to avoid slippery floors- then wash your hands again.
• When slicing or chopping, ingredients, be sure to use a cutting board.
• Cut raw or cooked poultry, fish or meat on a hard, plastic cutting board.
• Always wash all utensils and hands immediately after handling raw poultry, fish or meat.
• Always turn the sharp edge of a knife or vegetable peeler away from you and your hand when you chop or peel.
• Turn off the electric mixer or blender before you scrape the sides of the bowl or container so that the scraper won’t get caught in the blades.
• To avoid burns, always use thick, dry potholders, not thin or wet ones.
• Carefully remove casserole and pot lids by lifting the cover away from you to let the steam out. Keep your face away from the steam.
• Turn the handles of saucepans on the range away from you so that they don’t catch on anything and tip over.
• Ask an adult to drain foods cooked in lots of hot water, like spaghetti. Pans full of hot water are very heavy, and if it isn’t done just right, the liquid and steam could burn you.
• Be careful where you put hot dishes. Only put them on a surface that is dry and can withstand heat.

Using Appliances

• If the racks need to be adjusted higher or lower, be sure to move them before you turn on the oven.
• Allow plenty of air space around foods you are baking-no pans or dishes should touch.
• Arrange foods on oven racks so that one isn’t placed directly over another.
• Use a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil when the recipe calls for covering. Uncover cooked foods away from you, and keep your face away from the steam.
• Close the oven door quickly when you have finished looking in, so heat won’t be lost.
• Ask an adult to help you put foods in and take foods out of the oven.

• Put large pans or large burners, small pans on small burners. Turn the handles of pots and pans so that they don’t stick out over the edge of the range, where they might accidentally be bumped. Make sure that they do not cover another burner either.

• Read the instruction booklet to find out the kinds of foods your oven cooks best and the correct cooking times.
• Most foods should be covered to prevent spattering.
• Allow a few minutes standing time after cooking foods because they continue to cook after you take them out of the oven.
• Be careful not to burn yourself. Even though microwaves go right through containers without heating them, the heat of the food can make the containers hot.

Source: Betty Crocker’s Cooking with Kids 1995

This handout has been produced for All Children's Hospital's Fit4AllKids program and Teen Fitness and Weight Management program.

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