By Amanda Laird of Mise En Place

A friend and I were happily chatting over dinner recently when she asked me whether I rinse my meat.  I had to stop and think about what she said for a second.

“Rinse my meat?”

“Yes,” she said.  “Rinse your meat, before you cook it.”

My answer was a very firm “no” (and so was hers, by the way), but this sparked a conversation about proper food handling and safety in the kitchen.  It seems that everyone has their own ideas about how to properly handle food.

So how do you make sure that you’re keeping your food and your family safe?  Chicken Farmers of Canada offer four simple steps to help fight bacteria and the spread of food borne illness.  And not just from chicken!

CLEAN

Wash hands, utensils and surfaces with hot soapy water before, during and after preparing foods. Sanitize countertops, cutting boards and utensils with a mild bleach and water solution. Wash all produce thoroughly before eating or cooking.

SEPARATE

Keep raw meats and poultry away from other foods during storage and preparation. Keep separate cutting boards for raw meats and vegetables. Always keep foods covered.

COOK

Cook food thoroughly — cooking times and temperatures vary for different meats and poultry. Prepare foods quickly, and serve immediately so foods don’t linger at room temperatures where bacteria can grow.

CHILL

Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours. Make sure the refrigerator is set at a temperature of 4°C (40°F), and keep the freezer at-18°C (0°F).

Have a food safety tip to share? Post Here!

By Amanda Laird of Mise En Place

A cutting board is essential to any kitchen.  Next to your chef’s knife, it’s probably one of the kitchen tools you use most often.  To make sure that you keep your cutting boards in tip-top shape, and free from bacteria, it is important that you take good care of them.

Plastic or wood?

It’s your preference whether you want plastic or wood cutting boards.  Plastic are easy to pop into the dishwasher, but wood can be a beautiful addition to a counter top.

The more the merrier

In order to avoid cross contamination, keep at least two cutting boards in your kitchen.; one for raw meat and fish, the other for everything else.  Since garlic and onions can have strong, lingering odours, you may wish to keep a small cutting board strictly for this purpose.

Keep ‘em clean!

It is essential that you keep your cutting boards clean.  Plastic boards are dishwasher safe, but wood boards can crack, split or even start to develop mold if they are run through the dishwasher.  Instead, clean them with hot water and mild dish soap.  Dry them standing up on their sides and allow them to dry completely before using them again.  Every so often, clean them with coarse salt and the cut side of half a lemon to remove odours and stains. 

Prevent slipping

Placing a damp towel underneath your cutting board will help to prevent slipping while you’re chopping away.

Have a tip or question to share? Post here.