Real Cooking 101
Time to give the "PGA Isenhour Circus Hour" a break. Read that, "We've had enough birds and bird cruelty for a while... (And beyond that, the new Spitzer mess is just too weird for words.)
But while we're on the general issue of skewering institutions such as the Professional Golfers' Association, we might as well switch lanes and go after the ubiquitous "TV Chef"...
Yes, that's right; we're challenging the television cooking demigod's sanitary habits in the kitchen. (Mind you that I didn't dream up the following all by myself... Nope... This post is simply a reflection on a really bad experience, and a repeat of the stuff biology teachers and professors drove through my thick skull many moons ago.)
So how to introduce this post? Well...
Umpteen years ago, I was crossing the U.S. by car, and stopped at a huge truck stop/diner in Texas. Working on the assumption that "the truckers like it, so the food must be good", I ordered fried shrimp (which was delicious), and left... About 30 minutes later I was doing a great imitation of Linda Blair in the "Exorcist" ejecting pea soup, but only if Ms. Blair's character was terribly seasick, suffering from a blistering hangover, and wearing a thick wool suit (with no undergarments) on a scorching Texas day... Yeah, I got food poisoning alright... But why??? My guess is that a cook or server who dished up the shrimp failed to wash his or her hands after using the rest room. Yuck...
Anyway, it's in memory of that abdominal cataclysm, (and to give further voice to my biology teachers), that I offer these simple cooking safety tips. If you notice a bit of contempt for the boob-tube cooking icons, there's a reason for that. Onward to the tips!
- Not to be completely disgusting, but to be completely disgusting, keep your hands and nails absolutely clean - especially after using the bathroom.
- Wear a hair net or at least a cap. (See photo below for "weapons" in the war on kitchen filth.)
- Keep your kitchen spotlessly clean.
- Avoid wooden utensils like the plague. They're simply a germ factory in the making.
- Wash hands constantly.
- Wash dishes and silverware thoroughly in hot soapy water and rinse in hot water.
- Treat raw meat, chicken, and fish as contaminants. Anything that touches that stuff (including your hands) becomes contaminated. For example, if you handle raw chicken and then give your hands a quick wipe on that dish towel on your shoulder (like they do on TV), not only are your hands and the dish towel contaminated, but so is everything else you/it touches.
- Cook food to at least the minimum temperature as recommended by the Gateway to Government Food Safety Information site. This suggestion has a great upside... It gives you a reason to buy one of those cool digital cooking thermometers!
- Don't cook when you're sick or have a cold.
- Avoid the "taste and season, taste and season" method using the same spoon over and over again. (I guess the "Food Network" won't be calling me anytime soon.)
- Don't be scrimy in the use of paper towels.
- Don't just "wipe clean" spills... Use soap to really keep things sanitary.
- Beware the old sponge!
You get the idea... Common sense is a good thing. Besides, if the truth be told, most of us occasionally eat food prepared in less than perfectly sanitary kitchens and we survive quite nicely. Still, cleaner is better, and imitating Linda Blair is most unpleasant.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
P.S. If you want to see how easy it is to spread contamination during cooking, try brewing beer!
P.P.S. Be sure to check out our rice recipes, my chowder recipe, and our New-York style pizza recipe contest!