SEC-S19 / W1 | Good Food Handling Practices and Types of Knives Used in the Kitchen

It is necessary to adopt and maintain high standards of food hygiene because it enhance food quality and ensure that our health is safe and in good shape. In life, there are consequences for every action and the negative impacts of poor food hygiene are deadly just as it was mentioned by our teachers in this course.

I will answer the questions that was given below;

Washing of hands✅

Good hygiene is among the first thing children are being taught from infant especially washing of hands. I can recall when I was little, each time I cried and begged my mom to let me join in doing the kitchen work, her first reply would be "go and wash your hands". Once I'm done washing my hands, she will give me maggi to open. After a while, I don't get to be reminded, I will go straight to water and soap before requesting to participate in any form of cooking work and that has been my lifestyle till date.

The second good dietary practice is covering of hair or packing up long hairs. Personally, dealing with long hair while cooking or baking in the kitchen can be frustrating and it comes with a lot of discomfort and it is also unhealthy to prepare food while long hairs are flowing around.

Storing dirty plates❌

Kitchen is an important place and it is very much necessary to keep it clean and tidy at any given time (before and after cooking). We should avoid the practice of staying in a dirty environment to prepare food ingredients. Once there are dirty dishes and spoiled food particles in the kitchen, we should clean up first before cooking.

Clean the sink✅

The good kitchen practices has already been explained extensively in details by the teachers but I would like to add few ones;

• Cleaning surface area before and after cooking
• Wear your chef cap or tie your hair properly
• Avoid staying in an unpleasant environment to eat
• Have a special container for each ingredient
• Cover your food properly when preserving it
• Make use of your kitchen aprons
• Pay attention to fridge and freezer, it is important to keep them neat as well
• Learn to wash the kitchen sink properly after cooking and also mop the floor.

Wear apron and cover your hair✅

The following are the bad practices I would like to add;

• Have a special spoon for tasting of food when cooking. Do not put spoon in your mouth and dip it back to the general food.
• Do not leave the kitchen wall dirty after cooking

Dirty kitchen wall after cooking❌

• Have different sponges for your kitchen utensils (pots, plates and cups/ glasses should have a different sponge)
• Do not store dirty plates overnight especially pots for days in the kitchen, it attracts bacterias and unnecessary insects.
• Do not put waste or food particles in the sink.

Avoid putting waste in the sink❌

I have many knives in my kitchen; the bread knife which I use for cutting of bread, cake and also use during baking and icing process.

Kitchen knife

The regular kitchen knife ( big and small). I use the big one mostly for peeling of yam, potatoes, plantain and cutting of meat and fish. The small knife is used mainly for onions and peeling of fresh ginger and garlic.

Small knife for slicing of onions

Many thanks to our able teachers for making course number 1; Good Food Handling Practices and Types of Knives Used in the Kitchen easy to understand and comprehend.

I will invite @mvchacin @josepha and @anasuleidy to join the class.

Photo credit: @adylinah