SEC-S19 / W1 | Good food handling practices and types of knives used in the kitchen.

Chef Eliany

Maintaining good hygiene in the kitchen, is a good practise to follow. When it comes to what goes into our stomach, we need to be very careful so as not to consume food poison that will harm our health negatively.

So during this course, I learn some of those practices we should avoid and those ones we should practice. In order to eat healthy we need to maintain cleanliness in the kitchen by practising this good dietary hygiene.

To carry out the homework given in this course, I will like to share my own opinion on this topic.

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Good Dietary Practice perform at Home

First, before performing any cooking, I do well to wash my hands and be sure my cooking environment is clean as well before I begin cooking.

Also I like cooking with fresh veggies and because of this I have to plant some veggies in my garden so that it will be easy for me to pick it from there and cook fresh.

Carefully wash all veggies, fruits and meat or anything bought in the market before cooking with it.

Washed veggies

Methods of preserving food is very necessary so as not to contact some bacterial infections from insects and flies. For this reason, I like scooping a portion that I will be able to finish rather than eating and remaining food. Then, if in case it remains, covering food is very necessary and so i used a plate with a cover to properly cover my food neatly so as to avoid ants and flies from perching the food, or I preserved it in my freezer or fridge.

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Bad food practices that we should avoid in the kitchen

Bad practice

Keeping dirty plates is really unhealthy practice to do in the kitchen. It will invite insects which will infect the dirty dishes, surfaces and other available food items in the kitchen with bacterial infections.

Therefore, washing all dishes after cooking is required to stay healthy. To avoid this, I like washing as I use things to avoid it accumulating.

Another bad practise to avoid is using a chopping stick without washing. For example you use a chopping board to cut meat or fish then use that same stick to cut your vegetable without washing off the meat remains. No it is very wrong because vegetable and meat do not use the same cooking temperature.

Therefore if used, the meat particles that goes into your food with the vegetables will not be done, thus, there will be ingestion of bacteria from the meat into the body and you know what that means, so it is not healthy you will definitely be sick.

So to be on the safe side, after cutting meat with your chopping board wash it off before using that same stick to cut your vegetables.

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Other good practices

Cook and eat fresh vegetables, is good for the body. It helps not to burn all the vitamins present in the vegetables. That doesn't mean you won't cook it No, you will cook it but not until it turns brown or black.

Fresh okro soup

Also, after cooking, wash all cooking utensils used. Clean kitchen sinks and surfaces. Leave your kitchen clean to avoid flies and insects from moving up and down. They may infect your food this, leaving you with some bacterial that will make you or your family member sick.

Keep kitchen clean after cooking

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Other bad practices

Avoid this practice

Always use chopping board to cut your meat, fish, vegetables and meat. Avoid using knife with your hands, you may likely cut your finger. It is a bad practice to do so, cutting of your finger may lead to serious bleeding and it's wrong to cook with a wound on your fingers. Rather use a chopping board to cut your meat fish vegetables and anything you wish to cut with knife to avoid accident.

Bad practice

Also, while tasting your food, do don't take the cooking spoon to to your mouth for tasting, it is wrong as saliva from your mouth will be on then spoon and you will put it back to the pot.

Rather, use eating spoon and a plate to taste your food.

Again, avoid making phone calls while you are in the kitchen and your cooking gas is on especially when your gas cylinder is inside the kitchen as well. This practice is very wrong, the radiation from the call usually cause the explosion of gas cylinder. So when explosion occur what is next? Your kitchen will be on fire, and you may be affected badly so please avoid it totally.

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My favorite kitchen knife and what i use it for.

Multi-purpose knife

During the course, I've learned so many types of knife and their uses but among all this types, I have just 1 as my favourite.

My favourite knife is the multi-purpose knife. I used it for cutting, chopping etc. Just as the name implies, I used it for practically everything I do in the kitchen. It has a plain sharp blade which aid in my work. But I'm always careful so as not to cut my finger with it because the knife is really sharp.

I will like to invite @lovinah @dequeen and @abijacob to take part in this contest.