Safety | Cooking in College

It’s been awhile since we’ve posted a few helpful cooking videos. We’re pretty sure the best way to learn how to cook is through practice and watching others cook. That’s how we got to where we are today.

Now we do have a Resources tab up above where you will find other helpful blogs, books and videos but today we are going to focus on a few videos that we have found to be extremely helpful. All these videos are about the basic skills every college student should have aquired by the time they graduate. A lot of our recipes require these skills and thought it would be a good idea to refresh everyone.

Take some time to watch these and if you know of any other helpful videos, add them to the comment section below!

P.S. – if you read or know of any other good cooking blogs, send them our way! We love finding new things on the interwebs.

Learn proper knife etiquette:

Everything you need to know about garlic:

How to properly measure ingredients:

Chopping onions:

Basic steps to cooking pasta:

How to properly crack an egg:

Thawing frozen meats properly:

-D&E

Do you remember how adamant we were about having a fire extinguisher on hand? Well, we have just realized that we have another important topic that we are just as adamant about: food safety.

Did you know that an average of 5,000 college kids a year get sick from food poisoning because they read cooking blogs that don’t stress the importance of food safety? Did you also know that 76% of statistics are made up on the spot?

Okay, we’ll tone down the humor now because this does need to be taken seriously. We have a set of easy rules to follow to ensure that we never get sick from our cooking and we want to share these with you.

The D&E Easy to Follow Food Safety Rules

1. Always have a fire extinguisher on hand in the kitchen. Because the worst kind of food poisoning is BEING ON FIRE!!!

2. Use one cutting board for meats, poultry, fish etc. (pretty much for anything that use to poop) and use one cutting board for everything else such as veggies, bread, herbs, etc. (anything that couldn’t poop). Make sure these are clearly marked to designate their difference. We use a red cutting board for our meats and a black one for everything else. Do not use a wooden board for meats.

3. Wash your hands after handling meats or eggs, wash your produce before you cut it, and wash your freaking dishes and utensils! Use hot, anti-bacterial-soapy water.

4. Divide your leftovers into small portions and store them in the fridge or freezer. This will ensure that the food cools down faster so that those pesky bacteria don’t grow. Also, reserve a special area in the fridge for meats, away from any food that won’t be cooked before eaten.

5. Thoroughly cook your food. With a thermometer (yes, go get one) insert into the thickets part of your food. Check this website for specifics.

6. Do not thaw food on the counter at room temperature. Thaw in the fridge or check the FAQ page for our favorite method.

7. After you are done cooking, clean up right away. Pans, counter tops, table, EVERYTHING! A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen.

Well that is about all we have. We’ve posted some links below that are also helpful, so take a look at them as well. And if we hear any of you whining about these rules, we will send Jack Bauer after you!

www.foodpoisoningtreatment.org/food-poisoning-treatment-tips-to-prevent-food-poisoning

www.asbestosincancer.com/12-tips-prevent-food-poisoning/

www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/preventing-food-poisoning