Some kitchen habits seem harmless at first glance, but in practice can cost you your health. We will tell you in more detail what habits you should give up.
Sometimes simple mistakes in the kitchen can have serious consequences. In order not to accidentally end up in a hospital bed, it is not enough to control the content of pesticides and dangerous additives in food. You also need to be able to choose, prepare, and serve food correctly.
Bad Kitchen Habits You Need To Kick Out
In this article, we will tell you what habits you should give up for good health. Some of them at first glance seem to be very harmless but they can seriously damage your health!
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Eating Food That Might Go Bad
It is not always possible to eat food before the expiration date. It’s a pity to throw them away. Before throwing a product into the trash can, many people decide to try it and make sure it is spoiled.
Sometimes such checks do not threaten anything, but in some cases, they can lead to serious poisoning, since it is not always possible to determine the freshness of the product by taste, smell, and appearance. If you suspect that a product is spoiled, it is best to get rid of it and not risk your health.
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Drinking Alcohol in Kitchen
At first, it might seem a normal thing but it can be really dangerous. In any case, if any member of your family drinks alcohol in the kitchen, you need to stop them. If by mistake somebody put the bottle near the stove and it gets to fire, a small kitchen fire can spread quite quickly.
You need to decide how to quit drinking yourself and also make your family quit it, especially in the kitchen. Make a rule of not bringing the alcohol bottle near the kitchen counter. The slightest mistake can cause huge damage.
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Washing Dishes Containing Raw Meat or Fish
Raw meat and fish are a source of bacteria, and in these products, they multiply especially actively and quickly. Sometimes the basic rules of food hygiene are not followed during the preparation process.
The kitchen is in turmoil: the spaghetti is being boiled and the sauce is being prepared in parallel. In the process, many plates are involved at once, and it is quite easy to get confused and use dishes that have come into contact with raw meat or fish: plates, knives, and cutting boards.
Bacteria quickly move to prepared food and continue to multiply there. Eating such food is hazardous to health. Take responsibility and prepare a separate bowl for raw ingredients.
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Defrost Food on The Table
Frozen food should be defrosted on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in the microwave using the special mode. It is especially true for meat, fish, and seafood. Some people defrost them on the kitchen counter and make a big mistake. The fact is that at room temperature, the bacteria contained in these products become more active and multiply faster. You can get food poisoning.
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Leaving the Food On The Table
As soon as you cut the apple in half, divide the melon into separate slices, or take part in the pulp from the avocado, the processes of spoilage of the product are triggered and the activity of dangerous bacteria is activated. Therefore, the smartest thing you can do is put cut food in the refrigerator. It will save you from going to the hospital due to digestive problems or worse, poisoning.
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Undercooking Food
If you haven’t gotten your hands on a kitchen thermometer yet, then it’s time to fix it. Only with its help, it can be guaranteed that the dish is ready and heated to the optimum temperature. It is important because only under the influence of high temperatures in meat, fish, and other products bacteria die. The product becomes safe for human health. Alas, by sight it is not always possible to determine with certainty that the steak is ready.
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Tasting Raw Dough
Did you want to try raw dough to make sure it has the perfect consistency and ingredient ratio? Discard this idea. There are at least two reasons for this: eggs and flour in the dough.
The unbaked dough consists of raw eggs, which may contain Salmonella bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. And in raw flour, E. coli are found. Tasting raw dough can lead to digestive upset and serious food poisoning.
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Not Changing Kitchen Sponges
Kitchen sponges are an item that helps keep the kitchen clean. It is not surprising that sponges wear out quickly, as they have to deal with unwashed dishes and dirty work surfaces every day.
As a result, bacteria enter the surface of the sponges. To ensure that your kitchen is always clean and tidy, and nothing threatens your health, disinfect, and change sponges more often.
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Marinating Fish and Meat at Room Temperature
Never marinate poultry, fish, and meat items right on the dining table! Marinated food pieces should always be kept in the refrigerator. Indeed, at room temperatures, the activity of bacteria is activated. Besides, it is categorically impossible to reuse the marinade: if you kept raw fish in it, then pouring this “gravy” over the ready portioned pieces is life-threatening. There should be a separate marinade for prepared foods.
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Not Washing Hands Before Eating
A rule that everyone knows from childhood: be sure to wash your hands before eating. And do not be lazy – additionally wash your hands immediately before eating, even if you already washed them when you returned home. This rule cannot be ignored if you were preparing food: during the preparation of dinner, bacteria got on your hands. And from the hands, they move very quickly to food and enter the stomach.
Finl Words
We are hopeful that after reading this article, you will not repeat similar mistakes in the kitchen again. It is essential for the health of your whole family.