Cooking Merit Badge Health & Safety

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[unordered title=”Areas of Study:”] [line]Health and Safety[/line] [line]Nutrition[/line] [line]Cooking Basics[/line] [line]Cooking at Home[/line] [line]Camp Cooking[/line] [line]Trail and Backpacking meals[/line] [line]Food related careers[/line] [/unordered] [/text-box] [div-line] [text-box]

Prevent Cuts

[unordered] [line]Handle knives carefully, no fingers in front of cutting edge; [/line] [line]As often as possible have someone in the kitchen with you;[/line] [line]Never put knives in a sink full of water. Wash, rinse and dry knives separately;[/line] [line]Never try to catch a falling knife. Let it fall, pick it up, and wash it[/line] [line]Use the right tool for the right task. If you are not sure, then ask;[/line] [line]Do not try to open a can with a knife;[/line] [line]Be sure utensils and ingredients are put away when not needed;[/line] [line]Be careful after using a can opener, remove the lid carefully as it is a razor;[/line] [line]Be careful taking trash away. Some trash has sharp edges; and[/line] [line]Be careful using a box grater or other sharp object.[/line][/unordered]

[/text-box] [text-box] Preventing cuts allows anyone to feel safer in the kitchen.
[/text-box] [text-box] [unordered title=”Using knives correctly:”] [line]Use the correct knife for the job;[/line] [line]Always use a sharp knife, dull ones require more pressure and may slip;[/line] [line]Wash knives separately and store in their proper place;[/line] [line]Teach yourself to cut away from your body;[/line] [line]Do not use knives to open cans, cut string or sharpen pencils;[/line] [line]Pay attention to what you are doing, reduce the number of distractions; [/line] [line]If a knife begins to fall, never try to catch it – step back and let it fall; and[/line] [/unordered]

Other than knife safety when handling broken items on the floor or counter, sweep large pieces of glass with a broom and dustpan, pick-up smaller pieces with a wet paper towel.

My best advise regarding avoiding cuts is that you recognize that your fingers are each worth about $250,000 in your lifetime. Be smart with them. Would you give me a quarter of a million dollars just to cut something you weren’t sure how to cut?

General knife use safety:
Always use a cutting board so you don’t damage your kitchen counter-tops;

When cutting, one hand grips the knife and the other hand must hold the food and guide it toward the blade;

Curl your fingers of the hand that is guiding the food so your knuckles act as a shield and protect your fingertips. By curling your fingers you are making your hand into a spider. The thumb stays way back and out of the way. Thumbs get cut when not making the “spider”.

[/text-box] [text-box title=”Quiz”] [QTL-Question id=9] [/text-box]

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