Thursday, February 19, 2015

Use Sanitation When Baking

It's important to keep the kitchen clean while cooking.


Keeping a sanitary kitchen helps to ensure that those who enjoy your baking stay healthy. Basic hygiene practices like keeping counter tops clean are always relevant, no matter what you are cooking. To be registered as a food-safe food handler, take a food safety course from an accredited educational institution. A food safety course covers basic hygiene practices for those who work in a kitchen, and it also covers important food safety information about cooking and storage methods for food. This includes the cooking temperature. Add this to my Recipe Box.


Instructions


1. Clean food storage is a key part of keeping a sanitary kitchen.


Keep your workspace clean. Before cooking, sanitize the counter tops using a light bleach solution with 1 teaspoon of bleach in 1 quart of water. Make sure that all of your bowls and spoons are clean. Clean faucets, cupboards and everything that comes into contact with your baking materials, and do this regularly. Check your cupboards to ensure that silverfish and other animals do not live in your baking space.


2. Keep yourself clean by washing your hands with soap and water.


Keep the kitchen clean through good personal hygiene practices. Wash your hands with soap for the duration of the ABC song to avoid contamination with germs. The song lasts for approximately 20 seconds. Wash your hands before you begin cooking, when there is a danger of cross-contamination with products such as meat and raw eggs, and after using the bathroom. Wear gloves if you work in a commercial kitchen to avoid contact between skin, cuts and the food you are baking.


3. Store meat for meat pies away from items that it could contaminate.


Store food products appropriately. Prevent dangerous organisms such as pathogenic bacteria from multiplying in food. Store food products that require cooling in a refrigerator that has a temperature at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Store flour and other dry goods in well-sealed containers that are stored well off the floor, to avoid contact with rodents and bugs. Check food products regularly for signs of spoilage or contamination. Avoid cross-contamination from foods that may contain organisms that can make people sick. Store foods like meat for meat pies and eggs for baking in a place where they will not drip on other foods if the packaging gets broken.


4. Use a thermometer to make sure that meat and egg products are well cooked.


Bake food products appropriately. Most of the food products that are used in baking are not prone to causing food-borne illnesses. Baking soda, baking powder and flour do not tend to spoil easily and are stored outside the refrigerator. However, milk, eggs and meat can spoil or contain organisms that can cause illness. Bake meat pies in a hot oven until they are fully cooked; use a cooking thermometer to make sure that the internal temperature is at least 185 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tags: food products, food safety, hygiene practices, meat pies, sure that