Although creating holiday favorites in the kitchen can be gratifying and comforting, it can also be dangerous.
Playing With Fire
The U.S. Fire Administration reports that cooking equipment—most often a range or stovetop—is the leading cause of reported home fires and related injuries in the U.S.
The administration offers some tips to avoid becoming a statistic.
During holiday chaos it’s easy to take on too many things at once and forget projects you started. If you’re simmering, frying, grilling, broiling, baking, roasting or boiling food, check it regularly. Remain in the kitchen and use a timer to remind you to be attentive while food is cooking.
Keep anything that can catch fire—towels, pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, and curtains—away from your stovetop.
Keep the stovetop, burners and oven clean.
Keep pets off cooking surfaces and nearby countertops to prevent them from knocking things onto a burner.
Wear short, close-fitting or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking. Loose clothing can dangle onto stove burners and catch fire if it comes into contact with a gas flame or electric burner.
Keep young children at least 3 feet away from cooking appliances.
Make sure ground-fault circuit interrupters are installed in all outlets in areas where electronics might come into contact with water, such as the kitchen sink. Keep countertop appliances and their cords as far away as possible from the sink and any other water sources.
Contact Burns
The oven is modern magic, but all that heat combined with metal components and cookware can lead to burns. Always use oven mitts (not a wet towel), and replace mitts when they’re old. Don’t reach your arm in to check baked goods; instead pull out the rack to test a dish.
Stir simmering food with a wooden spoon instead of a metal one, which will get hot.
Keep metal objects out of appliances and plugs. If a piece of toast gets stuck in the toaster, for example, never use a metal knife to retrieve it. Unplug the toaster, allow it to cool and use a wooden or plastic utensil to remove the toast.
Only plugs should go into outlets. Sticking fingers or other objects into outlets could result in an electrical shock and possibly a fire.
