The holiday season is here, and so are holiday activities such as watching movies, drinking hot chocolate, building gingerbread houses, decorating, and everyone’s favorite – baking! But the last thing you want to happen while baking your delicious sugary treats is to suffer a personal injury. So here are some tips from our attorneys at Lerner and Rowe to make sure you’re baking safely this holiday season.
· Check Your Equipment
Before you even begin to bake, you should check all your kitchen equipment. Doing this will lower the risk of an injury occurring while you are baking. Check your oven for air leaks or other defects. Make sure your stove works properly. You should inspect any baking sheets or pots/pans you’ll be using for cracks or other defects. You should make sure all utensils and other cooking equipment you plan on using are clean! As an example, make sure any blenders, bowls, pots/pans, baking sheets, etc. are clean before use.
When handling sharp utensils such as knives, be cautious of the blades. Never intentionally poke yourself or others with the tip of a knife. As for blenders, you should never stick your hand inside of them! The blades of blenders can cause serious injury, especially when the blender is turned on. Make sure your hands are clean and dry before inspecting electrical equipment. If you happen to cut yourself, immediately clean the wound and apply a bandage. Do not continue baking!
One final thing to check is if you have a fire extinguisher. You should own a fire extinguisher, and you should know where it is. It’s best to keep your fire extinguisher underneath your kitchen sink. This way, you can easily and quickly access it if a kitchen fire breaks out. You should never put out electric or grease fires with water. The best way to handle a fire is to deprive the area of oxygen. This is best done with a fire extinguisher or salt. If a small fire occurs with one of your pots/pans and you can easily put it out, you should. If the fire gets any larger or gets out of your control, contact the fire department immediately.
· Handle Food Properly
When handling raw foods such as eggs, always make sure your hands are clean. Do not leave perishable foods outside for long periods of time. Materials such as eggs and milk can spoil quickly if not refrigerated, so always keep them refrigerated unless you absolutely need them. Always use oven mitts when putting food in or taking food out of an oven. Try to get oven mitts that cover your entire hand for extra protection. Even microwavable bowls can get too hot to touch, so no matter the appliance, food can get dangerously hot. Use an oven mitt!
You should also make sure to cook all food thoroughly – undercooked food can cause serious illness. If you have a cooking thermometer, you should use it and check the recipe for the exact internal temperature of whatever you’re making. If something is spilled, immediately clean it up. You don’t want to slip and fall and suffer an injury. Cleaning up spills as you go keeps you and others safer during your baking experience.
· Stay Aware of Your Environment
It is crucial to be aware of what is going on in your kitchen, especially when equipment such as the oven or stove is in use. When baking something in an oven, you should set a timer so you do not burn your sweet and tasty holiday treats, or worse, cause a fire. When using a stove, you should always turn the pot/pan handles inward. This way, children cannot reach them and adults cannot knock them over.
Do not leave the kitchen when you are using your stove. The contents from your pot/pan can spill out accidentally when you’re not looking, so you should always be there to supervise. Do not take lids off pots/pans too quickly. Doing this can cause steam burns. And remember, insert your food into pots/pans slowly to avoid splashing. Even water, when hot, can seriously burn you.
· Don’t Take Risks
You should never bake if you are fatigued or under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Doing this can cause severe injury to yourself and possibly to others. If you’re baking cookies this holiday season, do not eat raw cookie dough. While raw cookie dough might seem like a tasty treat, the health risks aren’t worth it. Also, make sure you are dressed appropriately before baking. Short-sleeved shirts and open-toed shoes are invitations for injury. Instead, wear long-sleeved shirts with an apron and closed-toed shoes. Doing this can keep you much safer in case of falling objects or spills.
In addition, make sure children and pets are kept out of the kitchen. While you may want to bond with your family members this holiday season, you shouldn’t have children or pets anywhere near the kitchen when you’re baking. Not only is it easy for them to get injured, but it’s dangerous for you to bake and supervise them at the same time. Doing such multitasking is dangerous and can only cause injury.
· Clean Up the Mess
Always clean up your kitchen counters before and after you bake. Doing this significantly reduces the risk of food-related illnesses. Plus, you don’t want the food you’ll be eating to be dirty. Another benefit of cleaning up is that you lower your risk for injury. Always make sure your oven and stove are off when you are not using them. Keep pots and pans off of any active burners, and make sure they are safely positioned. Store all utensils out of reach of children. Knives should be stored in wood block or in a drawer. Leaving sharp utensils out on your counter is an invitation for injury, so clean up!
· In An Emergency
In the case of an emergency, you should have the necessary medical and other emergency supplies present. If you accidentally cut yourself while preparing food, clean the wound and bandage it immediately. Stop baking! You do not want to contaminate your food. Even if you bandage the wound, there is still a chance your food can get contaminated. If you suffered a burn injury, run the burn over cool water for 20 minutes. Do not use ice because the ice will insulate the heat underneath your skin and cause lasting damage. Make sure you have Neosporin, band aids, gauze, burn salve, and scissors present in your emergency kit.
Have You Suffered a Personal Injury?
If you are the victim of a personal injury, contact Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys today! Our office is open Monday – Friday from 8am – 5pm. You can reach us 24/7 at 844-977-1900. Alternatively, you can contact us online via an online form or by taking advantage of our LiveChat feature. Consultations are free. We do not collect any fees unless we win your case, so don’t wait! Call us today!