Kitchen Safety: Playing Safe in the Kitchen

Injuries while cooking can happen to the best of chefs. So make sure to put the right plaster on your next shopping list. With cooking becoming more and more of a trend, more people are headed for the kitchen. With exotic cuisines and matching new tools, from woks to sushi knives, kitchens are turning into injury hotspots. A cut, abrasion or burn can easily happen.

There are so many quick safety practices in the kitchen that you can employ to make your cooking experience a fun and injury free time! Here are a few ways you can make you kitchen an injury free zone.

Invest in good quality tools:
The secret of any good chef is quality kitchen equipment. Kitchen utensils should be up to standard, anything that does not function properly or knives that are dull should not have a place in your kitchen so make sure your kitchen ware is the best for you.

Cutting edge:
Always make sure to keep your knives sharp: sharper blades cut better and don’t cause injuries as often. Sharpen them on a regular basis with a knife sharpener as dull knives are dangerous and actually make cutting much more difficult. Of course, you know that you should always cut away from your body when using a knife to avoid it slipping and cutting you. Also make sure you’re using the right knife for the job, a quality knife set can make all the difference.

Wet paper towel for a better grip:
Not only are cutting boards that slide on the counter annoying, but they are also extremely dangerous when you’re holding a knife and trying to chop something. Wet a paper towel and lay it under the board and it won’t budge, it also helps absorb acids when cutting onions!

Make it flat:
A good trick is to always cut the ends off onions, tomatoes, melons etc. (any food that does not stay stable on the cutting board) to give them a flat surface. This allows you to have complete control of the item as you chop.

So you think you’re all set, because you bought the right ingredients and have the perfect wine out. But accidents are luring when you are...

1. Preparing food: Number one injury in the kitchen: Cuts or scrapes from knives (either when cutting food with them or when getting them out and happening to hit the blade) or other instruments such as vegetable peelers, can openers etc. Painful cuts are the result.
   
     Read our first aid tips for cuts and grazes here


2. Cooking: heat from boiling or hot pots, from the oven or from a wok or steamer – this is often the cause for burns or scalds, which are painful. Especially when hot oil or grease is part of the equation.


3. Handling dishes: anything from clearing dishes away, removing china from the dishwasher can cause cuts from breaking china or glasses. Or a wine bottle that slipped from your hand. Cuts are the result. 

Find out how to treat cuts and grazes here

 

Clever wound care products to have around the kitchen

Ouch, something happened? Make sure to have the right wound dressing at hand. You are working around water and want to keep chopping, cooking etc. so choose wound dressings that stay in place and have the right properties to let you keep fussing about the food rather than your injury.

Check the Elastoplast range for convenient essentials and solutions to have at hand in a kitchen drawer.

1. Elastoplast Antibacterial Water Resistant Plasters protects wounds from dirt and bacteria to reduce the risk of infection.


2. Elastoplast Aqua Protect Waterproof Plasters are waterproof yet breathable, and perfectly shaped for the tip of your finger, so they will stay in place while you cut etc.


3. Elastoplast Heavy Fabric Waterproof Plastersoffers multiple plaster shapes and sizes for various little mishaps in the kitchen – and is perfect when working around water.

Tongs as an extension of your hand
A set of tongs can be found in almost every cook’s hand in professional kitchens – usually gripped low down on the handle for maximum control. It will protect your fingertips from injury, and will give you maximum grip when flipping meat, pulling a pan out of the oven, stabilise a steak while slicing, etc.

Handle with care!
Make sure to turn pot handles away from the front of the stove. Burns from scalding are of the most common injuries in the kitchen.

Don’t play peek-a-boo!
Scalding can occur from hot steam as well. Be careful when lifting lids or opening ovens with hot food. Protect hands with oven mittens or a towel.

Towel to go
Another professional chef’s tip: Always have a towel either slung over your shoulder or tucked into your apron. This way you can have it handy to hold the lids when draining pots of boiling water, wipe your hands when wet --- the list goes on and on.