S ome people find it absurd to be taught how to properly and safely use kitchen knives as they think they have a complete hold on the correct procedures. Unfortunately, most of us do many mistakes without even realizing it, mistakes that become a habit and that might lead to us hurting ourselves when preparing food. In the following, we will present you with all the safety tips that you need to be aware of when using kitchen knives of all types so that you won’t harm yourself in any way.
Kitchen Knife Safety Tips
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Sharpness Is the Key to Safety
Although we tend to associate a sharp knife with danger, in the kitchen, it’s essential for the cutlery to have a sharp blade for no incidents to occur. A blade that doesn’t cut through the vegetables, fruits, and meat properly might cause your hands to slip due to having to put more pressure. As more force is put into the procedure, if your hand does slip, you will end up hurting yourself badly. Another obvious reason to keep the blades sharp is that you will have better handling of the cooking tasks that you perform, your speed and precision receiving a major boosted.
Check out electric knife sharpeners and manual knife sharpeners to see what your best options are when it comes to pro-grade tools for re-sharpening dull knife blades.
How to Properly Slice
One of the common mistakes that people make and that can be a real hazard is to slice incorrectly. While it seems easy to slice foods, if you’re not doing it right, you’re in danger. The proper way to slice fruits, veggies, and meats is to keep the fingers clear of the blade while slicing away from your hand. This way, in case the knife slips, you won’t cut yourself.
Your Hand Shouldn’t Be a Replacement for the Cutting Board
When cutting small foods like onions or tomatoes, some people find it more convenient to cut them in the palm of their hands instead of taking out the cutting board and using it as support. This is extremely irresponsible as you are in great danger of slicing into your hand. No matter how bothersome you find taking the cutting board out and using it as it has actually been intended, it’s a mandatory task to do in order to stay safe.
How to Position Your Fingers When Chopping
A lot of accidents happen when people are chopping food. To ensure that you won’t be in peril of cutting your fingers when performing this task, you should proceed by curling your fingers under while holding the food with your fingertips. In case you’re misfortunate enough to still end up hurting yourself while chopping, at least you won’t cut your finger but rather bruise the knuckle, which is a lot less painful and doesn’t affect your performance in the kitchen on the future all that much.
Secure the Cutting Board
Cutting boards come in various shapes and sizes and they are made with different types of materials. In case the cutting board that you own doesn’t feature rubber feet that prevent it from slipping when it sits on the counter and you use it, you have to place a damp towel under it in order to ensure safety in use. If the board isn’t properly secured in place and it slips, you will inevitably hurt yourself when the control over the cutting motion is lost.
Check out bamboo cutting boards if you want a long-lasting board to chop food on, one that even provides an antimicrobial surface for meal preparation.
Be Careful Around Steak Knives
Steak knives are some of the sharpest cutlery pieces in a kitchen as they are designed for one of the toughest tasks, more precisely cutting through meat. Of course, their sharpness denotes a higher risk of injury in case they’re not properly used. To keep yourself safe, what you should do is pay extra attention when cutting meat with a steak knife, being cautious so that you won’t cut yourself.
Don’t Use the Knife As a Fork or Any Eating Tool
This might sound stupid, but it’s something that a lot of people are tempted to do as it saves time when cooking and having to taste certain foods to see if they’re alright to use or not. No matter if we’re talking about a part of a vegetable that you have just sliced, a bit of fruit, or even a slice of cheese, you shouldn’t taste any type of food with the help of the knife as a serving tool. If you don’t get rid of this bad habit in case you have it, you will inevitably poke your tongue or cut your lip by accident at one point. Thus, don’t ever forget that the spoon and the fork are the tools used for these tasks, not the dangerous and sharp knife!
Conclusion
Make sure to follow the advice provided in this article and you will have a safe time using cutlery in the kitchen, preparing meals, and even expanding the lifespan of certain tools you are likely to use predominantly. Remember to keep your eyes on what you are doing and to have sharp knives that ease your work (just handle them carefully), and you have nothing to worry about.
