Cooking can be a whole lot of fun. Nevertheless, a lot can happen if you don’t take the necessary safety precautions.

Remember – you are handling a lot of hazardous equipment and appliances while working in the kitchen which can be very dangerous. You need to pay attention and be absolutely aware of what you are doing so that you don’t hurt yourself.

Here are a few basic rules that you need to follow while working in the kitchen:

• Always store your knives in a drawer or a wooden block. If you have children make sure your knives are out of their reach.
• Make sure the clothes you are wearing are not too loose. If you have long hair make sure it is tied up. This way you won’t be bothered about anything catching fire accidentally.
• Don’t wear any dangling jewelry like bracelets. They may get tangled around your pot handles.
• Never leave potholders near open flame. Turn their handles away from the stove. This way you won’t burn your fingers while handling them.
• As far as possible refrigerate or freeze foods that are temperature-sensitive. These include dairy products, fish, and raw meat that might get spoilt quickly while sitting out in your kitchen.
• Wipe up any spills instantly so that no one slips and falls on your kitchen floor
• Keep poultry and raw meat away from other items while in storage. This is the best way to avoid any cross-contamination of bacteria.
• Always wash your hands before you handle any kind of food.
• Get rid of appliances that are damaged or broken. You may have to spend money on a new one; but this can help you avoid any mishap that can prove to be dangerous.
• If you have bought a fire extinguisher for your kitchen, make sure you don’t keep it anywhere near your stove or heater.
• Don’t touch the sharp edges of mixers or blenders unless they are unplugged.
• Make sure you store all your chemicals and cleaning supplies in a safe place. Put up a child lock if necessary.

If you want to save time and cook food using lesser energy, it would be better to pressure cook your food. Make sure you have all the cooker spare parts with you. Here are a few more things you need to know about using a pressure cooker:

When you hear the hissing noise made by the pressure-release valve it is time to reduce the heat of your burner from high to medium. This noise is a sign that the pressure in your pressure cooker has been exceeded.

Try not to over-cook food while using a pressure cooker. Overheating might cause the aluminum in the pressure cooker to leach into your food.

There are certain foods that may not get properly cooked in a pressure cooker. Consuming such kind of food can lead to problems with digestion.

Slow cooking is the best way of maintaining the nutrients and flavors of the food ingredients that you use. Try out traditional techniques that can help in cooking healthy food.