Kitchen safety is of prime importance, especially during the holidays when a lot of cooking is involved. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that the peak day for home cooking fires is Thanksgiving, which is followed by Christmas Day, the day before Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas Eve. In addition, cooking was the leading cause of reported residential fires from 2014 to 2018.
A fire breaking out inside the home leads to losses in personal items, structural damages, and thousands of dollars in repairs and restoration. To save money and keep holiday cooking and celebrations free from fire threats, ServiceMaster DSI has compiled these cooking safety tips and steps to properly dispose of cooking oil.
Cooking Safety Tips
- Check food often while cooking. Use cooking timers when working on multiple dishes to be reminded about checking the foods being cooked, especially those that take a long time. Turn off the stove if there is a need to leave the kitchen.
- Do not throw water on a grease fire because it will just distribute the fire all over the kitchen.
- Wear proper clothing in the kitchen. Loose clothing or dangling sleeves can get stained, cause spills or catch fire.
- Remove flammable materials near any heat-generating appliance. This includes pot holders, oven mitts, food packaging and wooden utensils.
- Keep children away from the kitchen. This is to make sure that they will not play with matches or stove fire. Establish a safe distance of three (3) feet between young children and the stove.
- Clean surfaces to reduce grease accumulation. Grease fires are a major part of the cooking fire problem. Wipe down surfaces after cooking.
- Turn off all cooking equipment at the end of the day. This includes ovens, stoves, fryers and other appliances used for cooking the meals.
Safety Tips When Cooking With Oil
- Pay attention to the food being fried and watch out for signs indicating that the oil is too hot, such as wisps of smoke or smells coming from the frying pan. When this happens, turn off the stove and remove the pan.
- For sautéing or frying, heat the oil slowly to the desired temperature.
- When adding food, do it carefully so that the oil would not splatter or spill.
- If the pan catches fire, slide the lid over it and turn off the flame. Never use water to extinguish the fire. Leave the pan to cool for a long time.
- If a fire goes out of control, tell everyone to get out of the house and alert the fire department.
How to Dispose of Cooking Oil Properly
Store and reuse cooking oil.
- In order to save your grease, let it cool first without allowing it to completely harden. After it has cooled, use cheesecloth to cover a glass jar and pour the grease through it.
- Place the grease in the refrigerator or freeze it until the time it would be needed again. Note that leftover grease must be used within six months of refrigeration.
- Strained leftover grease can be used to add extra flavor to food and could be used in sauces, seasoning, and other cooking techniques.
Turn leftover cooking oil into bird feed.
- Beef fat can be upcycled into suet cakes for birds. First, let the oil cool and then mix it with bird feed, flour, oats or cereal. The resulting mixture can be portioned into disposable cups used for baking and then refrigerated, or they can be rolled into balls when cool enough.
- After the grease cakes have turned solid, they can be rolled in bird seed and then hung outside using a mesh produce bag or a suet cage.
- Check the weather before hanging the cakes to make sure that it isn't warm enough to melt them.
Discard excess grease properly.
- Never pour grease down the drain. It can be left to cool and thrown out once it solidifies, or it can be poured in a disposable container, sealed and then thrown away.
- After cooking, get rid of excess grease by scraping leftovers into the trash and wiping down plates and trays with paper towels to remove residual oil.
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