Women Magazine - ModaEs.com

10 Smoky Tips To BBQ Food Safely

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 10:06:31 +0000

Cooking outdoors was once only a summer activity shared with family and friends. Now more than half of Americans say they are cooking outdoors year round. Use these simple guidelines for grilling food safely to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying and causing food-borne illness.

1. Defrosting

Completely defrost meat and poultry before grilling so it cooks more evenly. Use the refrigerator for slow, safe thawing or thaw sealed packages in cold water. You can microwave defrost if the food will be placed immediately on the grill.

2. Marinating

Meat and poultry can be marinated for several hours or days to tenderize or add flavor. Be sure to marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. If some of the marinade is to be used as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a portion of the marinade before putting raw meat and poultry in it. However, if the marinade used on raw meat or poultry is to be reused, make sure to let it come to a boil first to destroy any harmful bacteria.

3. Transporting

When carrying food to another location, keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth. Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40? F or below. Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving home. Keep the cooler in the coolest part of the car.

4. Keep Cold Food Cold

When using a cooler, keep it out of the direct sun by placing it in the shade or shelter. Avoid opening the lid too often, which lets cold air out and warm air in. Pack beverages in one cooler & perishables in a separate cooler.

5. Keep Everything Clean

Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters. To prevent food-borne illness, don’t use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Harmful bacteria present in raw meat and poultry and their juices can contaminate safely cooked food.

6. Cook Thoroughly

Cook food to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature. Whole poultry should reach 180? F; breasts, 170? F. Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160? F; ground poultry, 165? F. Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to 145? F. All cuts of pork should reach 160? F. NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later.

7. Keep Hot Food Hot

After cooking meat and poultry on the grill, keep it hot until served — at 140? F or warmer. Keep cooked meats hot by setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over the coals where they could overcook. At home, the cooked meat can be kept hot in a warm oven (approximately 200? F), in a chafing dish or slow cooker, or on a warming tray.

8. Serving Safely

When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter. Don’t put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Any harmful bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely cooked food.

9. Safe Smoking

Smoking is done much more slowly than grilling, so less tender meats benefit from this method, and a natural smoke flavoring permeates the meat. The temperature in the smoker should be maintained at 250? F to 300? F for safety. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature.

10. Pit Roasting

Cooking may require 10 to 12 hours or more and is difficult to estimate. A meat thermometer must be used to determine the meat’s safety and doneness. There are many variables such as outdoor temperature, the size and thickness of the meat, and how fast the coals are cooking.

Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
www.my-home-based-business-advisor.com

About The Author

Terry Nicholls is the author of the eBook “Food Safety: Protecting Your Family From Food Poisoning”. In addition, he writes from his own experiences in trying to start his own home-based business. To benefit from his success, visit My Home-Based Business Advisor - Helping YOUR Home Business Start and Succeed for free help for YOUR home business, including ideas, startup, and expansion advice.

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10 Critical Ways To A Perfectly Food-Safe Kitchen

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 18:06:31 +0000

Food poisoning is related to unsafe food, a dirty kitchen, and dirty kitchen appliances. If you follow some safety rules, food poisoning will never occur.

Your Refrigerator

1. Freezing does NOT kill bacteria; it only controls their growth. Common bacteria grow rapidly at 60? F to 120? F. Keep the temperature of the refrigerator below 50? F. Keep the freezer temperature at about 0? F.

2. Don’t take foods out of the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them.

Dishwashing

3. Clean well with hot water to kill bacteria.

4. If washing dishes by hand, leave them to drain rather than using a tea towel. If you use a tea towel, change it often. Paper towels are a better option.

5. Dishcloths are a prime spot for bacteria to grow and multiply. Wash them regularly with hot water or in the washing machine using the hot cycle with antibacterial products.

Cooking

6. Cook thoroughly to kill bacteria but don’t overcook to the point of charring. It may form amine compounds that may cause cancer. Don’t cook food partially and leave it to cook later.

7. Wash your hands thoroughly with an antibacterial soap before and after cooking.

8. Wash vegetables thoroughly. Wash all lentils, legumes, rice, etc. with lots of water. These are often treated with powder, polish, and even colors, to make them attractive.

9. When you want to use leftovers, heat them to a high temperature so that any bacteria that may have multiplied in the refrigerator will be killed. Throw away any leftover food still left after it has been reheated once.

10. Don’t cook if you have a cut on your hand as cuts and scratches harbor many bacteria.

Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
www.my-home-based-business-advisor.com

About The Author

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10 Convenient Ways To Eliminate Food Poisoning With Your Microwave

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 06:06:31 +0000

Microwave ovens can play an important role at mealtime, but special care must be taken when cooking or reheating meat, poultry, fish, and eggs to make sure they are prepared safely. Microwave ovens can cook unevenly and leave “cold spots,” where harmful bacteria can survive. For this reason, it is important to use the following safe microwaving tips to prevent food-borne illness.

Microwave Cooking

1. Arrange food items evenly in a covered dish and add some liquid if needed. Cover the dish with a lid or plastic wrap; loosen or vent the lid or wrap to let steam escape.

2. Large cuts of meat should be cooked on medium power (50%) for longer periods. This allows heat to reach the center without overcooking outer areas.

3. Stir or rotate food midway through the microwaving time to eliminate cold spots where harmful bacteria can survive.

Microwave Defrosting

4. Remove food from packaging before defrosting. Do not use foam trays and plastic wraps because they are not heat stable at high temperatures.

5. Cook meat, poultry, egg casseroles, and fish immediately after defrosting in the microwave oven because some areas of the frozen food may begin to cook during the defrosting time.

Reheating In The Microwave

6. Cover foods with a lid or a microwave-safe plastic wrap to hold in moisture and provide safe, even heating.

7. After reheating foods in the microwave oven, allow standing time. Then, use a clean food thermometer to check that food has reached 165? F.

Proper Containers

8. Only use cookware that is specially manufactured for use in the microwave oven and that is labeled for microwave oven use.

9. Plastic storage containers such as margarine tubs, take- out containers, whipped topping bowls, and other one-time use containers should not be used in microwave ovens. These containers can warp or melt, possibly causing harmful chemicals to migrate into the food.

10. Microwave plastic wraps, wax paper, cooking bags, parchment paper, and white microwave-safe paper towels should be safe to use. Do not let plastic wrap touch foods during microwaving.

Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
www.my-home-based-business-advisor.com

About The Author

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10 Wide Open Tips For Food Safety In The Great Outdoors

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 22:06:31 +0000

Hiking, camping, and boating are good activities for active people and families. However, if the food isn’t handled correctly, food-borne illness can be an unwelcome souvenir.

1. Choose foods that are light enough to carry in a backpack and that can be transported safely. Keep foods either hot or cold. Since it’s difficult to keep foods hot without a heat source, it’s best to transport chilled foods. Refrigerate or freeze the food overnight. What foods to bring? For a day hike, just about anything will do as long as you can fit it in your backpack and keep it cold — sandwiches, fried chicken, bread and cheese, and even salads — or choose non- perishable foods.

2. Keep everything clean. Remember to bring disposable wipes if you’re taking a day trip. (Water is too heavy to bring enough for cleaning dishes!)

3. It’s not a good idea to depend on fresh water from a lake or stream for drinking, no matter how clean it appears. Some pathogens thrive in remote mountain lakes or streams and there’s no way to know what might have fallen into the water upstream. Bring bottled or tap water for drinking. Always start out with a full water bottle and replenish your supply from tested public systems when possible. On long trips you can find water in streams, lakes, and springs, but be sure to purify any water from the wild, no matter how clean it appears.

4. If you’re backpacking for more than a day, the food situation gets a little more complicated. You can still bring cold foods for the first day, but you’ll have to pack shelf-stable items for the next day. Canned goods are safe, but heavy, so plan your menu carefully. Advances in food technology have produced relatively lightweight staples that don’t need refrigeration or careful packaging. For example:

peanut butter in plastic jars
concentrated juice boxes
canned tuna, ham, chicken, and beef
dried noodles and soups
beef jerky and other dried meats
dehydrated foods
dried fruits and nuts
powdered milk and fruit drinks

5. If you’re cooking meat or poultry on a portable stove or over a fire, you’ll need a way to determine when it’s done and safe to eat. Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness, and it can be especially tricky to tell the color of a food if you’re cooking in a wooded area in the evening. It’s critical to use a food thermometer when cooking hamburgers. Ground beef may be contaminated with E. coli, a particularly dangerous strain of bacteria. Illnesses have occurred even when ground beef patties were cooked until there was no visible pink. The only way to insure that ground beef patties are safely cooked is to use a food thermometer, and cook the patty until it reaches 160? F. Be sure to clean the thermometer between uses.

6. To keep foods cold, you’ll need a cold source. A block of ice keeps longer than ice cubes. Before leaving home, freeze clean, empty milk cartons filled with water to make blocks of ice, or use frozen gel-packs. Fill the cooler with cold or frozen foods. Pack foods in reverse order. First foods packed should be the last foods used. (There is one exception: pack raw meat or poultry below ready-to-eat foods to prevent raw meat or poultry juices from dripping on the other foods.)

7. Camping supply stores sell biodegradable camping soap in liquid and solid forms. But use it sparingly, and keep it out of rivers, lakes, streams, and springs, as it will pollute. If you use soap to clean your pots, wash the pots at the campsite, not at the water’s edge. Dump dirty water on dry ground, well away from fresh water. Some wilderness campers use baking soda to wash their utensils. Pack disposable wipes for hands and quick cleanups.

8. If you’re planning to fish, check with your fish and game agency or state health department to see where you can fish safely, then follow these guidelines for Finfish:

Scale, gut, and clean fish as soon as they’re caught
Live fish can be kept on stringers or in live wells, as long as they have enough water and enough room to move and breathe
Wrap fish, both whole and cleaned, in water-tight plastic and store on ice
Keep 3 to 4 inches of ice on the bottom of the cooler. Alternate layers of fish and ice
Store cooler out of the sun and cover with a blanket
Once home, eat fresh fish within 1 to 2 days or freeze them. For top quality, use frozen fish within 3 to 6 months

9. If using a cooler, leftover food is safe only if the cooler still has ice in it. Otherwise discard leftover food.

10. Whether in the wild or on the high seas, protect yourself and your family by washing your hands before and after handling food.

Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
www.my-home-based-business-advisor.com

About The Author

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10 Simple Ways To Safely Store Food

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 10:06:31 +0000

Storing foods can present its own set of problems. And different types of foods have different storage requirements to prevent bacteria from setting in. Here’s some tips to protect your family and yourself.

Storing Vegetables

1. Vegetables should be stored in the vegetable crisper in the refrigerator. However, keep potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic in a cool, dark, well ventilated place, but not in the refrigerator. Tomatoes have better flavor if they are not refrigerated. Once cut, tomatoes should be refrigerated like any vegetable.

2. Store vegetables in the refrigerator crisper in plastic bags to prevent loss of moisture and nutritional values. However, eggplant and capsicums should be stored open in the crisper as they sweat if stored in plastic bags. Put mushrooms in a paper bag (not in a plastic bag) before placing them in the crisper.

Storing Fruits

3. Apples and berries should always be kept in the refrigerator for maximum crispness. Summer stone fruits and melons should sit at room temperature until they are ripe, then go into the refrigerator. Grapes & fruits that are not yet fully ripe can be left in a fruit bowl in the kitchen.

4. Citrus fruits are fine at room temperature unless it is very hot, in which case, put them in the refrigerator. Bananas should be kept at cool room temperature. Their skins become black if they are refrigerated, although the flesh is still fine to eat.

Storing Dairy Products

5. Always check the expiry date on dairy products, especially milk. Don’t buy milk if it will expire in 2-3 days. Milk generally starts giving smell before its expiry date even if you store it in the refrigerator! Generally, milk bottles at the front of the shelf in the supermarket have an expiry date of only a few days. Look for bottles at the back of the shelf.

Storing Frozen Foods

6. Pack all your frozen foods together in an insulated container to keep them frozen until you get home. If foods defrost on the way home and you re-freeze them in a domestic freezer, large ice crystals will form and can rupture cell membranes in the food allowing nutrients to escape. Keep frozen foods frozen to maintain quality, as bacteria will begin to multiply when the food is thawed.

Storing Meat Products

7. Fresh meat, chicken, and fish always carry some bacteria so these foods must always be kept cold. Bacterial growth slows down in the refrigerator; at room temperature, they grow rapidly. Cooking kills these bacteria. Store meat, seafood and chicken in the coldest part of the refrigerator. See that any uncooked products do not come into contact with other foods in the refrigerator. They should be stored at the bottom part of the refrigerator so that any juices that drip out won’t contaminate other foods on lower shelves.

8. Make sure that fish or other seafood are wrapped and use as soon as possible. Throw them out if not used within two days.

9. If you are going to freeze meat, seafood or poultry, enclose it in freezer wrap and freeze as soon as possible after bringing it home. Store eggs in the refrigerator, preferably in their cartons, as it provides protection and prevents moisture loss through the shell.

Storing Other Products

10. Do not allow pet foods to come into contact with human foods. Pantry items (canned foods, cereals, etc.) should be stored in a dark place like in a cupboard or pantry. Keep oils out of direct light.

Terry Nicholls
My Home-Based Business Advisor
www.my-home-based-business-advisor.com

About The Author

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