5 Kitchen Safety Tips for Klutzes Who Like to Cook

One I’m known for would be my love of cooking.  I love the science of creating taste combinations, chopping and blending different ways, and transforming through heat.

The other would be my absolute lack of coordination.  I’m totally unable to judge distances and depths, so I’m constantly banging into things, burning myself, stomping all over the place, and generally causing mayhem.

How can I make these traits co-exist without ending up in the ER?  I’ve learned that as an aspie I have to be strict about kitchen safety.

1. Never approach a hot oven without mitts on BOTH hands.

It’s easy to forget how hot the top of the oven is – that’s where the burner is located.  And when you’re concentrating on your food, you won’t notice how dangerously close to the top your arm’s getting.  Some individuals with SPD won’t feel the burn until their skin is well-seared.  Towels are not a great substitute for mitts, because they can often slip, and you can’t judge how much heat transfer they have.

2. When you open a hot oven, wait a few seconds before diving in.

You might not expect it but there’s a blast of hot air that comes out.  Wait for it to pass.

3. Make it a habit to check for a hot stovetop before touching it.

Does your stovetop have a hot burner indicator light?  Mine does, and I’ve gotten lazy about checking it.  Which has led to a few burns.  Since I’m under-responsive in that respect, I recently failed to notice I had been resting my hand on it for a while until my hand was blistering badly.  If you don’t have an indicator, leave some kind of reminder to yourself like a pot lid.

4. Pour hot water facing away from you.

I always hated the way hot water would splash when I poured pasta into a colander.  Then I learned to pick the pot up the other way and pour so that the bottom would come up towards me and the water would pour facing away from me.  Any splashes of hot water (or soup, if that’s what you’re pouring) go the other way, avoiding burns.  If your pot has hot handles, a dish towel is the perfect size to wrap around the side closest to you and reach both handles.

5. Use knives that make sense for your lifestyle and comfort level.

A good pair of kitchen shears (scissors) will cut many things; I’m not kidding.  If you treat it well and don’t dull it on bones and frozen meat, it will last a long time.  I use my shears to cut everything from basil to pizza to noodles.  That said, if you’re not doing any fancy cooking you could probably do fine with a steak knife if you wanted, which is small, serrated (has teeth), but is less risky than a chef’s knife.

(photo: limonada)