7 Things You Should Never Do In A Kitchen

There are a number of mistakes that you should never do in the kitchen. Regardless of whether or not you’re doing things to cook food, prepare drinks, or just doing some other task that happens to take place there. Here are seven things you should never do in a kitchen, along with explanations of why they’re to be avoided .

1) Never try to catch a falling knife.

If you’re going to be chopping, dicing, or cutting anything with a knife, don’t try to catch it if it slips. Instead, let go of your grip and let it drop safely onto a solid surface. If you can’t avoid catching a knife (maybe you’re rescuing food from being cut off). Make sure to hold it away from your body—especially fingers and hands. This will not only prevent injury but also protect your clothes; those knives are sharp!

2)Don’t add dry flour or cornstarch to hot liquid.

Adding dry flour or cornstarch to hot liquid can cause clumps of what’s called a flour-colloid to form. These flour-colloids are gummy and resemble strands of hair. It’s impossible to stir them out once they’ve formed, and they’ll spoil your gravy or sauce. The only way to avoid flour-colloids is by adding cold liquid to flour or cornstarch, letting it sit for 5 minutes. Then adding more cold liquid before bringing it all up to temperature.

3) Never use wet oven mitts to handle hot pots or pans.

Wet mitts don’t give your hands anywhere to go when they touch hot items, and that means they transfer heat directly to your skin. That’s bad news because wet heat is bad for you: Touching a 140 degree pot with a wet oven mitt could burn you within one second. And if you hold it for two seconds, you could get third-degree burns. Obviously, it’s not worth it. So keep all hot pots and pans dry when moving them around in a kitchen or loading them into or out of an oven.

4) Don’t Cook Without An Apron

Making food is more fun when you don’t have to worry about splashing soup on your shirt or burning yourself with hot grease. An apron will keep you clean and safe, which means you can focus on cooking instead of worrying about cleaning up afterward. Some aprons are designed to look stylish or make a statement, but even those that do can still fulfill their primary function: keeping you clean while in a kitchen. Wear an apron while cooking to avoid messes and burns.

5)Never scrape your knife against a cutting board

Scraping your knife against a cutting board can be extremely dangerous. The knife blade is made of very hard steel. And it will quickly dull when scraped on wood or plastic, meaning that you’ll either need to re-sharpen or buy a new one sooner than necessary. If you have to use force to remove your food from a cutting board, then that means that either your blade is too dull (in which case it needs to be sharpened) or that there are food particles stuck on (in which case you should replace your cutting board). There are exceptions: For example, if you’re trying to remove delicate garnishes from fresh fruit for a salad, then small scrapes won’t hurt anything.

6) Don’t use metal utensils on a non-stick pan.

Using metal utensils on a non-stick pan is probably not a great idea. If you’re using a carbon steel or cast iron skillet, however, it’s perfectly fine to use metal utensils! Just be sure to heat up your pan first and make sure it’s nice and hot before adding any food. Otherwise, that burger patty is going to stick like nobody’s business.

7) Do not cut steaks right off the heat.

Steaks are best when allowed to sit after coming off a hot grill. The high heat makes steak tough, but letting it cool off allows its juices to redistribute throughout. Resulting in a tender and tasty meat. If you cut into your steak right away, all of those juices will escape and you’ll end up with a dry piece of meat. Your best bet is to wait 10-15 minutes for your steak to reach room temperature before cutting into it.