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4 Tips for Serving a Safe Food Buffet

November 5, 2015 by

If you’re hosting a large party, you’re likely concerned with serving tasty foods, but your goal should also be to keep those foods safe for your guests. Here are a few helpful tips that will keep your food buffet just as healthy as it is delicious.

  1. Wash your hands. The first thing you should do when preparing a food buffet is wash your hands. This prevents you from spreading germs to your guests, but it also helps to keep you safe from food borne illnesses caused by raw meat, eggs, and other ingredients. Be sure to wash your hands each time you refill the buffet, as well.
  2. Cook foods completely. It’s safe to keep foods out on a buffet, provided that they’re cooked properly beforehand. Meats like beef and pork chops should be cooked to at least 145º F, while chicken and poultry should reach at least 165º F.
  3. Use the proper serving tools. If you’re serving hot foods, be sure to store them in a chafing dish, slow cooker, or warming tray to keep them from changing temperature. Cold dishes can be served in nesting bowls over bowls of ice, and they must stay at 40°F or lower in order to stop the growth of bacteria.
  4. Abide by the two-hour rule. Finally, never let foods sit on a buffet for more than two hours. Tossing food that’s been at room temperature for too long will ensure a safe and healthy party.

Serving Up Safe Buffets [FDA]
Serving Prepared Foods Safely [Whole Foods]
Holiday or Party Buffets [USDA]
Buffet Safety [NSF]

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Keep These Measurement Conversion Charts Handy in the Kitchen

August 20, 2015 by

You don’t have to be an expert at math to be a good cook, but it certainly helps to commit a few essential measuring equivalents to memory. For those less-used measurements, however, there are some helpful lists you can keep on hand in the kitchen. Bookmark these two websites of cooking measurement conversions for easy reference.

  1. Measure Equivalents [USDA]
    Find any metric to U.S. conversion on this chart along with cups to teaspoons, tablespoons, and ounces. You can use this website to convert gallons to quarts, quarts to pints, and pints to cups.
  2. Cooking Measure Equivalents [Info Please]
    This website provides a quick reference for converting table- or teaspoons to cups. It also has the essential conversions for the metric system to the American system of measurements. So if you're ever wondering how many grams are in an ounce or milliliters are in a tablespoon, check out this page on Info Please.

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Preserve the Tastes of Summer With These Easy Canning Recipes

June 18, 2015 by

When the weather begins to heat up, it can only mean one thing: Berry season is upon us! Preserve the flavors of summer for a bit longer by canning your favorite warm weather fruits. Here are a few easy summer canning recipes.

Peach Preserves [allrecipes.com]
Few fruits taste more like summer than juicy peaches, and this recipe for sweet peach preserves is just as delicious as an actual peach. Spread it on crusty bread, your morning bagel or even hearty biscuits once colder weather strikes.

Pineapple Chili Salsa [freshpreserving.com/]
Most people don’t live in the type of climate where pineapples grow, but these tropical fruits certainly do feel like summer even if they’re store-bought. Make a zesty pineapple salsa to last you all winter long using those whole pineapples from your local grocer.

Strawberry Refrigerator Jam [thekitchn.com]
Strawberries are just as delicate as they are delicious, so elongate their short lifespans by using them in a simple, basic jam. This easy recipe is perfect for even the most novice jam-makers, and it tastes much more special than name brand versions. Best of all, it only takes a surplus of strawberries and a bit of sugar to make.

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8 Tips to Keep You and Your Children Safe in the Kitchen

March 19, 2015 by

Though it seems like fun to let your children help cook dinner, kitchen injuries are more common than you may think. These thought-provoking tips will show you how to keep yourself and your children safe while cooking.

1. Roll up your sleeves before using the stove. Long or draping shirt sleeves can catch fire if they come into contact with a hot stove, so make sure to dress appropriately when cooking.

2. Turn pots and pans inward. If the handles of your pots and pans hang off the edge of the stove, children can bump them and sustain dangerous burns.

3. Practice frequent hand washing. Encourage children to wash their hands before and after cooking to avoid spreading germs.

4. Take precautions with raw meat or eggs. Clean countertops, utensils, and containers carefully to prevent foodborne illnesses from meat and eggs.

5. Don’t let your children lick the spoon. While kids love to eat batter from cake or cookies, raw egg can make them sick. Tell them they can have the first taste after baking is complete.

6. Check food temperature. Using a food thermometer to check internal temperatures after cooking or baking will help ensure that food is safe to consume.

7. Sharpen knives. It may seem counterintuitive, but dull knives require much more force than sharp knives and can result in more injuries.

8. Always supervise your children. The most fun part about teaching children to cook is spending time together, so don’t forget this important tip!

Keeping Your Kitchen Safe [National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute]

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Three Cooking Substitutes for When You’re in a Pinch

November 20, 2014 by

Any seasoned cook knows that sometimes you have to get creative when sticking to a recipe, especially if you're short on some of the ingredients. The good news is that with a few easy swaps, you can make any recipe, even if you don't have the traditional ingredients on-hand. Here are three cooking substitutes for when you’re in a pinch:

  1. If you're missing brown sugar: Your craving for homemade cookies won't wait until you can get to the store for all the ingredients. If you’re short on one cup of brown sugar, you can substitute it one cup of white sugar combined with 1/4 cup of molasses.
  2. If you're missing butter: While no kitchen should ever be without this important ingredient, it tends to happen if you cook a lot. You can replace one cup of butter with one cup of margarine or vegetable shortening. If the recipe calls for melted butter, you can use the same amount of oil.
  3. If you're missing half and half: If your carton is empty, you can easily recreate this essential ingredient with 1/2 a cup of partly skimmed milk and 1/2 a cup of heavy whipping cream.

Top 3 Ingredient Substitutions [All Recipes]
Ingredient Substitutions [University of Nebraska]
Baking Ingredient Substitution Table [Joys of Baking]

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Where to Find Online Pancake Recipes for All Occasions

February 20, 2014 by

Pancakes are a breakfast favorite for weekend mornings and other special occasions. The classic buttermilk pancake with butter and maple syrup is always a delicious treat, but there are a wide variety of other ways to make pancakes as well. Find some inspiration for your next pancake breakfast from these recipe websites.

All Recipes
The popular online recipe resource All Recipes offers a variety of unique, creative pancake recipes. Sunday Morning Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes are a delicious dish for a formal brunch with the family, while Chunky Monkey Pancakes with chocolate and bananas make a special treat for kids’ birthday breakfasts. If you want to improve your regular pancake recipe, All Recipes has a few tips and tricks for that as well.

Food Network
Learn to make fluffy, buttery pancakes from your favorite cooking show hosts! The Food Network’s website teaches you to make classics like potato pancakes, homemade “instant” pancake mix, and blueberry buttermilk pancakes, as well as more unique styles like the Tri-Berry Oven Pancakes or Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes. No matter your tastes, you can even search the Food Network website by ingredient to find the perfect pancakes for your family.

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Learn Common Cooking Measurements from this Helpful Guide

January 22, 2014 by

It’s easy to measure cooking ingredients with the help of a measuring cup or spoon, but what about when you need to cut a recipe in half or double its ingredients? This helpful guide from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will teach you the basics of common cooking measurements.

The guide explains that the two most commonly used measurements in cooking are the ounce and the pound, but amounts like teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups are also very common. It's very important not to confuse weight measurements with volume measurements. An ounce, for example, can be used to measure the ounce of weight of an ingredient, but it can also explain the fluid ounce needed in a recipe.

The Guide to Common Cooking Measurements also explains how certain cooking measurements are equivalent to other measurements. Many people think that a tablespoon is roughly two teaspoons based on looking at their measuring spoons, but this guide explains that it actually takes 3 teaspoons to equal one tablespoon. By reading this guide, you’ll learn how to translate one measurement to another, making cooking much easier than ever before.

Guide to Commmon Cooking Measurements [National Heart, Lung and Blood Institiute]

Public Domain/Public Domain
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The FDA’s Guidelines for Safe Cooking Temperatures

October 23, 2013 by

The number one way to prevent foodborne illness is to ensure foods are cooked to the proper temperature. Using a meat thermomentor is the best way to tell. Check out this chart for the correct temperatures at which foods should be served, and read these handy tips:

  • If you are using a food thermometer, make sure you test a couple areas of the meat, just not one spot, to ensure it is cooked all the way through. Don't rely on the color of the meat to tell you that it's cooked!
  • Never eat raw eggs. Eggs are done when the whites and yolk are firm.
  • When using a microwave, make sure you cover the food, stir it occasionally, and rotate it in the microwave. After the microwave has stopped, allow for some standing time so the item can complete cooking.
  • Even if you're just reheating a sauce or soup, it's important to still bring them to a boil before enjoying. 

Safe Food Handling: What You Need to Know [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]

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