Your kitchen is the heart of your home.

It’s where you prepare hearty dishes for your family, spend time together, share memories, and even entertain guests.

But…

It can also be surprisingly dangerous.

Equipped with hot exposed surfaces, sharp knives, sizzling grease on pans, and pots of boiling water, it can easily become hazardous and dangerous. This explains the serious injuries thousands of Americans sustain in the kitchen.

What’s more, failing to safeguard your kitchen and the rest of your house leaves it vulnerable to thieves.

Whether you’re a veteran chef, an upcoming Martha Stewart, or just love cooking for your family, you have all the reasons to safeguard your kitchen from hazards and intruders.

Here’re tips to help you avoid injuries in the kitchen and make it burglar-proof:

12 Tips to a Safe and Hazard-Free Kitchen

1) Clean it up fast

With toddlers and teenagers around your kitchen, nagging about their meals, you can easily make spills in the kitchen.

Although spills are inevitable in the kitchen, make it a habit to clean them up as they occur to prevent accidents.

Even a drop of food or water can easily create a slipping hazard. This is truer about oil and grease from cooking sprays.

 2) Install and test your smoke detector

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, most homeowners are unaware that failing to install smoke detectors doubles their homes’ risk to fires.

And…

The kitchen is the major cause of house fires.

Statistics indicate that over 150,000 fires from cooking equipment occur every year. With high risk of fires, early detection can help your household survive a house fire.

Install smoke detectors in your home and make sure you test them four times in a year for functionality. Moreover, they usually come as part of a larger security system further boosts the safety of your entire home.

3) Add a fire extinguisher to your kitchen

You’ll be surprised to know that a fire extinguisher is the most important gadget in your home.

Accidents usually occur unexpectedly. Although nobody wishes or plans for a fire, having a fire extinguisher within reach can save you a great loss.

Make sure you know how to use it and keep it where you can easily access it in case of a fire.

4) Understand fires to put them out

Fires thrive on oxygen. This means a pot cover or wet rag can easily smother it.

In case of grease fires, there’s need for special handling. Salt, baking soda or a pan cover can easily put out grease fires.

Unplug sockets in case of appliance fires such as microwave fires. Never use water to put out fires. Instead, use baking soda or a fire extinguisher.

As soon as a fire breaks out, call 911. Before the professionals arrive, do whatever you can to put out the fire before it spreads.

If you’re in doubt or don’t know what to do, evacuate your house immediately.

5) Be cautious with clothes and related accessories

Clothes and accessories are a cooking hazard.

Long hair and sleeves can catch fire, bracelets get caught on pot handles, and belt loops easily tug pan handles off stove tops.

Dress appropriately when cooking and make sure pan and pot handles are turned in at all times to keep them away from your children’s reach.

6) Keep the kitchen out of bounds for pets and kids

Cooking with your kids in the kitchen can be fun.

But…

Be cautious when having kids in the kitchen. Let them respect your cooking space to avoid injuries. Don’t leave your kids and pets unattended when your oven or stove is in use.

Even after turning off your stove and other cooking appliances, they’ll take time to cool down. Therefore, let your kids stay away to prevent burns.

The kitchen is out of bounds for all kinds of play. Keep toys off your kitchen floor to prevent tripping hazards. No pets are allowed to lounge on your kitchen floor.

Make your kitchen a no-go zone for your kids and pets.

However, you can still learn how to safely involve your kids in the kitchen if you want them to help out.

7) Be wary of steam

Over 100,000 Americans, according to BurnInjuryOnline.com, are treated for scald burns in emergency rooms every year.

Potential risks for scald burns include:

• Steam
• Hot water on-demand faucets
• Boiling water
• Hot beverages

A steam burn is usually serious and can be worse than burns from boiling water. Some ways steam presents danger in the kitchen include:

• Opening ‘steamable” packets
• Pulling plastic off wrapped food items from the oven
• Lifting lid off a boiling pot of food or water

Be cautious with boiling water as well as steam. And, teach your kids about these dangers and potential hazards.

8) Sanitize your kitchen surfaces

The kitchen harbors more bacteria than other rooms in the house.

Clean your kitchen surfaces with a solution of bleach and water as often as possible to kill germs. Use a 1:1 ratio to mix the solution or use pre-mixed kitchen sanitizer sprays.

Some items to sanitize include:

• Cutting boards – clean after each use
• Dishrags and sponges – zap them in the microwave for a couple of minutes or stash in hot water daily. Change the rags often.

9) Invest in identity theft protection

In the modern age of technology, personal security is just as important as home security. If you use the internet, including social media and other platforms, you need to protect your identity online.

Identity theft protection solutions such as LifeLock are highly recommended for protection and restoration of your identity. The solutions also include plans for the entire family.

To make your kitchen and home burglar-proof, do the following:

10) Burglar proof your front door

11) Reinforce sliding glass doors and windows for added security

12) Install security lights

We hope you’ll find these tips handy in making your kitchen hazard-free and burglar-proof.

For people who love coffee coined coffee lovers, there is great news. As much as coffee is a very much needed source of energy in the mornings, it has been discovered that this caffeine product can really help in weight loss. Sounds too good to be true right? Well according to a nutritionist, coffee helps in bodybuilding and leads to loss of weight. The real explanation behind coffee reducing weight is the fact that it increases metabolism. Metabolism is a process in which food products are broken down to provide energy to the body. Coffee achieves this via a process of stimulating thermogenesis which helps in breaking down of fats in the body.

Coffee also contains chlorogenic acid (a type of polyphenol) that is able to slow down the process of absorbing carbohydrates and also it helps in the breakdown of fats. Carbohydrates when absorbed can be converted into glycogen fats. This is stored in cells and makes the person appear weight. In this case, when coffee is used it slows down the absorption of carbohydrates meaning only essential amounts are absorbed so there is no excess to be converted into fats.

Despite coffee having these magical properties, don’t go around gobbling jugs of coffee yet. It turns out that our human bodies later develop resistance to these properties of coffee if we overuse it Therefore, it is recommended that we only drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning to achieve the desired results of metabolism reduction properties of coffee. According to a study (Nordestgaard, 2015) conducted on 93,000 subjects, it was observed that coffee reduces the risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes and lowers the risk of a person becoming obese. It is important to note that weight reduction in coffee usage is linked only to black coffee.

Black coffee is known to have low amounts of calories and higher levels of antioxidants. The coffee and butter diet which is basically a double espresso that is eventually blended into a thick froth with each a tablespoon of Kerrygold butter in coffee each and coconut oil is the new coffee craze. The new fad whose fans explain that it comprises of several ingredients is said to increase mental focus, reduce body weight and also burns extra calories. It also leaves you full for the whole half of the day. But, nothing comes without a cost. Newbies into this fad have explained instances of nausea and diarrhea.

For black coffee, it is recommended to have at least a cup of coffee for half an hour or an hour before conducting your exercises. This is a great way of boosting how efficient your workout is It is also said that the effects of coffee in our bodies last for around 3 to 4 hours meaning we can space our black coffee during the day much more comfortable. Finally, low calorie soy milk is recommended as an additive to black coffee if you do not proffer the black color of the beneficial black coffee. It also does not jeopardize your weight loss mission at all.

Although tablecloths have been used since ancient times, they do not have much information about their users.

The Gauls and Romans wore linen tablecloths, sometimes colored. Guests wore their own napkins that were placed near their sofas and used to carry the leftovers from their meals.

The importance of meals in the Judeo-Christian tradition contributed significantly to the development of the tablecloth.

It was in the Middle Ages that tablecloths became more important and were frequently used. They became objects of genuine veneration because they were a mark of nobility of Lords and were only shared with people of the same rank. Most of the tablecloths were decorated with embroidery and fringes. At the same time that simple tablecloths appeared, for example in some taverns, people wiped their hands on a long piece of cloth placed on the edge of the tablecloth.

The fifteenth century saw the emergence of the “touaille”, the ancestor of the napkin. This was a long strip of material more than 13 feet long, folded in two on a rod and glued to the wall like a towel. This was not used frequently.

The napkin as we know it today dates from the sixteenth century but was quite long. It was made of apricot linen and soon became popular.

By this time it was fashionable to fold tablecloths and particularly napkins in the form of birds, animals, and fruits. This tradition lasted more than 200 years.

Until the ninth century, tablecloths and napkins were usually apricots, a material with identical motifs woven in front and back, the name Damascus comes from the city with the same name in Syria. The silk damask was famous, exported from Persia and after Venice for a long time. It was then that the countries of northern Europe, lacking unrefined materials, invented the linen apricot, which was very popular until the early ninth century.

The arrival of cotton revolutionized the damask. Due to the softness of the material its production gradually became industrialized. The tradition of folding napkins gradually disappeared and size declined.

In the twentieth century, the color began to be used at the tables. At first, the tablecloths were pastel colors, to then go to dark and bright colors. The napkins also began to match or contrast with the tablecloths.

After a minimalist period, where the tablecloths and napkins once again became white, colors are again used on the tables.

The chefs, for the most part, wear this uniform almost every day of their lives: a cap, trousers, and a double Filipina. Although these uniforms are similar in the food service industry around the world, little is known about their history. However, the origin and reasons behind the chef’s traditional costume are interesting.

The design of the chef’s uniform almost in its entirety is related to the need. Filipina, for example, is double so that it can be inserted easily and hide the spots that can accumulate throughout the day; The double layer of cotton is also designed to insulate our bodies from the intense heat of the stove or accidental splashes of hot liquid. Even knotted cloth buttons were invented for a reason – cloth supports frequent washing and buttons survive the abuse they often have contact with pots, pans, and other heavy equipment. Although executive chefs often wear black pants, working chefs usually wear pants with black and white squares because they hide the spots better. The necks used today are simply aesthetic,

The traditional chef’s hat, or toque Blanche, is the most distinguished and recognizable of the uniform. It is said that by the sixteenth-century hats were already worn. The artisans of that period (including cooks) were often imprisoned, and in some cases executed because of their free thought.
To avoid persecution, some chefs took refuge in Orthodox churches and were hidden among the priests of the monasteries. There they wore the same clothes as the priests – including their high hats and long suits – except that the chef’s clothes were gray and the priests’ clothing was black.

It was not until the mid-1800’s that chef Marie-Antoine Carême redesigned the uniforms. Carême thought that white was the most appropriate color since it denotes cleaning in the kitchen; Also at this time she and her staff began to use the double Philippines. Carême also thought that the hats should be of various sizes, to distinguish chefs from chefs. The chefs started wearing tall hats and younger chefs wore shorter hats, type cap. Carême herself wore a hat that was 18 inches tall.
The folded pleats of a cap, which later became a feature of the chef’s hat, claim to have been added to indicate more than 100 ways in which a chef can cook an egg.

Escoffier also considered cleaning the chef’s uniform as very important and promoting professionalism. He encouraged his staff to keep uniforms clean and complete at work, and also to wear layers and ties while they were not working. Today many chefs around the world wear the same outfit that 400 years ago. Along with the other inventions in the 50’s were made up paper caps that could be discarded after getting dirty

The chef’s traditional uniform may be the standard for our profession, but it’s definitely not the law. Since the mid-eighties a legion of chef and cooks have begun to wear non-traditional suits, pants cotton and Filipino is increasingly replaced with denim and in some cases are stamped with peppers, flowers and school badges of the kitchen. While some chefs consider this new style as unprofessional, others use it because of the comfort and opportunity to express individuality through their clothes.

Today’s non-traditional uniforms are reminiscent of chef Alexis Soyer, author, inventor and chef of the Reform Club era in London. Soyer was known for having his entire wardrobe, including his work clothes, made by a tailor-made tailor. He wore hats as eccentric as red velvet berets, his Philippines often cut diagonally, with large lapels. He called his individualistic style “à la zoug-zoug” and the more his contemporaries made fun of him, the stranger his clothes were.

As a chef, I adhere to the traditional dress. The uniform and its history are part of our pride. On the other hand, I can also understand a chef’s desire to be expressive. These new uniforms have their place in certain establishments, the restaurants of today. After all, the kitchen is considered a form of theater. Like everything else the chef’s uniform continues to develop, who knows what the future holds in this regard? One thing is certain, however, the image of a cook, in a Filipino and a white cap, is recognized in the world as a professional, and we have our precursors to thank for this.

Free translation of an article originally published in “The National Culinary Review”, by Chef Joe George