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Handling And Cooking Food
The correct handling and cooking of foods keeps your family safe. Follow these guidelines to prevent food-borne illness.
Thaw meat and poultry in the refrigerator or in a microwave oven, never at room temperature.
Cook thawed meat and poultry immediately.
Do not eat uncooked marinades used for marinating meat, poultry, or fish. Throw away any leftover uncooked marinade.
Cook ground meat patties and meatloaf until the centers are no longer pink and the juices run clear. All patties should be cooked well done.
Crumbled ground meat or poultry should be cooked or sautéed until all the pink color is gone.
Use a meat thermometer to determine if meats are cooked thoroughly by placing it in the thickest section of the meat, not touching any bone or fat.
Safe temperatures are as follows:
Poultry: 180 to 185 F (82 to 85 C)
Pork: 137 F (58 C)
Ground beef patties and loaves: 160 F (71 C)
Ground poultry patties and loaves: 165 F (74 C)
Cooked leftovers should be reheated to a temperature of at least 165 F (74 C).
When broiling, grilling, or cooking meats on the stove, turn them over at least once.
Microwave all meats with a cover. Do the following during the microwaving process:
For patties: turn patties over and rotate dish midway through cooking.
For loaves: rotate dish midway through cooking.
For ground meats: stir once or twice.
Microwaved loaves should stand for about 5 to 7 minutes to finish cooking; consult your microwave oven manual for the exact amount of time. When baking, the oven temperature should be no lower than 325 F (163 C).
Do not allow raw eggs to stand at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Cook eggs thoroughly until all parts of the egg are firm. Never serve raw eggs or homemade foods that contain raw eggs, such as cookie dough, mayonnaise, and eggnog.
Scrub all fruits and vegetables with plain water to remove dirt and any residue from pesticides.
Remove the outer leaves of leafy vegetables like lettuce or spinach.
Kissing don't last: cookery do.
George Meredith
Americans who use the expression "as American as apple pie" ought to pay an import tax on it. Apple pie, in its origins at least, is about as American as fois de gras. William the Conqueror brought apple pie with him from France when he invaded England in 1066. English colonists brought the dish to the New World.
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