When you think about food safety and food poisoning, a few things usually come to mind: raw chicken, salmonella and eggs and cross-contamination. True, these are all significant food safety issues, but there is a lot more to food safety than these three things.
Today we’re focusing on baking. With the colder weather of winter upon us, it’s a lovely time to switch the oven on and get cooking. Whether it’s biscuits, cakes or bread, there are some important things to remember to keep you and your family safe from the risks of food poisoning.
Before you get started
- Make sure your kitchen and utensils are clean and free of grime
- Check your ingredients are within their use-by dates
- Be mindful of cross-contamination between raw foods and ready-to-eat foods when you’re storing them
- Wash your hands with soap and water
While you’re baking
- Keep your workspace tidy and clean up as you go
- Use separate cutting boards, being especially careful between ready to eat foods and raw foods
- Place your cooling racks away from where raw dough, batter or egg wash were made
- Keep your bowls and utensils separate, especially those which had raw dough or batter in them
- Don’t consume raw ingredients, dough or batter (many contain raw egg, which should never be eaten)
- Ensure your baked goods are cooked all the way through, check they are done at the very centre (try using a toothpick or skewer to test)
- Only use an egg wash before cooking, discard leftovers if not used
After baking
- Pop perishable baked goods like pies, tarts filled with custard, cream-filled treats and pizza in the fridge
- Leftover biscuit, scone, pie and bread dough may be refrigerated or frozen for use later
Need some baking inspiration?
- Try these easy to make, but very impressive, almond and pear tarts
- After something a little more savoury? Give these chicken and herb biscuits a go (they’re sort of like scones on top of a casserole!)
- Get the kids involved with these easy and healthy sugar-free breakfast muffins
June 13, 2018