While safe food preparation is a good call any time of year, it’s particularly important when it comes to big holiday meals. Whether it’s a giant turkey for Thanksgiving, a fresh ham for Christmas, or the meal of choice for whatever your family celebrates, you want to make sure anything you make is kept safe and fresh during all steps of the preparation process. We’ve got some tips here that can apply to most big holiday meals to make sure your food stays fresh and your family stays safe!
Proper Storage
The first step in safe meal preparation is making sure everything is stored correctly before the cooking can begin. If you need to keep anything in the refrigerator, standard food safety guidelines suggest keeping your fridge set at a temperature of 40° Fahrenheit to maintain freshness and quality. Anything that doesn’t need to be refrigerated should be kept safely away from refrigerated foods on their own wire shelving unit to prevent cross-contamination and ensure freshness.
Safe Clean Surfaces
This one sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t leave time for this step. Anything you’re going to need to keep clean for cooking on, from countertops to kitchen islands to baker’s racks will need to be thoroughly disinfected before the cooking can begin, and occasionally cleaned during the entire cooking process. Spray your surfaces down with your favorite green cleaner and wipe them down, and while you’re cooking make sure to keep some easy cleaning wipes handy to attend to spills or accidents.
Keep Cold Foods Cold And Hot Foods Hot
Depending on how much you’re cooking, you’ll want to pace yourself and make a list to ensure everything stays the right temperature. Make all of your cold dishes (or at least anything that doesn’t need to stay hot) first so you can store them in your fridge or take them straight out to the table, and save any of the cooked or hot dishes for last so they stay warm. This will both help prevent bacteria growth on anything you need to thaw out, and make sure correct temperature is maintained for both freshness and safety. Speaking of thawing…
Proper Thawing Procedure
In order to prevent bacteria growth and keep your turkey (or whatever your main course consists of) fresh and delicious, you’ll want to set aside plenty of time to thaw your turkey out, and make sure you thaw it right away before cooking. Depending on the size of your turkey and your available equipment, you can either thaw it by keeping it in the fridge, putting it in the microwave, or keeping it in a pot of cold water. Whatever method you go with, make sure to put it in the oven as soon as the thawing is completed to prevent bacteria growth, which can begin as soon as you start the thawing process.
Whatever holiday your family celebrates, everyone will benefit from safe food preparation and handling techniques. We hope you have a happy, safe, and relaxing Thanksgiving!