Don’t throw those leftovers away, you can safely store them for another meal or snack. Here are 5 tips for storage that help keep your food safe to eat and tasting fresh.
Store single portions in shallow, airtight containers
Separate meat and vegetables
Freeze, or refrigerate within 2 hours of serving
Consume between 2-4 days of refrigerating
Reheat to 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving
Enjoy our series of Kitchen Basics to keep you safer at home in the kitchen while cooking meals you love.
Pasta's easy to make. It’s delicious by itself or paired with your favorite meat or salad. Cooking with natural gas is the first step in preparing the perfect pasta. The best chefs choose it to instantly adjust heat and to cook foods at the right temperature. Quick Tips: A wooden spoon across the top of your pot can prevent boil-overs. Add a dab of oil to your water to keep the pasta from sticking together.
Fill pot with enough water to cover pasta
Heat water until it boils
Add salt
Add pasta and stir
Cook pasta for 6-8 minutes
Reserve one cup of pasta water
Taste pasta for doneness
Use a colander to drain
Return cooked pasta to pot and add sauce
Add some reserved pasta water to help sauce stick to pasta
Eggs are versatile and a great protein-packed meal any time of day. How should you make them? We’ll show you 3 ways. Hard-boiled, scrambled, fried.
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Boil eggs for 9-10 minutes
Remove eggs and put them in ice water
Peel and enjoy
Beat eggs in a bowl
Add to preheated greased pan
Gently stir over medium heat
Cook until eggs are firm
Cook eggs on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes per side
Flip
Cook until desired doneness
When preparing food, cleaning and sanitizing are important steps not to forget. Bacteria you can’t see can make you sick and spread to other foods and surfaces. There are lots of homemade and commercial products you can use! It’s important to remember some cleaners and sanitizers require food surfaces to be rinsed after so make sure to follow manufacturer instructions.
Wash hands with warm water for at least 20 seconds
Disinfect all work surfaces with food-safe disinfectant (follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the label. Some commercial sanitizers require food surfaces to be rinsed after using.)
Keep meats and vegetables separate
Wash hands after handling raw meat
Clean all surfaces and utensils with soap and warm water
Disinfect all work surfaces
Cooking at home has become the new norm for most of us. With so many choices on thawing meat, you may be wondering which way is the safest. Thawing meat the right way will leave your meat ready to cook and safe to eat. This quick video shows you how and includes a simple chart of safe internal temperatures for different types of meat. Enjoy our series of Kitchen Basics to keep you safer at home in the kitchen while cooking meals you love.
For refrigerated thawing, place meat on plate or tray and put in fridge for 12 hours or overnight
To use cool water to thaw, place frozen meat in bowl and fill with cool water; reduce water to trickle to circulate and thaw meat quicker (often in as little as 15 minutes)
Cook immediately
Make sure to cook all meat to safe internal temperatures
Download this Simple Chart for Safe Internal Meat Temperatures.
