Shelf-stable foods

From the USDA, some interesting facts about Shelf-Stable foods and cans

What does "shelf stable" mean?Foods that can be safely stored at room temperature, or "on the shelf," are called "shelf stable." These non-perishable products include jerky, country hams, canned and bottled foods, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, spices, oils, and foods processed in aseptic or retort packages and other products that do not require refrigeration until after opening.

Not all canned goods are shelf stable. Some canned food, such as some canned ham and seafood, are not safe at room temperature. These will be labeled "Keep Refrigerated."

How does canning make food shelf stable?Food is placed in airtight, vacuum-sealed containers and heat processed at 250 °F (121 °C) to destroy microorganisms and inactivates enzymes. As the food cools, a vacuum seal is formed that prevents any new bacteria from getting in. Once the container is opened, however, bacteria can enter and begin growing in the food. Any unused portions must then be refrigerated in clean containers.

Do cans contain lead?The canned food industry in the United States stopped using lead-soldered cans in 1991. In 1995, the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule prohibiting the use of lead solder in all food cans, including imported products.

Is it safe to use rusted canned foods?Discard heavily rusted cans. Cans that are heavily rusted can have tiny holes in them, allowing bacteria to enter. Surface rust that you can remove by rubbing with your finger or a paper towel is not serious.

Is it safe to use food from dented cans?If a can containing food has a small dent, but is otherwise in good shape, the food should be safe to eat. Discard deeply dented cans. A deep dent is one that you can lay your finger into. Deep dents often have sharp points. A sharp dent on either the top or side seam can damage the seam and allow bacteria to enter the can. Discard any can with a deep dent on any seam.

If a can hisses when opened, is the food safe to eat?Some cans make a hissing sound when opened because they are vacuum-packed and the noise is a result of air pressure. This is perfectly normal. However, if a can hisses loudly or the contents spurt forcefully out of the can when opened, it may be an indication that the food is unsafe. Do not taste or use such food.

Is the dating of shelf-stable foods required by federal law?Except for infant formula and some baby food, product dating — having a "use-by," "sell-by," or "best-if-used-by" date — is not required by Federal regulations. Dating is for quality, not safety.

What makes fruit rippen?

Our fridge at home has two drawers at the bottom, one marked fruit, the other vegetables. I thought this was just decorative but it turns out there is a good reason for storing fruits and vegetables separately. Many fruits generate ethylene gas while they ripen; ethylene (C₂H₄) is odorless, colorless and natural. The refrigerator acts as a trap for ethylene gas which can lead to early spoilage of gas sensitive fruits and leafy veggies like lettuce.  By understanding this process you can force some items to ripen faster or prevent other items from spoiling quickly.

Ethylene's affect on fruit was discovered by accident when lemon growers learned that newly harvested green lemons ripened faster when kept warm in kerosene heaters sheds. But the lemons no longer turned yellow in time for shipping in new eclectically heated sheds. In 1959 researchers found that the secret ingredient was not the heat but ethylene gas emitted by the kerosene heaters.

The Ethylene-producing fruits include: (VH=very high, H = high, M = medium, L = low, VL = very low)

• Apples (VH)
• Apricots (H)
• Avocados (H)
• Bananas (M)
• Blueberries (L production, also L sensitivity)
• Cantaloupes (H)
• all Citrus (VH, except for grapefruit VL)
• Honeydew melons (M)
• Kiwis (L production but H sensitivity)
• Mangoes (M)
• Nectarines (H)
• Papayas (H)
• Peaches (H)
• Pears (H)
• Plums (M)

The Ethylene-sensitive fruits and vegetables are:

• All the fruit listed above, and...
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Green beans
• Lettuce, Kale and other greens
• Parsley
• Peas
• Peppers
• Potatoes 
• Spinach
• Summer squash
• Sweet potatoes and yams
• Watermelons

Note that the ethylene producing fruits are also ethylene sensitive. If you put bananas in a closed bag they will ripen faster as the gas builds up inside the bag.

Refrigerated fruits and vegetables should be kept in perforated plastic bags in different produce drawers of the refrigerator. You can either purchase perforated plastic bags or easily make your own by poking small holes in unperforated plastic bags (about 20 holes per medium-size bag).

What a Crock!

We've owned a crock pot for decades, never using it, gathering dust on our shelf of unused appliances. Then my wife saw a good deal on a pork roast for "pulled pork" and bought it. We've never done that either so she asked a friend who gave us a pulled pork recipe which required a crock pot. We followed instructions and waited, and waited. After several hours the meat still looked raw. We waited more hours - and finally the meat was cooked and did pull apart easily with a fork. We added a sauce that was wonderful and my wife is eager to try it again.

This got me to wondering, is a crock pot safe? How can meat be raw for hours in a warm environment and not develop food poisoning? The answer is in the temperature.

The low or warm setting is 71–74 °C [160–165 °F] and the high is usually 175–200 °F. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bacteria in food is killed at a temperature of 165°F. Beef/pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 170° as high as 190°F in poultry. With a crock pot you are cooking right on the edge of safety, just high enough to kill bacteria but not enough to burn food. Be sure to follow cooking directions, for instance cooking poultry on low would not be safe.

I saw a comment online that opening the lid of a crock pot lowers the temperature and that you should add 20 minutes cooking each time you lift the lid.

Bottom Line

Have fun with crock pots but follow instructions. It's not a bad idea to test the internal temperature of meat to make sure it's in the safe zone.

Daylight Savings Time this Weekend!

This weekend, Saturday night/Sunday morning at 2 am is Daylight Savings Time when we "Spring forward" and set the clocks ahead by one hour. Daylight Savings Time is also a great time to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms and refresh the contents of Go-Kits.

Bottom Line

My wife & I were checking out our smoke alarms last weekend. A cake had spilled in the oven, onto the heating elements, and the kitchen became slightly smoky. But no alarm sounded. So we put in a new battery and tested the alarm - no sound. We tested the battery - it was still good.  We tried the battery in another smoke alarm - no sound. At this point we were quite puzzled. What was going on? Then my wife figured it out - just pressing the test button was not enough, we had to press and hold the test button to trigger the alarm. Ah! Mystery solved.

Don’t Touch – It’s Hot!

Did you know children under the age of five account for fifty-two percent of all child fire deaths?

Did you also know young children’s skin is thinner than older children and adults, and their skin burns at lower temperatures and more deeply?

Since burns are recognized as one of the most painful and devastating injuries a person can sustain and survive, we want to arm you with the tools to keep the children in your community safe from this devastating injury.

Learn more about Burn Awareness Week and the role you can play to prevent injuries at home, at play, and on the way!

Bottom Line

Don't you hate it when you get an email for a event that's in the past? I just received an email from FEMA about Fire Safety Week, which was last week. Oh well, information about safety does not expire.

Kitchen Fires

“Fire is never a gentle master”
-Proverb

One of the most common causes of home fires is cooking in the kitchen. Perhaps you forget something on the stove or overheat grease/oil which alights in flame. Grease fires are extremely dangerous because the grease is easily splashed, burns very hot and can quickly spread to cabinets or other areas of the kitchen.

Here's some tips on dealing with stove top fires from SurvivalBlog.com.

• NEVER throw flour on a fire. Flour dust is combustible and the flour "cloud" you create can "flash".
• Sugar is also flammable - don't toss onto a flame. 
• NEVER pour or throw water onto flaming oil (600 to 800 F). The water will "explode" into steam (212 F) and spray the flaming oil.
• USE baking soda [not baking powder] or salt in quantity to smother a flame.
• Most professional chefs keep a pan lid or wet towel near the stove to cover a pan fire. But beware, if the flames are tall you may burn your arms and hands trying to put the lid on the pan.
• NEVER move a flaming pan away from the stove. The contents could splash out or flare over your hand causing you to drop it.
• NEVER pour flaming oil down the sink. It will damage most modern plumbing.
• NEVER use a turkey fryer indoors

Bottom Line

Know how to put a small fire. But also know when to run.

"Unless the fire is small and you have an extinguishing method on hand CALL FOR HELP FIRST! Evacuate, then fight the fire." - survivalblog

Kitchen fire extinguishers won't last long and won't put out a fire bigger than your stove top. Fire spreads quickly so if you at first you don't succeed, DON'T try again. Get out.

The Dark Side of Chicken Soup

“In August it will be so hot
I will become a cooking pot
cooking soup of course. Why not?
Cooking once, cooking twice
cooking chicken soup with rice.”
-Chicken Soup With Rice, by Maurice Sendak

Chicken soup is world renown as healthy and helpful - there's chicken soup when you're sick and chicken soup for the soul. But are you aware that chicken soup also has an evil, dark side? As reported by NPR in the story "Why Burn Doctors Hate Instant Soup", instant soups are a common cause of serious burns and scalds; with noodle soups the worst offender.

"Noodle soup is strangely perfect for delivering a serious burn. The sticky noodles cling to the skin, which leads to deeper, more severe burns, ... hospital stays for upper body noodle-soup burns are more than twice as long as scalds from hot liquids alone."

Part of the problem is allowing a child to cook or eat something that is scalding hot. The heat may come from a microwave or boiling hot water added to the soup. And even if your child is well-trained and super cautious, the problem with some instant soups is their cup shape with a narrow base make them prone to tipping. The soup is accidentally spilled and splashed with the noodles clinging and burning. The Chief of Burns at Shriner's Hospital for Children in Northern California examined several popular brands for the amount of tilt it takes to tip the soup.

The Burn Chief contacted Nissin and manufacturers of the "tippiest" cups with a simple suggesting, turn the cups upside down so they open on the narrow end like Yoplait yogurt. None of the companies responded according to NPR.

Bottom Line

"I don't have them in my house," says Dr. Warren Garner, director of the burn unit at University of Southern California's County Hospital in Los Angeles. "I would say that we see at least two to three patients a week who've been injured by these products."  - NPR story

If you buy instant soup, buy one that is bowl shaped with a wide base to reduce the risk of tipping over and scalding. And write to the makers of the tippy cups to let them know why you won't buy their product again.

10 DIY Projects

“A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life: he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

PartSelect.com features 10 Maintenance Tips You Can Do In Under 10 Minutes.

1. Verify Oven Door Has Tight Seal
2. Clean or Replace Dirty [Oven] Vent Filters
3. Clean Stovetop Drip Bowls
4. Clean Coils In Your Refrigerator
5. Change Refrigerator Water Filter
6. Fix Rusty Dishrack Tines [I'll add clean your dishrack]
7. Clean and Deodorize Garbage Disposal
8. Clean Dryer Exhaust  [Lint is a fire hazard!]
9. Inspect Washing Machine Hoses [We have a leak in ours]
10. Clean Your Air Conditioner Filter

Bottom Line

See http://www.partselect.com/JustForFun/Ten-Maintenance-Tips-You-Can-Do-In-Under-Ten-Minutes.aspx for details.

Dirty Foods

“The more serious the illness, the more important it is for you to fight back, mobilizing all your resources-spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical.”
- Norman Cousins

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 200,000 Americans experience food poisoning every day. This number could be as high as 800,000, according to Philip Tierno, author of The Secret Life of Germs. "Everyone in this country will get sick at least once this year from a foodborne virus, bacteria, or toxin," he says. But we may not know it and blame the mild symptoms—nausea, diarrhea, cramping—to a stomach flu.

Where do these germs come from? MensHealth.com identifies the “10 Dirtiest Foods.”  I’ll cover some highlights but be sure to read the entire article for all the details.

1. Chicken: Don’t be fooled by commercials of Perdue chickens enjoying a good life. Most chickens are raised in very dirty coops under crowded conditions. As a result, one in 10 chickens carry germs that can make you ill. To protect yourself
- Buy free range chickens which are raised (supposedly) in cleaner environments
- Do not wash chickens or chicken parts in the sink. This spreads the germs to anything that touches the sink. Instead put the chicken directly into a pan/pot and let heat kill the germs.
- Chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 180°F. Use a thermometer – don’t trust the color of juice when pricked.
- If the chicken touched a cutting board, clean the board and knife with a mild, diluted bleach solution.

2. Eggs: pasteurization has reduced the risk of dirty eggs to 1 in 200,000. But given the millions of eggs consumed in America, eggs sicken an estimated 660,000 people annually and kill 300.
- Only buy pasteurized eggs.
- Never use a cracked egg in a carton.
- Store eggs in the coldest part of your fridge (not in the fridge door).
- Wash your hands after handling eggs.
- Cook eggs to 160°F

3. Hamburger: In one USDA test, 53% of the ground chuck examined was infected with Clostridium perfringens which can cause illness.
- Buy beef that is "treated by irradiation" to kill germs
- 1 Tbsp. of Fresh oregano can kill E. coli in one pound of beef
- Cook beef to 160°F

4. Fresh fruit – because most fruit is eaten raw, any germs on the outside will not be killed by cooking. For example, Cantaloupe grows on the ground and has a netted exterior that makes it easy for Salmonella to sneak on; and once on it's hard to clean off.
- Clean the exterior of all fruits prior to eating. Wash your hands afterwards.
- Washing fruits will also remove any pesticides that were sprayed on.

5. Fresh vegetables : my mother is paranoid about washing lettuce. She grew up on a farm and has seen how dirty field conditions are for the produce and the workers. You also want to wash spinach and scallions thoroughly..
- "Just because something is wrapped in cellophane doesn't mean it's free of pathogens." Don’t be lulled by claims of being "triple washed."

6. Deli Meats: cold cuts have been labeled "high risk" of causing listeriosis by a joint team of researchers from the USDA, FDA, and CDC. The Listeria germ grows rapidly on cut meat even with ideal refrigeration; and then the cold cut is eaten without further cooking. The most likely source of Listeria-contaminated cold cuts is the deli slicer. Without regular cleaning, the blade can transfer bacteria from roast beef to turkey to pastrami and back.
- Toss any meat that is a week old
- Slather on the mustard. Researchers found that mustard killed off 90 percent of three potent pathogens—Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella—within 2 hours.

Bottom Line

We like to think the food we buy is clean but the truth is that it’s not. The advice above will help prevent some common sources of illness.

Turkey Fires

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.  -Edward Sandford Martin

I hope and pray you did not burn down your house this Thanksgiving. It does happen as FEMA warns ...

2,000 Thanksgiving Day fires occur annually in residential buildings in the United States, resulting in an average of five deaths, 25 injuries and $21 million in property. The leading cause of these Thanksgiving Day fires is cooking (typically in the afternoon hours from noon to 4 p.m).  Unfortunately, smoke alarms were not present in 20 percent of Thanksgiving Day fires.

"Disasters can happen any time, any where, but some emergencies at home can be avoided by taking a few simple steps for safety," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.  "And don't forget this holiday season, while gathered around the table with family and friends, is a great time to talk about your family emergency plan, and what you would do in the case of a disaster." 

  

The US Fire Agency suggests these safety cooking tips: 

• Make sure you have smoke alarms on every level of your home, outside each sleeping area, and in every bedroom.  Test smoke alarms monthly and replace them if they are 10 years old or older.
• Keep a close watch on your cooking.  You should never leave cooking food unattended.
• Keep oven food packaging and other combustibles away from burners and heat sources.
• Heat cooking oil slowly and watch it closely; it can ignite quickly.
• Don't wear loose sleeves while working over hot stove burners - they can melt, ignite or catch on handles of pots and pans spilling hot oil and other liquids.
• Have a "kid-free zone" of at least three-feet around the stove and areas where hot foods or drinks are prepared or carried.
• Keep a lid nearby to smother small grease fires.  Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop.  Leave the pan covered until it is completely cool.

Deep-fried turkey has quickly grown in popularity but safety experts are concerned that backyard chefs may be sacrificing fire safety for good taste.  If you absolutely must use a turkey fryer, please use the following tips:

Turkey fryers should always be used outdoors a safe distance from buildings and any other flammable materials.

• Never use turkey fryers in a garage or on a wooden deck.
• Make sure the fryers are used on a flat surface to reduce accidental tipping.
• Never leave the fryer unattended.  Most units do not have thermostat controls.  If you do not watch the fryer carefully, the oil will continue to heat until it catches fire.
• Never let children or pets near the fryer even if it is not in use.  The oil inside the cooking pot can remain dangerously hot hours after use.
• To avoid oil spillover, do not overfill the fryer.
• Use well-insulated potholders or oven mitts when touching pot or lid handles.  If possible, wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from oil splatter.
• Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and be careful with marinades. Oil and water do not mix, and water causes oil to spill over causing a fire or even an explosion hazard.
• The National Turkey Federation (NTF) recommends thawing the turkey in the refrigerator approximately 24 hours for every five pounds in weight.
• Keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher nearby.  Never use water to extinguish a grease fire.  If the fire is manageable, use your all-purpose fire extinguisher.  If the fire increases, immediately call the fire department for help.

Bottom Line

"Thanksgiving marks the start of a very busy time for all firefighters," said Acting Fire Administrator Glenn Gaines.  "Holiday decorations, heating, and increased indoor cooking all present just some of the causes of residential fires. Your place of residence should be the safest place of all. Protect it with working smoke alarms and know what to do if a fire should occur."

How to Use a Fire Extinguisher

I fell into a burning Ring of Fire,
I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher
and it burns, burns, burns, the Ring of Fire.
- “Ring Of Fire” lyrics, Johnny Cash

To use a Fire Extinguisher, remember PASS:

Pull the Pin
Aim at the Base
Squeeze the Lever
Sweep from side to side.

Most extinguishers have a pull pin or ring to prevent accidental discharge. Begin by pulling out that pin. Next aim at the bottom of the fire. Blowing away the flames at the top of a fire is pointless when there’s a hot base of burning material that keeps generating more flames. You want to cool and smother the fuel of the fire. Now squeeze the lever slowly to shoot out the “foam”. Extinguishers empty quickly (about 10 seconds) so aim wisely and well – don’t rush it; don’t panic. And don’t shoot just at one spot; sweep back and forth to cover the entire base of the fire.

If the heat of the fire is too hot for you get near, then the fire is too big for your extinguisher. Call 9-1-1 before trying to put out a fire so help is on the way. Leave yourself an exit, don’t allow the fire to surround you and trap you.

Be sure you’re using the right kind of extinguishers. Most home types are rated ABC and use a chemical foam as the agent.

A – wood, paper and normal combustibles. Water works well here

B – Oil, grease or fuel fires. Never use water (Oil & Water don’t mix!). Burning oil will just float atop water or spatter and spread.

C – electrical fires. Again, no water – you could shock yourself.

Once the fire is out, don't walk away! Watch the area for a few minutes in case it re-ignites.

Don’t forget to buy a new extinguisher or recharge your old one immediately after use.

Bottom Line

Practice with an old extinguisher to get the feel of it. CERT provides hands-on fire training as so some fire departments. Don’t wait for a real fire to be your first time using an extinguisher.

Resources

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Fire-Extinguisher
http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com/using.html
http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com/
http://www.fireextinguisher.com/intro.html?language=en&industry=other

Induction Stovetops

“God will provide the victuals, but He will not cook the dinner”- Proverb

There are five primary ways to cook food in a home:

1. Fireplace cooking (rustic but fun)
2. Gas stove/oven (same principle as a fireplace but you control the flame)
3. Electric stove/oven (using the “waste” heat of an electrical circuit)
4. Induction (magnetic field)
5. Microwave (waves vibrate food molecules)

Of these methods only a Microwave cooks the food directly. Typically all other methods first heat a cooking vessel and the vessel then cooks the food. Think of the times you wait for a skillet to warm up or burn something because the pan is too hot.

In this post I want to discuss Induction stoves. My wife & I were looking at new stoves the other day and most of the stoves on display were Induction. Neither of us has ever used one. How do they work? [The numbers below match the picture]

1. The “burners” (or more accurately called the “elements”) pulse electricity through copper coils to create an oscillating magnetic field.

2. The field extends just above the element and into the metal of the cooking vessel. This creates an electric current INSIDE your pan/pot, which generates heat. Essentially the cooking vessel becomes an electric heating element.

3. The heat of the pan/pot cooks the food.

4. Nothing outside the cooking vessel is affected by the magnetic field.

In order for Induction to work, the cooking vessel must react to magnetism. That’s yes for iron and steel, no to materials like aluminum, copper, and Pyrex. If you’re not sure, try the magnet test. A vessel is ferrous (i.e. subject to magnetism) if a magnet will stick to it.

Induction Pros

• Heat faster with the fine control of gas cooking.
• More energy-efficient than traditional cooktops (90% vs 70% for electrical units)
• Safer. The hottest thing is the pan itself, not a flame or an electrical element which can be quite hot.
• Cleaner – ever try to clean a spill on an electric element? The induction element surface is perfectly flat and wipable.
• In Consumer Reports, 2008, induction appliances outscored gas and electrical ovens.

Cons

• Won’t be able to use your copper, aluminum or Pyrex pots
• Pot & pans need to have a flat base to make contact with the magnetic field. A rounded Wok won’t work so well. (I did read that China makes rounded induction elements just for woks!)
• Pans heat really fast! Say 10 seconds. This would normally be considered a plus but it also means you’re likely to burn some food until you get used to it. It is suggested that you always put some oil or liquid in the pan before turning on the heat – this will help buffer the heat.
• The Induction magnetic fields could interfere with a pacemaker or defibrillator.
• Metal jewelry like rings and bracelets can become hot if your hand hovers over an active element. Many modern induction units have sensors and only activate the magnetic field when a “lot” of metal is detected – a pot’s worth instead of a ring or bracelet.
• Noise – some induction stovetops have an internal fan to keep the electrical parts of the elements cool. Some pot and pans will hum or buzz on an induction stove.

Bottom Line

While there is no “flame” with Induction cooking you still have to take precautions. The metal pan will become hot and will still burn you. When you pick the pan up, the stovetop that was directly under the pan is still hot from the heat of the pan and needs a moment to cool before the stovetop is safe to touch.

Resources:
http://theinductionsite.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooker

Open Hearth Cooking

"While rewarding in so many other ways, authentic fireplace cooking ... is a tedious, time consuming, physically demanding, dirty, and somewhat dangerous endeavor" - SpitJack.com

At this time of year we sing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. It's fun, it's beautiful, it's nostalgic, and it's inherently dangerous. Let's start with the Safety Rules before discussing Open Hearth Cooking.

1. Never leave a fire unattended. If you must step away, place a fireproof screen to cover the fire place.
2. Keep your chimney clean. Chimney fires, while rather infrequent, can be frightening and even result in burning down your home.
3. Do not burn pine or evergreen logs. Pine emits creosote when burned, and creosote buildup is the main cause of chimney fires.
4. Keep the area near the fire clear of any thing flammable. Sparks can jump many feet out of the fire place.
5. Keep the hearth clean of grease to avoid grease fires. Use drip pans when roasting or boiling to prevent the grease from dripping directly on the hearth.
6. Keep a bucket full of water and a fire extinguisher near the fire place.

The first secret to enjoying Hearth Cooking is building a proper fire. You must skillfully build and maintain a very hot fire using heavy hardwood.Don’t skimp with the wood when starting the fire because you want lots of embers and coals to develop. Don't skimp on time either. It can take a hour or more to get the right fire conditions with lots of ember, little to no flames.

Once built, you must maintain the fire by poking about it, shoveling hot embers to and fro, and feeding it from both the front and the back. Place the largest log against the back wall. When it burns down in size, pull it towards the front and replace it with another large log. The rest of the time you feed smaller replacement logs from the front.

Improvisation sits at the heart of hearth cooking. You can make stand for kebabs, a grill, a frying pan, a griddle, or a pot by placing embers between bricks. Many foods like Flat Bread and Roasted Onions can be cooked directly on the embers. Other foods can be baked buried in hot ash, either directly, such as potatoes or Ash Cakes, or wrapped in oiled paper, large leaves, or clay.

Don't use your expensive copper bottom stove set! It could melt. For Hearth Cooking you need cast iron skillets and pots. These are heavy and the handles are always very hot but they are nearly indestructible. The best pots are called "Dutch Ovens". You can buy them with feet so you can shovel embers beneath the pot and with flat lids with a raised lip so you can pile embers on top of the pot. Dutch Ovens are used to cook NEAR to the fire, not IN the fire. To cook over the fire itself you'll want a crane or fireplace hook from which you can suspend pots.

Bottom Line

Open-Hearth cooking was the way to cook for centuries before the wood burning stove was invented. But as the quote at top notes, Hearth Cooking can be dangerous both to you (scalds & burns) and to your house (fire). I don't recommend learning this by trial and error. Learn from past experience through books, The Magic of Fire, The open-hearth cookbook, and with classes at Historical sites like this one in Camden, NJ.

Kitchen Fires

"The diner is everybody’s kitchen." - Richard Gutman

While I love eating at diners, with the currently financial crisis, I'll be eating more meals at home to save money. Yet as noted yesterday, cooking fires in the kitchen are the number one cause of home fires. So if I'm not careful I could save the cost of a meal out and lose my home in exchange.

A common mistake is to forget you have a pot on the stove. In college I fell asleep while cooking and woke up later to find the bottom of the pot had melted, the metal liquefied around the electric burner. Another time while living in a college apartment complex I woke up smelling smoke and called the fire department. We evacuated and the firemen searched the apartments before finding a pot on a stove downstairs which was burning.

Here are some recommendations from the National Wellness Institute for safe cooking:

• Keep combustible items, such as rags, potholders, curtains and bags, away from cooking surfaces.
  [I make it a habit NEVER to put anything that can burn on the stove top regardless of whether the burner is on or off.]
• Never leave food cooking unattended on the stove top or in the oven
• Never cook if you are drowsy or feel the effects of alcohol, medication, or other drugs.
• Roll up your sleeves and don’t cook while wear loose-fitting clothing. If your clothes catch on fire, stop, drop and roll until the fire is out.
• Clean cooking equipment often to remove grease that could catch on fire.
• Keep children and pets away from cooking areas. Create a three-foot “kid-free zone” around the stove.

Bottom Line

It is so very easy to get distracted while cooking. Perhaps the phone rings or there is someone at the door. Perhaps you're cooking and watching TV or a movie or on the Internet. If your food does catch on fire here is what you do:

1. Use your kitchen fire extinguisher (you have one right?)

2. Don't throw water on the fire. Water and grease don't mix so you'll just spread the fire.

3. Fires need air to burn so try to smother the fire: put a lid on the pot or cover it with some thing that won't burn.

4. If the fire is bigger than a basketball, get out of the house. Don't die trying to save your house.

5. Beware of fumes if you are fighting the fire. Most often it is smoke, not flame, that kills. The smoke can knock you unconscious and you'll die from asphyxiation (and then burn).