How To keep Your Kitchen Clean in 2019

Start of the new year often means new year’s resolutions and changes to our lifestyles. From a healthier diet to de-cluttering the house, we all want to feel fresh and renewed. How about a clean and hygienic start for your kitchen?

Here’s our quick checklist that will help to keep your kitchen clean and hygienic:

Plan Properly

Before you run off to the shops re-stocking for a fresh and healthy start, consider the following tips:

Make room in your fridge bearing in mind you can’t pack the fridge completely as there wouldn’t be space for cool air to circulate and keep your food at the optimal temperature between 1C – 5C.

TIP! Does your fridge come equipped with a thermometer? Great! If not, it might be a good time to invest in one.

1. Alcohol and most of the vegetables can live in a garage, garden shed or laundry room. It’s usually cool enough in these spaces and it will free up valuable fridge space.
2. Raw meat goes at the bottom of the fridge – this guarantees no drips on the rest of the food on the shelves.
3. Check dates on foods regularly – don’t eat foods past their ‘use by date’ even though they might look or smell fine.
4. Stack your fridge in the correct order: cooked and ready to eat foods on the top shelf, raw vegetables and foods in the middle, raw meats with a potential to drip at the bottom.

Be smart with your cooking

Whether you’re hosting a small family dinner or a large party, consider the following:

How many people will be attending? Based on the numbers consider if a whole joint or large piece of meat is necessary as it might put unnecessary pressure on your fridge and on your timings.

Do not wash the meat before cooking – bacteria might splash onto working surfaces and other foods. The cooking process will kill any bacteria, so no need to pre-wash.

Always cook your meat thoroughly, making sure:

1. The meat is steaming hot all the way through, the thermometer inserted into the thickest part should reach 70C for longer than two continuous minutes.
2. No pinkness is showing even when cutting into the thickest part of the meat.
3. Juices are running clear when the meat is cut or you press a thigh.

Care For Your Kitchen

1. Ensure you clean and disinfect worktops, chopping boards and utensils after each contact with raw meat.
2. Keep raw food separate from ready-to-eat food to prevent cross contamination.
3. Wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food and after handling raw meat/ raw foods.
4. Keep pets out of the kitchen.
5. Use a dishwasher if you have one available, they are a great way to hygienically clean the dishes. Otherwise, use very hot and soapy water and let the dishes air dry if you have space – this will help to destroy any harmful bacteria.

Lovely Leftovers

1. Cool leftovers quickly (ideally within 2 hours) and put covered up into a fridge – anything left out at room temperature for longer than 4 hours must be thrown away.
2. Use within 2 days – reheating thoroughly before eating.
3. If you can’t use them up, freeze them up.
4. When cooking with leftover meats, you can freeze the new meal (such as curry) as well, ensuring it’s cooled properly.
5. When defrosting the leftovers, make sure they are defrosted overnight in the fridge as this will keep them free of harmful bacteria.
6. Reheat any leftovers thoroughly, if you use a thermometer this should show 75C in the centre of the portion.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our quick and easy tips to keep your kitchen clean in 2019.

As a specialist Trovex installer, we understand how important hygiene and cleanliness for the kitchen, the home and any other work environment. 

If you’d like to know more contact us now!