Knives – they are sharp, they are necessary, and they can be dangerous. Here is how to cut your food to perfect while leaving your fingers out of the mix.

• Keep your knives both sharp and clean – this is almost counter-intuitive, but a sharp knife is safer than a dull one. Why? Because you don’t have to force the knife through the food or use a weird angle. Sharp knives should cut food easily in the way you intend, preventing slippage and cuts. And cleanliness is always key to killing bacteria and preserving your food.
  

• Keep your fingers out of there! Professional cutlery or regular knives are supposed to be sharp to cut your food, not you! It is a good idea to hold your vegetables and meats with your fingers tucked behind your knuckles, with your thumb behind your fingers.
  

• Wipe knives clean away from your body.
  

• Do NOT catch a falling knife!
  

• Always return knives to their proper place. This means never leave a knife in the sink. Some of the worst cuts are received by reaching into a pot only to find a sharp knife standing up waiting for your fingers. Consider kitchen knife sets with convenient wood block storage units.
  

Kitchen Cutting boards – this is more of an interesting fact than a hint. There is an old-wives tale that plastic cutting boards are safer than wooden ones because the pores in wood allow bacteria to grow. Recent studies, however, have shown that bacteria on wood actually die in three hours while bacteria on plastic grow! Now, there is obviously counter-information defending plastic boards, but keep this interesting data in your mind when buying your next board.

Hot Stuff – along with cuts, burns are a painful occurrence in the kitchen that can easily be avoided.

• Use the lid as a shield! Steam can be very painful, especially in your eyes. When uncovering a boiling pot, pull the lid up to your eyes to “shield” yourself from the steam.
  

• If it burns, keep it away. No towels, paper towels, pizza boxes, and the such in the cooking area. It is too easy to start a fire.
  

• Grease fires are crazy. Do not use water or flour on them, it will only make them angry, and when grease fires get angry they grow.
  

• Do not carry a burning pot. You might spill it or hit something, leading to a larger fire.
  

• Pay attention! Do not leave your cooking unattended. When you have to leave, turn off the heat. At the least, tell someone else to watch your cooking and tell you if something goes wrong or if your cooking is done.
  

Well, those are some kitchen safety basics from restockit.com. Please check out our site for all of your cooking needs, and remember, be safe.