Season 3, Episode 2: Food Safety & The Dishes Every Young Chef Should Know

Conner: (00:07)
Welcome to Kiddos in the Kitchen, a podcast hosted by my mom.

Lisa Yakas: (00:18)
Any lesson that you can teach to your kids as you're going along, that's great. And they learn as they go. Every time they're in the kitchen with you, they learn more and they get more confidence.

Stephanie Conner: (00:30)
Lisa Yakas is a senior project manager in product certification at NSF International, a global public health and safety organization. She has a bachelor's and a master's degree in food science, with an emphasis in food safety and microbiology. I was excited to talk to Lisa because I had questions about how to run a home kitchen that can pass a health and safety inspection. And I, like a lot of parents, want to be confident that I'm teaching my son correctly. Then later in the episode four chefs share their answers to this question: What dishes should every young chef be able to prepare.

Stephanie Conner: (01:12)
Welcome to Kiddos in the Kitchen, a podcast about helping busy adults find the inspiration and information they need to teach the kids in their lives how to cook. I'm your host, Stephanie Conner. And today we're talking about sanitation and food safety tips we can teach our kids.

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Stephanie Conner: (02:08)
Last episode, we went back to basics and talked about setting up our kitchen for success. Part of kitchen success is food safety and sanitation. Now I know what you might be thinking. "That's not exciting. My kid doesn't care about this stuff." And you’re probably right. But how cool will it be when your kid knows not to mix and match utensils for raw meat and vegetables. Or, when they aren't confused by the expiration labels at the store. And that's all because you taught them.

Lisa Yakas: (02:41)
The main steps are cleaning, prepping, or separating your foods, cooking your foods, and then how to properly store and chill your foods when you're done. So if you can kind of get those basic four principles, even in little bits, they don't need to learn every single thing all at once. But if you can kind of put those lessons in as you're teaching them, that will really go a long way.

Stephanie Conner: (03:08)
First step, cleaning. Lisa emphasizes the importance of frequent hand washing. Then it's on to the kitchen.

Lisa Yakas: (03:18)
You want to make sure when you start cooking, all of your utensils and tools are clean as well. So wash your cutting boards, your dishes, your countertops, make sure that's all good. And then they're working with fresh fruits and vegetables, run them under some tap water, clean those real good. One thing that a lot people don't think about is if you're using canned goods, remember to clean those lids off before you open it. Because if that's been on the shelf for quite a while, it could be collecting some dust or debris, and you don't want that in your food. And then also, if you have raw meats or poultry or seafood or anything like that, make sure you're kind of separating those raw foods from your ready-to-eat foods.

Stephanie Conner: (04:04)
So you mentioned cleaning your produce. I see a lot of produce washes out there or sprays, but you said you just run it under tap water. Is there any benefit to those store-bought produce sprays that we see?

Lisa Yakas: (04:18)
Mostly running under tap water should do a good job. But if you've got something like a potato or something that has visible dirt on it, obviously we could take a brush and help brush that dirt off, along with rinsing it off. But good old water should do wonders.

Stephanie Conner: (04:37)
As we began to talk about prepping, I wanted to first understand some lingo. Expiration, best by, sell by, what do these really mean?

Lisa Yakas: (04:50)
I think that's a confusing topic for adults. So you kind of break it down into some different categories. The most important category is the category of dates that are related to safety, the safety of the food. And those are going to be things like your use-by dates, which you'll see on things like dairy and meat products. You might also have an expiration date. Sometimes you'll see that on infant formula or baby food. This is an indication of how safe the food will be by a certain date. So that's the most important date. Then the next date you might see are dates that are related to quality. Those are dates, that'll look something like best before or best if used by. And that's just giving you an indication of its peak quality and freshness. If you use it before that date, you're probably going to get your peak quality and freshness.

Lisa Yakas: (05:48)
Assuming that that food has been stored under the correct storage conditions. And then finally we have some dates that are more of a store or manufacturer date. These are things like sell buy, or packed, or baked on. And that just kind of gives a store or the manufacturer an indication of how long to display that food. So if you can kind of get those in your head of which ones are for safety, which ones are for quality and which ones are really more for the store display, then that kind of helps hammer out what we really need to look at. But yeah, it is hard. It is confusing, but you can just kind of take it step-by-step with your kids. I think over time, you'll kind of come naturally.

Stephanie Conner: (06:32)
If there was anything I walked away from this conversation with, it was the importance of separating raw meat from other foods.

Lisa Yakas: (06:41)
We always try to say, especially in the summertime, or even when you're barbecuing, you have your marinade for the raw meat; but then if you want to put marinade later or a sauce later on your cooked meat, you want to have a separate prep of that marinade. Making sure you have separate cutting boards for different purposes. Don't introduce cross-contamination. And again, wash your hands again after you've touched raw meat. You don't want to spread that germy juice all around your kitchen.

Lisa Yakas: (07:12)
Another thing we always tell people is if you buy up on some meat, you go to the grocery store and you're not going to cook it for a day or two, put it on the lowest shelf possible in your refrigerator because there's always the chance that there could be a little leak in the package or a leak in the bag. And you don't want that raw juice dripping down onto other foods in your fridge. So that's one way to store it safely and keep cross-contamination to a minimum.

Stephanie Conner: (07:41)
Do you typically use different utensils to cook versus to serve? For example, if I've cooked the chicken and I've been using my tongs to flip or something to stir on the stove, once it's cooked, should I be pulling a new utensil out?

Lisa Yakas: (07:57)
I think that's a good idea, especially if it you're talking about raw meats, you've got your tongs and you're flipping chicken or flipping a steak, again, better to be safe than sorry. And once that food is cooked, switch over to some clean tongs and use those to serve.

Stephanie Conner: (08:15)
And then obviously using a different utensil if you're grilling vegetables in the same vicinity, right?

Lisa Yakas: (08:21)
Yes. When my husband grills, we have a plate where the raw meat is and that's what he uses to get it on the grill. And then I see him coming and I take that plate and I give him a clean plate so he can put the cooked steak or the cooked hamburger on that clean plate.

Stephanie Conner: (08:40)
When you're cooking meat, you want to ensure that the meat gets to a safe temperature. There are plenty of places to find temperature charts, and we'll link to one in our show notes. “Speaking of temperatures and food safety, what about leaving food out?” I wondered. Because with the holidays coming up, I'm sure a lot of us are guilty of leaving foods out, buffet-style for, well, a while.

Lisa Yakas: (09:05)
That's a great question that a lot of people ask: Don't leave your food out more than two hours. That's just like your average day. But if it's a really hot day and you've got your food out, let's say it's over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, that goes down to one hour. So if you've got leftovers that are within that one- or two-hour window, you should be good. But if anything goes over that window, just toss those out. You don't want to expose yourself to any food that could have gone through thermal abuse. Really, when it comes to temperatures, you want to keep the cold foods below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the hot foods, if you can, above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. And the reason for that is because between those two temperatures, between 40 and 140, that's considered the danger zone. And that's where bacteria can grow rapidly. So you want to make sure you keep your food out of the danger zone.

Stephanie Conner: (10:08)
As we look at storing food, we're within the one to two hours, we're putting things into Tupperware containers and storing things. What do we need to know about keeping things safe and eating them within a safe period of time?

Lisa Yakas: (10:23)
It's important to get your food down when you want to store it. You want to get that cooled down fairly quickly. If you have a large quantity of hot food, it's best to separate into smaller containers, even like shallow containers. Let's say you have something like baked beans or something like that. Put it into several small shallow containers to get that temperature down and then put them into the refrigerator as quickly as you can. You just want to get that temperature down.

Stephanie Conner: (10:52)
How long are leftovers safe in the fridge?

Lisa Yakas: (10:55)
It kind of depends on the food type, but anywhere from two to four days, it really depends on the type of food. When you start to see it get watery, or definitely if it starts to have an odor,. toss that out.

Stephanie Conner: (11:12)
Lisa provided a lot of great information to help us keep our kitchens and food safe. And she reminds us why regular time together in the kitchen is important.

Lisa Yakas: (11:23)
Any lesson that you can teach to your kids as you're going along, that's great. And they learn as they go. Every time they're in the kitchen with you, they learn more and they get more confidence.

Stephanie Conner: (11:36)
And now it's time for Kitchen Questions. This season, I'm asking chefs some questions to help us all learn more about food and cooking. I asked four chefs the same question: What recipes or dishes should every young chef have in their repertoire?

Kid: (11:58)
It's time for Kitchen Questions. I have a question.

Kid: (12:01)
What would happen if you put a little bit of the wrong ingredient inside a cookie? Why are cupcakes squishy? How often do you burn things on accident?

Kid: (12:12)
Do you like cake? What is the difference between baking and roasting? What is your favorite recipe?

Stephanie Conner: (12:23)
First up, Michael Volpatt, author of the cookbook, Cooking In Place and the co-owner of the Big Bottom Market in Gruerneville, California.

Michael Volpatt: (12:34)
Marinara sauce. Because it's so easy. It's just olive oil, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper, tomatoes, whole tomatoes, whole peeled tomatoes, D-O-P, which is a type of Italian tomatoes, the kind that I think are best that you put in the blender and then pour over the onions and garlic that you cooked in the olive oil. And then I add a little bit of lemon zest and parsley to mine at the very end to give it some brightness. That's one simple, easy recipe. And it's so versatile because you can add meat to it, any type of meat, it goes great over pasta. Goes so great in the chicken dish. It's super versatile. The other thing is the making of a stock, like a chicken stock, or beef stock, or if you eat veal, a veal stock, because that's also very versatile. You can make soups, you can do so many things with it. So those, to me, are two really important recipes to know how to make others like an aioli because again, that's really versatile.

Stephanie Conner: (13:33)
Now we'll hear from Jackie Bruchez, blogger and owner of seaside baker.com. We'll also talk to Jackie in our upcoming holiday baking episode.

Jackie Bruchez: (13:44)
A roast chicken, because you can do anything with a roast chicken. A good batch of chocolate chip cookies, because that'll win everybody's heart's over. And it also makes your house smell nice, when people come over. When I have, like, a crowd of people coming over, I always either have a batch of bread or a batch of cookies going, because it's just pleasant and homey. I'm Italian. So my kids will not be able to fly on their own until they have a good pasta recipe. Otherwise, I've completely failed them a good sauce recipe. And eggs – you can do anything with eggs. So if you know how to make a good scrambled egg, you can do anything.

Stephanie Conner: (14:24)
Next is Chef Debbie McGiffin from Florida, who we heard from in episode one of this season.

Debbie McGiffin: (14:31)
I would start with an omelet for sure. It's a good breakfast, something quick and healthy to make. So scrambled eggs or an omelet, I think is a good thing to learn. From a dinner standpoint, I'm going to go with creating their own chicken nugget, but like a panko- or parmesan-crusted chicken. Always a crowd pleaser and just a good thing to make and eat and much better than having a frozen chicken nugget. And maybe a good salad dressing? Maybe make a homemade ranch so that they can have that on raw vegetables or cooked vegetables or a pasta sauce, a marinara or an Alfredo. I think those are good basics.

Stephanie Conner: (15:18)
And finally, Chef Martin Diez, a pastry chef who will be on an upcoming episode as well.

Martin Diez: (15:26)
To me, I would like them to embrace nature and seasons and being able to have a hero dish and dessert per season. So it's not so complex. It's eight of them, right? You try to understand what type of fruit and what type of vegetables you have around the season and how you can process them. That's the first thing. And then maybe some classics that everyone loves are, depending where you are from the world. I mean, it can be for some people, scones. Other people, it might be pancakes, it can be king cakes, it can be an apple strudel for people who have German roots, the bread of the dead for the Mexican people. Try to have a classic representative of your cooking culture that you must rise.

Stephanie Conner: (16:13)
Thank you again to everyone who shared their thoughts on today's episode. You can find more about NSF International at NSF.org. And you can follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. I'll share all of these links in the show notes on kiddosinthekitchen.com

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Stephanie Conner: (17:06)
I used to subscribe to several cooking magazines. A couple, in particular, always published very extravagant recipes, several steps, exotic ingredients, complex processes. In time, I lost interest in making any of these dishes, even for special occasions. Part of it was, I became a mom and, hello, I didn't have time for that anymore. But mostly it was that my family didn't seem to love those dishes any more than the simpler ones. The roast chicken with carrots and potatoes. The yams seasoned only with olive oil, salt and pepper. The chicken noodle soup in a homemade stock. I've come to learn and appreciate that in the kitchen, simple is okay, simple can taste great.

Stephanie Conner: (17:57)
So when we talk about basics in the kitchen, I don't turn up my nose. I love the dishes our chefs recommended that we all know. They’re simple things that you don't need a culinary arts degree to learn how to make. This month, I hope you'll join me in paying special attention to a few more basics. First, the basics of food safety and kitchen sanitation. Then think about the dishes you want to make sure your kiddos know before they leave the nest.

Stephanie Conner: (18:30)
I want my son to learn how to roast a chicken and a turkey, too, because Thanksgiving is our holiday. And since salad is a staple in our house, some homemade salad dressings too. And we live on Mexican food. So he should probably learn how to make his own salsa. And how to make carnitas, his current favorite food. But it's nothing fancy, just simple things he can prepare that will help him be healthy, empowered, and even save some cash as he gets older. So as we prepare for a bustling holiday season, let's remember the beauty of simple. Let's focus on the basics. A clean, safe kitchen, and simple foods we can share with our families and pass down to our children.

Stephanie Conner: (19:38)
Thanks for joining me for Kiddos in the Kitchen. I'm your host, Stephanie Conner, with a reminder from my son.

Conner: (19:46)
If you like my mom's podcast as much as I do, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast.

Stephanie Conner: (20:04)
That's right, Conner. You can also view the show notes, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out all of our other content at kiddosinthekitchen.com. We're @KiddosCook on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And I'll be back next month with another fresh episode. Until then I encourage you to get your kiddos in the kitchen.