[Sca-cooks] Safety in the Kitchen

[jenne at fiedlerfamily.net]

>  I know this is a living history group and you probably don't want to
>use anything that isn't period.  However, we do have to be a little more
>careful with how we handle things as our systems just aren't used to all
>of those little "nasties" that our ancestors' systems could handle.
>Would it be unreasonable to use some of those disposable cutting boards?
>Failing that, you should probably have some kind of bleach or something
>to clean off those wooden cutting boards...particularly after working
>with poultry.  Or maybe a good dunk in boiling water might kill the
>nasties.

Boiling water and soap should be sufficient to remove the nasties, unless
the cutting boards are not washed promptly. (In which case, bleach is your
friend.)

Having cooked at Pennsic in one of those encampments where the water
pressure is not sufficient to have running water except once a day, I can
vouch for this.

If you are working with raw meat, using a cutting board with a lip, and or
serviettes under the board so as to keep any juices off your table, can be
helpful. Bear in mind that finished tables, rather than tables with
cloths, are more typical of period food prep-- because they can be
scrubbed down.

>  It is also important that you keep the meat refrigerated up until the
>time you are ready to cook it.

However, keeping the meat in a cooler with ice, with appropriate
period-style covering should do this.

-- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens
can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has..."
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