A mother’s handy tips for a safe and healthy festive feast

Getting the groceries: Begin with separating fresh produce from any type of meats in your shopping cart as well as within the grocery bags. In case it might take you over an hour to reach home, remember to keep all perishables in a cooler to preserve them within safe temperatures. Once you arrive home, begin with refrigerating frozen items promptly, keeping foods in appropriate containers to prevent drips and leaks.Top of Form

Prepping the kitchen: Wash your hands, work surfaces and utensils with hot soapy water between each food prep step. Never intermingle uncooked or frozen meats and ready to eat foods on the same surfaces.

Cooking the feast: Learn the danger zone of food temperatures. Foods kept at room temperature for more than two hours can reach between 10 to 40 degrees Celsius, which will cause harmful bacteria to grow rapidly. The trick is to always keep all cold foods below 5 degrees Celsius until serving time and keep hot foods above 60 degrees Celsius.

The turkey (The main dish!): Do you plan on buying a frozen turkey? Do not forget to safely defrost in the refrigerator. But if you are in hurry you can also defrost it more quickly in a sink of cold water that you change every 30 minutes. Using cold water in this manner helps prevent the temperature of the meat from reaching the danger zone.

There are several reasons why opting for a frozen turkey is the way to go. Other than great value for money, a frozen turkey will not go to waste if your plans change! In any case fresh or frozen, remember to keep it on a special tray that will help catch leaking juices and do not rinse the turkey before cooking.

Regulating temperatures: This is the time to invest in a food thermometer; it will save your life. A food thermometer is the most reliable way to ensure your delicious dishes are cooked to perfection in safe and accurate temperatures. The thermometer should be registering a least 70 Celsius of a cooked turkey.

Stuffing: Like the turkey, the stuffing should also bake to a minimum of 70 degrees Celsius. It does not matter if it is a separate crockpot or if you choose to make it inside the turkey.

Serving: Replace empty platters. Do not add fresh food to empty platters; several hands may have taken food from the dish. But most importantly, do not let any food stand at room temperature for more than 2 hours!

Best part – Leftovers: Finally, store all the yummy leftovers in smaller quantities within shallow containers to let them cool quickly. Consume these leftovers within three or four days.

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