Primer of Basic Kitchen Skills

Teach this information to your students for a successful classroom cooking experience.

Rules for a Good Cook

• Before You Cook
• As You are Cooking
• Clean-up Time
• Safety is a Good Habit
• How to Measure
• Abbreviations Chart
• Measures and Equivalents Chart

Before You Cook

• If you have long hair, fasten it back.
• Wash your hands.
• Read the recipe all the way through.
• If using an oven, preheat to temperature in the recipe.
• Get all the equipment and ingredients you will need.
• Wash ingredients as needed (i.e. fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, etc).
• Now you are ready to begin. Follow the directions carefully.

As You are Cooking

• Follow the recipe step by step.
• Try not to spill while you are measuring, mixing, and stirring.
• Measure carefully. Use the right measuring spoon or cup.
• Keep the kitchen clean and neat as you work.
• Do things calmly and quietly.
• Cook as the recipe directs.
• Follow time and temperature instructions exactly.

Clean-up Time

• Scrape, rinse, then wash all your dishes and put them away.
• Clean up table or counter.
• Store leftovers properly.
• Sweep the floor and wipe up any spills and splatters.
• Be sure you have turned off the stove and oven before leaving the kitchen.

Safety is a Good Habit

• Keep your hands dry. Slippery, wet hands may cause you to drop something.
• If something spills on the floor, wipe it up at once. Someone may slip and fall.
• Use a potholder in each hand when you take hot pans or dishes from the oven.
• Turn pan handles away from edge of the stove, so they cannot be bumped.
• When using the vegetable parer or knife, always cut away from yourself.
• Place foods to be cut on a cutting board. Cut down, onto the board; never toward your hand.
• Avoid contact with steam. Tip lid away from you when you raise the cover to check contents of a hot pan.
• If food or grease should catch on fire, smother the flames with a lid, a cookie sheet, or foil. Never pick up or carry a pan of flaming grease.

How to Measure

Liquids

• Place measuring cup on the table or counter.
• Make sure the liquid is level with the mark on the cup.
• View from eye level rather than from the top. This will make the measure more accurate.

Dry Ingredients

• Put ingredients into measuring cup or spoon until it is slightly overflowing.
• Carefully level the ingredients by running the straight edge of a knife or spatula across the top of the spoon or cup.

Abbreviations Chart

Measures and Equivalents Chart

Adapted from Kids Can Cook, Dairy Council of California