Holiday Cooking Safety Tips

From Thanksgiving to New Years, families across the country celebrate the holidays by spending time with each other and enjoying delicious meals together. Although many happy memories are made preparing dinners and desserts together, the holidays can also be a dangerous time of year due to cooking-related house fires. In fact, according to the National Fire Protection Association, more home-cooking fires happen on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year.

Here are some simple safety tips you can follow to help protect you and your family this holiday season:

• Stay in the kitchen while food is cooking on the stove or in the oven. By monitoring the food, you can prevent it from burning or catching on fire.
• If you plan to deep-fry a turkey, be sure you know how to safely use the fryer beforehand.
  • Keep fryers a safe distance away from your home, trees, and other structures, and never operate on a deck or inside of a garage.
  • It’s also important that your turkey is completely thawed and dried before putting it into the fryer. Any water or ice on the turkey will mix into the hot oil and cause dangerous flare-ups.
  • If you are unsure of the process of deep-frying a turkey, it’s best to avoid this dangerous cooking method and use an oven instead.
• Keep children away from the stove or oven, as well as any sharp objects.
  • Also keep children away from hot or boiling liquids like water, grease, gravy, or coffee as they can spill and cause burns.
• Be mindful of where you set down flammable items like oven mitts or dish towels as these can catch fire if left too close to a hot burner or open flame.
• Be sure the kitchen floor is clear of any objects that may cause someone to trip and spill.
  • Keep toys out of the kitchen.
  • Put grocery bags or purses on top of the counter.
  • Make sure all chairs are pushed in and out of the way.
• Do not overload electrical outlets with multiple mixers, blenders, electric knives, etc.
• Keep a working fire extinguisher nearby in case of an emergency.
• Test your smoke alarm beforehand to ensure the batteries are charged and the alarm is working properly.

For more information about how you can protect your home, call your AAA insurance agent, or visit AAA.com/Insurance.

The information listed above was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. AAA South Jersey, its affiliates and employees assume no liability in connection with the information or suggestions. The recommendations provided are general in nature; there may be additional safety procedures available that are not referenced on this webpage.