Setting Up Your New Kitchen
By Elizabeth Dougherty
Many of us are arranging our new homes in our heads
from the time we pick out the house and well before closing.
The kitchen is probably going to be the most utilized room
in the house. A lot of people consider it the heart of their
home. With all the time that's spent there, doesn't it make
sense to make it as organized as possible?
The best time to start organizing the kitchen in your
home is before you unpack the boxes. Begin by vacuuming
out the cabinets and drawers. Then, cut to size drawer and
shelf liners. The kind that's a PVC mesh (there's one called
Grip-It) works well since it is also no-slip. Wipe down the
outside of the cabinets and drawers, the countertops and
floor. Don't forget to clean the pantry shelves as those are
often forgotten.
Now, take note where the big appliances are located
in the kitchen. If possible, you want your dish, glass and
silverware storage close to your dishwasher. Cutting boards
should be near open counter spaces that will be used for
food preparation.
What type of cutting boards should you get? It's easier
to maintain durable plastic boards than wood ones. The big
wood blocks are hard to fit into the sink to clean, and will
tend to split if they are not constantly cured with a food
grade oil. Unless you are going to have an entire Boos Block
kitchen island installed for food preparation, stay away
from wood. Try to get plastic boards that will fit into your
dishwasher so they will be heat sanitized.
Ever wondered why some people have cutting boards
with all different colors, none of which match the kitchen?
There's a method to the madness. It has to do with food
sanitation. Normally, blue boards are used for fish, red for
meat, green for produce, tan for cooked meats, white for
dairy and yellow for chicken. In a commercial kitchen, once
these boards are used in this manner, they are always used
that way. It's another safety feature to make sure the chicken
you are preparing, doesn't contaminate your sliced apples,
for instance, with salmonella.
Everyone, at one time or another, has searched for a
spatula in a kitchen drawer only to pull out a serving spoon
as the French toast burns…again. An item you might want
to consider for your countertop is a big canister (or two)
near the stove for your most often used kitchen utensils.
Things like your favorite spatulas, whisks, wooden spoons
and ladles should be close at hand. You might find that
using the canisters really cuts down on some of the stressful
parts of cooking. Why not make life a little easier?
Lastly, don't forget to sharpen and hone your knives.
There are some great electric sharpeners at most of the major
department stores. Some people think that sharpening knives
makes them more dangerous. In fact, it makes them much
safer. If you were to slice your finger, for instance, instead of
the carrot you intended, the cut would be much cleaner and
less likely to bleed than if you cut it with a dull, jagged blade.
It would heal much faster, too.
Many people move into their homes and rarely use their
kitchens preferring to meet friends for dinner instead. However,
in this largely impersonal world filled with email and
voicemail, folks truly appreciate a home cooked meal and a
chance to connect. Make your new kitchen a welcome place
to congregate. You'll be glad you did.
Liz Dougherty has been a freelance food
writer and culinary consultant through
her company, Culinary Pursuits, Inc., for
the past six years. She trained under a
maniacal Swiss-German chef and later
received her Bachelor's degree, Magna
Cum Laude in Hospitality. Prior to that,
she was a licensed real estate broker and
mortgage broker with a total of over
ten years experience in real estate and
finance. She can be reached at
EADougherty1@aol.com
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