Keep a towel in your pocket!
Many times around the house, while preparing the family meal, I find it helpful to keep a towel tucked in my back pocket for easy access.
Tuck the corner in your pocket with the bulk of the towel hanging down so you can quickly clean your hands, especially when preparing vegetables. The drier your hands are, the less likely you are to slip a knife.
The main reason chefs go to the hospital is not for burns, but for cuts.
Why do we cut more than we burn? You would think that in a numbers game, with the numbers we handle being hot many times hotter than we handle knives, we would burn more than cut ourselves.
Really simple, we always use a dry towel (hot pads) to manage the heat. Sure, sometimes we get oven burns on our arm or grease splatters from deep fryers, but it’s the cuts that make us stop dead.
There are 2 basic reasons for cutting yourself, lack of concentration and slipping. There is no solution to a lack of concentration other than PAY ATTENTION!
However, there is a workaround for slippage. Keep your hands and direct contact surfaces DRY. A wet handle on a damp knife or cutting board is a recipe for disaster. Wet hands are the beginning of a slippery situation.
Keeping a towel on the counter or just nearby isn’t enough, you need to keep the towel on you so you can access it at all times, not just when it’s convenient. If you don’t have pockets, tuck it into the front of the top of your pants to look like a short apron. Tuck the short edge into the top of your pants and let it hang down. Easy to reach and long enough that you can lift it high enough to dry your knife or vegetables without it being a hassle. The second advantage of this method is that it will keep your pants free of splatter stains!
How you want to display your towel is up to you, as long as you use it faithfully. A dry surface and dry hands will prevent most cuts.
10 years in commercial kitchens and zero stitches because I always practice dry handling procedures. I didn’t say zero cuts, the occasional nick happens. As the saying goes, those who play with fire will get burned, so the one who handles the knife will have some small cuts or nicks, it is inevitable.
I said no points, which in my field is an achievement! I have personally seen some major cuts that required many stitches and many months to heal. The worst cuts were those of lack of concentration. Most were from the landslide.
So keep a towel in your pocket or tucked into the top of your pants and you can prevent an accident, not only that, but during your backyard barbecue you’ll make it look like you know what you’re doing! Hey, everything helps, right?