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If there was one thing that a kitchen could easily be likened to, it would be a chemistry lab. We keep mixing different ingredients and generally end up creating dishes that are as perfect as they were in the cookbook. Other times however, things can prove to be a total disaster, just like an experiment gone wrong in a school chemistry lab. However, unlike chemistry lab disasters, most cooking mistakes can be tweaked and altered and edible food salvaged from the destruction. Even the best of cooks at times end up adding more salt or spices and overcooking and undercooking food. Given below are easy methods of undoing the most common cooking mistakes that should help you become a better person in the kitchen.

Too much salt in food: Putting in more than the required amount of salt in food is an extremely common mistake. At the same time, it is so noticeable that it can easily render your dish inedible. If you have added too much salt to a soup or gravy, then the best idea here is to add a little more water to balance the salt. However, if your gravy is already too watery, then you can peel and cut a raw potato into slices and drop these slices into your gravy. Once the potato slices become translucent, take them out and check the salt in your dish again. In most cases, this trick should be able to get your salt level to edible. You can also add a tomato or two if your recipe can take it, since unlike potato slices; these cannot to be taken out and thrown.

Gravy or soup is very thin: The easiest method of thickening a watery soup or gravy is to add corn flour or corn starch to it. Mix a little corn starch into water first and then add it to your hot gravy or soup, bring to a boil and you will find that your soup has turned miraculously thick. Use corn starch in very small portions, since this is quite a potent thickener. If you do not have corn starch, then use a couple or two tablespoons of all purpose flour. Dried potato flakes can also accomplish the same job.

Burnt vegetables and meat: There are various ways of tackling burnt food. If we are talking about solid veggies, stir fries or meat pieces here, then the first thing you should do when you notice that your food is burnt is to stop stirring, since this will mix the burnt food pieces everywhere. Take out the food that is not burnt from the top of the pan and in most cases you will find that this is still edible. If you’ve got food sticking to the bottom of the pan, then soak your pan in hot water with some dishwashing detergent overnight. You will be able to clean out your vessel easily the next day.
Burnt soups and custards: Custards and cream soups have an amazing tendency to catch the pan when you are not looking. If you find your custard sticking to the bottom of the pan, then stop stirring and pour out the good portion into another vessel. If this portion does not smell burnt, then you can easily cook it till it is done and serve.

Most people nowadays look upon cooking as a burden rather than as an enjoyable chore. As a result, we not only cut down on cooking times by making short-cut meals and dishes, we also fail to pay attention to our own safety while in the kitchen. Having a safe cooking environment is the most important thing to pay attention to before you start cooking. Follow our tips to a safe cooking environment to avoid kitchen accidents.

Don’t leave your stove unattended: The leading cause of homes burning down in America is kitchen fires that have been caused by unattended stoves. In order to avoid this scenario in your life, never leave a pot unattended while it is cooking. If you have to rush off during cooking for a minute or two, make sure that you set the stove to lowest or dim it. If you have to leave the kitchen for more than two minutes, then turning off the stove is a better idea.

Play safe with oil: A large number of burns in the kitchen are caused due to oil spatters. While most of us who have ever ventured into a kitchen have been subjected to minor burns caused due to oil spattering, the same has proved fatal in many cases. Make sure that the pan you are using for deep frying is stable and sits properly on your stovetop. Change the stovetop or the pan if it doesn’t. When your oil is hot, drop food to be fried carefully, always dropping it in a direction against your body, rather than towards it. Take care not to drop water or use wet spoons in hot oil.

Keep your kitchen clean: Food cooked in a dirty kitchen is liable to be contaminated by harmful bacteria that could cause serious illnesses. Make sure that your kitchen, countertop, stove and utensils are clean before you start using them for cooking. If you use a chemical or commercial cleaner for cleaning your countertop, then do not keep either raw or cooked food on it since the residue from the cleaner can poison your food. Avoid cross contamination by washing your chopping board and bowls every time you use them.

Have the proper accessories on hand: In order to indulge in safe cooking, it is important that you equip your kitchen with the proper accessories. So make sure that you have strong tongs to handle hot pans and dishes and thick oven mitts for taking out hot dishes from the oven. Use only good quality stuff made of non inflammable materials. As far as cleaning cloths and mitts are concerned, use only cotton ones, since synthetics are very prone to catching fire.

Dress appropriately: The kitchen is not the best place to show off your scarves and boas. The proper attire for working in the kitchen are clothes that are made out of cotton and keep close to your body. Flapping or loose clothes, especially nylon and polyester mixes can spell disaster in the kitchen. So say no to long, bell shaped sleeves, extra loose tops, shawls and scarves in the kitchen if you want to avoid personal accidents and injuries.