Good kitchen etiquette

What Are the Effects of Good Kitchen Etiquette?

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Growing up, we have heard and seen that there are different ways to behave in different settings. These are known as rules, norms, habits, or various other names. Either way, they have been put in place to make sure that there is compliance to a set standard. For instance, it is an unspoken rule to always knock before entering a room. This is because the person inside might need a bit of privacy, not be willing to entertain someone, or simply because it is rude to enter someone’s space unannounced.

We are trained to behave this way from when we are children in school. Our teachers will tell us to raise our hand when we want to speak. They will tell us not to interrupt someone and ask for permission before we enter the classroom. At the time, we might feel as if this is all pointless but it is these little things that are amplified throughout our lives. For instance, if you have a habit of waiting for your turn to speak, this could help you in the professional world. Assume that you are in a meeting with your boss and colleagues. One of them is speaking and explaining something. If you interrupt them, it is considered rude, disrespectful, and they might lose momentum with what they were saying. Furthermore, this will reflect poorly on you as an individual. It will make you seem ill-mannered, disrespectful, and in blatant disregard for the other person’s voice and opinion.

When we talk about etiquette, most of it begins at home. A child will learn from seeing people do things rather than from being told to do it. For example, if a child sees that you eat with a fork and spoon, they will try to imitate that behavior once they have reached a certain age. As a result, kitchen etiquette is something that needs to be taught to everyone out there. It is an imperative skill that will grow into other areas of your life as well.

This begs the question, what is good kitchen etiquette and what are the effects of good kitchen etiquette?

Kitchen Etiquette

When we talk about kitchen etiquette, there are several factors to consider. They include but are not limited to: cleanliness, storage, and following kitchen rules.

Cleanliness

While all rooms get dirty, it is important to know that a dirty kitchen can often mean disaster. Our kitchens have a lot of food items and various ingredients. Humans are not the only creatures that consume this food; insects and other critters do as well. 

As a result, cleanliness is imperative in a kitchen. Cleanliness in the kitchen starts with cleaning up after yourself. If you are cooking something, chances are there will be a certain amount of waste in the process. While you are cooking, make sure you are clearing the mess you make. Our advice would be to clean as you go to make it easier in the end.

There will be less trash to dispose of and you can very easily get on with your meal. In the event that you do not do this, you are inviting different parasites to come in and begin their work. Ants, flies, and rats might find incentive to enter your kitchen. If you do not clean up after yourself, the same ingredients will begin to decay and become breeding grounds for disease and foul odors.

Cleanliness extends beyond cooking and cleaning up afterwards. A kitchen, if not taken care of, can become very dirty. This includes around the stove, countertops, behind the fridge, and in the cabinets and drawers. All of these places are regularly used, and as a result, need to be cleaned regularly. In the beginning, it might not seem like they need to be cleaned, but over time, a small mess will begin to slowly snowball into a large one and then become a nuisance to get rid of.

Storage

Storage is part of good etiquette

A kitchen is home to many different things. This includes organic food, processed food, dishes, cutlery, spices, and a list of several other things. Each of these items need to be stored where they are accessible, safe from a foreign substance that would cause them to rot, and also kept away so that the kitchen doesn’t look cluttered.

Kitchen etiquette suggests that items be stored in order of importance and frequency of use. For instance, spices are used almost every day, so you should keep them close to your stove or wherever you cook. Similarly, crockery and cutlery are also kept near each other. Ingredients you use regularly are kept front and center while ingredients that you use sparingly are not right in front of you.

This not only makes it easier to store them but also makes it easier for you to manage the stuff that is in your kitchen. For instance, let’s assume that you have a certain type of cheese or meat that you only use once a week. This ingredient doesn’t need to be in front of you all the time so it can be packed and kept at the back of the fridge. On the other hand, your breakfast items can sit front and center, which would allow you to access them instantly. This saves time and effort.

The effect of this will be that your kitchen will operate like a well-oiled machine. When things are where they need to be and not in the way, it will be easier for you to find them when you need them and also take better care of them.

Following Kitchen Rules

At the helm of the kitchen, there is a person who uses it most often. This person could be a parent, sibling, roommate, or cook. As a result, they are responsible for making the rules that govern the kitchen. These rules could include: washing your hands before using anything, separating and organizing ingredients a certain way, keeping hot and cold food separately, and so on.

These rules are not to enforce leadership, they are to maintain a sense of order. Maintaining order in the kitchen is important because there are so many things that could go wrong if various items are neglected. For instance, if you store food incorrectly, you run the risk of it going bad. If you do not keep it clean, this could be a hazard for other people while also inviting insects and other vermin to make a mess. Kitchen etiquette dictates that the rules of a kitchen must be followed to ensure that things do not descend into chaos.

Final Thoughts

Kitchen etiquettes are important because they ensure that the kitchen is maintained properly. It makes sure no one gets hurt, no food or drink is wasted, and things do not descend into a state of chaos. It can take very little to cause things to go wrong, and you need to be on top of the situation at all times – good kitchen etiquette helps enforce this.