30 People Reveal What Things They Do In Their Kitchen That They Keep A Secret

"I’m sure even classically trained chefs have the odd habit or foible that would raise an eyebrow or two outside of their kitchen… I would hope that professional chefs have put to bed any habits that would violate food safety regulations, but I’ve certainly observed eccentric techniques from pros that make me cringe, like cutting towards their thumb when peeling fruit (ugh! seen that go wrong a few times!) if not actual unsafe techniques that would lead to cross-contamination or pathogen growth," pie artist Jessica shared with Bored Panda.

The pie artist was candid that she still has a few whacky habits that she hasn't corrected yet. "I often make a mess when I crack eggs, and my batter-stirring technique could be a lot more efficient!"

However, when it comes to actual safety, she always errs on the side of caution and takes cleanliness very seriously. "When I cook with my son, I go over the location of the extinguishers and fire blanket and correct knife handling every time. And I am a (not-so-closeted) germaphobe so I use dozens of flexible cutting mats that I can wash on high heat in the dishwasher to cover every surface I work on."

Jessica admitted that she doesn't actually work directly on the counter. "I just don’t trust anything that can’t be fully sterilized. So I guess my dirty little kitchen secret is actually an excessively clean little kitchen secret," she quipped. "To be clear, there is nothing wrong with working directly on your counter if you clean it properly, I'm just a weirdo!"

Bored Panda also wanted to get Jessica's take on the dangers present in the kitchen and what we should always avoid doing, at all costs.

"The worst thing that can be done in the kitchen in terms of hygiene is treating the 'dangerous' ingredients in the same fashion as all the other ingredients in your food prep. Pathogens (the little things in food that can make us sick like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and microorganisms) thrive in certain foods more than others," she said.

"Raw chicken, raw egg, unpasteurized milk, seafood, and raw flour (people often forget that one!) in particular are fertile breeding ground for nasties and need to be treated differently than other foods."

Jessica told us all about the food safety acronym 'FATTOM' that stands for “Food supply (protein), low acidity, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture." She told us that it's used as a guide to determine which foods are more likely to go bad quickly.

"You can use this as a quick rule of thumb to determine how dangerous the ingredients you are working with are. For example, if you are working with something with a very high acid content like lemons, jam, or pickles, or something with a very low moisture content like crackers or rice cakes, you really don’t have to worry about them sitting out on the counter for hours or touching other food. They just don’t have enough of what the pathogens need to grow."

She continued: "On the other hand, something like raw shrimp which has a high moisture content and lots of protein for pathogens to eat really needs to be carefully monitored for how long it is left out in the open air in 'danger zone' temperatures and kept far away from other food and utensils." Jessica added that temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees F (4 to 60 degrees C) are the danger zone for pathogen growth.

One thing to keep in mind while running your kitchen is how you’d feel if you were a guest at someone’s home and they’d do (or fail to do) the same things in their kitchen as you did in yours.

Would you feel disgusted if someone invited you over for dinner and you found out that they didn’t wash their cast-iron pans? If so, you might want to reconsider how you wash your own dishes. It’s a two-way street after all when you’ve got people over.

On the flip side, if you’re cooking just for yourself and your cleaning habits (or lack thereof) haven’t landed you in the hospital over the past couple of decades, well, keep doing what you’re doing.

Officially, we’re all for maximum hygiene and effort. Unofficially, we completely understand that not everyone has the willpower reserves to wash a teaspoon they used for salt after a mentally exhausting and emotionally draining week at work or school. Just give it a quick rub with a kitchen towel and hide it in the cutlery drawer. It’ll be our dirty little secret.

Things are very different when you’re running a catering business or a restaurant. When you’re cooking for others, you’re responsible for their health. If you don’t adhere to hygiene rules, you’ll get shut down in a flash.

When a food inspector comes over, they’ll check your permits, see what temperatures you’re keeping your ingredients at. They’ll also check to see if there are any pests in the restaurant and if you’re keeping everything as clean as needed. One thing to definitely look out for is cross-contamination: it is imperative that you avoid keeping cooked and raw meat next to each other.