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Kitchen 3-5 / Week 03 / Monday
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Week 03 · Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill

Monday

Four steps to safe food
// Four steps to safe food
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Four Steps to Safe Food

Lizzy the Lizard tapes a big poster to the cabin wall. It has four boxes on it.

"Every cook needs these four steps," she says. "They keep germs out of our food."

Ferris the Fox reads the boxes. "Clean, separate, cook, chill. What do you notice about them?"

Riley the Raccoon points to the first box. "Here is a hint," he says. "You already know this one."

The four steps

There are four steps to food safety: clean, separate, cook and chill.

Cooks use all four steps, every time they make food.

StepWhat it means
CleanWash hands, tools and counters. Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water.
SeparateKeep raw meat, chicken, seafood and eggs away from food that is ready to eat.
CookA grown-up cooks food all the way. Eggs are cooked until firm.
ChillPut leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours.

Two surprising facts

Do not wash raw chicken. Washing it can spread germs around the sink.

You cannot tell if meat or eggs are cooked by their color.

A food thermometer tells you. A grown-up uses it.

MATCH EACH JOB TO ITS STEP
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1Clean
2Separate
3Cook
4Chill
WHICH STEP IS IT?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
You wash the spoons with soap. Which step is that?
You keep raw eggs away from the bread. Which step is that?
You put the soup in the fridge. Which step is that?
Food safety factTrue or false?
There are four steps to food safety.?
You should wash raw chicken in the sink.?
You can tell if meat is cooked by its color.?
Fruits and vegetables get rinsed under running water.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThese facts surprise many grown-ups too. Now you know them!
Wash hands, tools and counters. That is the ____ step.
Keep raw eggs away from bread. That is the ____ step.
Cooks use a food ____ to check if meat is cooked.
Name the step that keeps food cold. Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEChill means keeping food cold in the fridge or freezer.
For a grown-up
This week teaches the four food safety steps: clean, separate, cook and chill.
A grown-up handles the stove, the knives and any raw meat or chicken.
Your child may help rinse fruits and vegetables and wash tools.
Try it
Look around your kitchen with a grown-up.
Find one thing for each step: a sink, a shelf, a stove and a fridge.

Great start, food scientist! Tomorrow we learn the chill step and do some clock math.