It's no surprise that cooking is a source of joy for many people, as preparing your meals brings a certain amount of satisfaction. But the fact that flavors can be tailor-made to your tastebuds doesn't hurt, either. However, there are roadblocks to being successful in the kitchen.
Many at-home chefs recently convened in an online forum to discuss one mental hurdle: the fear of coming into contact with raw meat. Luckily, plenty of people have developed tips and tricks to put this fear into your rear-view mirror.
1. Wear Gloves
Sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective. Nobody enjoys touching raw meat. Its slimy, slippery texture isn't enjoyable for anyone. Furthermore, many people become disgusted by pieces of raw meat getting stuck under their fingernails - even non-germaphobes would agree! Wearing cheap and disposable latex prep gloves puts a physical barrier between you and the raw meat during prep time.
2. Use a Lot of Paper Towels
Although there are more efficient uses for paper towels, one chef explains how his prepping hack helped him. "It feels less awful if I get it really dry with paper towels," she confesses. I can see the benefit of doing this, as most of the slimy nature of raw meat disappears with a few quick swipes of a paper towel!
3. Take Up Dishwashing
According to many people, the mental block of touching something our brain tells us is "gross" is all too real, especially when handling raw meat in the kitchen. Sometimes all you need to overcome this is to get up close and personal with gross things - starting with dirty dishes.
For example, a more hands-on approach to washing your dishes, like brushing food off plates with your hands, can acclimate your body and brain to "gross" things quickly. But, on the other hand, anyone who's worked as a dishwasher in the restaurant industry will tell you that nothing grosses them out anymore!
4. Practice Systemic Desensitization
In other words, to steal a legendary marketing slogan, just do it. Sometimes the best way to conquer any fear is to stop overthinking it. "I have to agree," says one chef. "As an amateur cook learning at my current job, I had to just dive into touching the meat. It was hard initially, but I just tune it out now."
5. Save Meat Prepping For Last
Prepping raw meat in the kitchen is an important task, and it's no surprise that many people do it at the beginning of the cooking process. However, more than one at-home chef advises moving it to the end of your prep period because it will save you from washing up as often. In addition, having only "one thing left to do" on your prep list can motivate you to get it over with.
6. Become Familiar With ServSafe
ServSafe is one of the most well-respected food safety educators in the entire industry. Becoming certified through ServSafe can educate you on the importance of safe food handling, translating into overcoming your fear of prepping raw meat. "They have great recommendations for food safety," one chef reports.
"Such as touching things before washing your hands and when and how. Also has a lot of useful information for the food, like the danger zone and cool things to get it out of the danger zone within four hours."
7. Rank Your Most Disgusting Raw Meats and Work Your Way Up
The best way to overcome your fear of raw meat is to acclimate yourself to less gross-feeling types of meat (such as ground turkey) before "graduating" to become a pro at handling meats like raw chicken or seafood. Remember that most at-home chefs believe this is a mental hurdle.
However, with enough dedication to overcoming it, you'll one day become inherently comfortable prepping all kinds of raw meat in the kitchen. Keep it all in perspective: you're not the first to be grossed out by raw meat - and you won't be the last.
This thread inspired this post.
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