1. Unclean Hands

One of the most important things you should not do while cooking should have been taught to you by your mother. Starting to prepare food without washing your hands first is a big no no. You never know what germs your hands are carrying. Remember, too, that if you go to the bathroom during your food prep period, you need to wash them again. Also, if you handle raw meat, you should wash again before moving on to other foodstuffs. E-coli is easily transferable from germ-y hands.

2. Cross-contamination

I’ve already hinted at this in the point about transferring germs from hand to food. It also applies to utensils. Do not use the same knife for preparing meat and then cutting up vegetables - wash it between uses. Also, use a different chopping board for raw meat and veg. It’s perfectly acceptable to turn the board over if you only have one! Remember, though, the counter top will have germs transferred from the meat side of the board, so wipe it down before doing anything else.

3. Double Dipping

If you watch TV cooking shows regularly, you might have noticed that most chefs understand that one of the things you should never do while cooking is double dip. This is using a spoon to taste once, and then using it again. Every time you taste, use a new spoon! Every time you double dip, you are transferring germs and your saliva to the food.

4. Finger Dipping

Essentially, this is the same as double dipping. You really shouldn’t use your finger to taste food but if you must, use a new finger each time. Additionally, wash your hands once you’ve finished tasting if you still have prep to do.

5. Licking

Just as bad as double dipping and finger dipping is utensil licking. On no account should you lick the balloon whisk, wooden spoon or any spoon for that matter, or any other utensil you might be stirring with. It’s ok to lick the utensil and the bowl once you’ve finished, but if you lick the stirring implement and put it to one side, you might pick it up again and use it, forgetting you’d had your grubby, germ- and saliva-laden tongue wrapped around it.

6. Sweat

To my mind, one of the grossest sights during a cooking program is a sweaty chef. Can anything be a bigger turn off than the addition of drops of sweat to a dish? The kitchen gets hot - fact. People sweat - fact. If you are prone to a sweaty forehead, wear a headband when cooking, or open a door, crack a window.

7. Sneezing

When you sneeze, germs fly out of your nose at an incredible speed. It’s really important to protect food from sneezes. If a sneeze creeps up on you while you’re cooking, do everything you can in those split seconds to get/turn away from your food prep area. Even if you’ve time to grab a tissue, still turn away and immediately dispose of the tissue.

I know these things you should not do while cooking are pretty basic, but it’s for that very reason that it’s so easy to forget them. Food poisoning is so easy to avoid, as are many other diseases that can be passed on via food. Good kitchen hygiene takes no effort when it comes to food preparation. Are you guilty of any of these things? Of course, it doesn’t count so much when you prepare food for yourself only, but it’s good to always practice these habits, whomever you cook for.