The kitchen is the busiest place in the house, and every meal is full of fragrance. However, there are also a variety of potential dangers hidden in the kitchen, and if not handled properly, it may even develop into a fatal behavior, so remember to forward it to the "chef" who often cooks at home, and remember to be careful.
01
Pour the flour next to the gas stove
Source: "Crisis Investigation" column
There have been news reports that a husband and wife, while stir-frying in the kitchen, poured flour next to the lit stove and caused a flash explosion, and both of them suffered burns of more than 50%.
Analysis reason: flour is a very fine dust particle, dumped into the air instantly, when it reaches a certain concentration, even if it encounters a trace of open flame, it will immediately cause an explosion, its power is comparable to a grenade! In addition to flour, other dust items should also be kept away from the stove.
Correct practice: It is strictly forbidden to pour flour, starch, coffee powder, milk powder, etc. when there is an open fire in the kitchen, and the safest way is to turn off the open flame in the kitchen and then pour flour, or move it to the restaurant to dump. In addition, if the flour accidentally falls on the stovetop, clean it up with a damp cloth in time.
02
Microwave eggs or chestnuts
Source: "China Fire" Weibo
Almost every once in a while, I can see the news that netizens complained about using a microwave to heat eggs and they were fried. In addition, there are people who use the microwave to heat chestnuts, which are fried so that their mouths are foaming and swollen so that they can't open their mouths.
Analysis Reason: When using a microwave oven to heat eggs, the water molecules inside the egg/chestnut will vibrate rapidly to generate heat, resulting in a rapid increase in the temperature and pressure inside the egg/chestnut, when the pressure reaches a certain level, the egg/chestnut will explode, and the egg liquid or chestnut kernel will also splash out of the microwave oven. With the exception of eggs and chestnuts, foods with shells and films should not be heated in the microwave.
Correct practice: It is strictly forbidden to use the microwave oven to heat eggs, chestnuts, bags of milk and other foods with a sealed structure.
03
Frozen food goes directly into the pan
Source: "International Times" column
Many people may encounter such a situation, when cooking, suddenly find that the meat they want to eat is still frozen in the refrigerator, and they can't wait for the thawing to finish, and they can't wait to put it directly into the hot oil pan. Doing so may cause the oil in the pan to splash out and burn the body, or it may cause an explosion or fire, which can endanger life.
Reason: Frozen food that has not been thawed is put into hot oil, which will cause the ice on the outer layer of the food to quickly turn into water vapor, and its volume will increase rapidly, forming internal pressure, which in turn will lead to oil spillage and explosion.
Correct practice: It is strictly forbidden to freeze food directly into the oil pan, and it must be thawed first so that there is no more ice ballast on the surface before frying. In addition, it is best to wipe off the excess water on the frozen food with a paper towel before putting it in the oil pan to avoid the oil splashing out and burning yourself.
04
The pressure cooker is overfilled
Source: "Trial Knowledge" column
The old man was cooking porridge in a pressure cooker, and as soon as he turned around, it exploded, and the lid of the pot exploded and flew out a few meters away. In recent years, pressure cooker explosions have occurred from time to time, and the slightest carelessness can turn the kitchen into a battlefield in a second.
Analyze the reason: Why does the pressure cooker explode? When there is too much food in the pressure cooker, if the pressure is continuously heated, the pressure will increase, which will cause an explosion. In addition, when the exhaust valve of the pressure cooker is blocked, the situation of the fryer will also occur as the pressure gradually increases.
Correct practice: When using a pressure cooker, do not overfill the food, be sure to look at the position of the minimum water mark and the maximum water mark, and check whether the exhaust valve is blocked, the tightness of the rubber ring, and clean the exhaust valve in time after use. In addition, we must also pay attention to the service life of the pressure cooker, the general service life of the pressure cooker is 5~8 years, different brands and materials are different, we need to pay attention to the manual.
05
Gas leaks are not noticed
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
The news once reported that an old man was cleaning up in the kitchen, and there was no fire, when suddenly there was a bang, the down jacket on his body exploded, and several "big holes" were blown out on the back of the clothes! If the gas leaks more, it can even cause an explosion in the entire kitchen.
Analysis cause: kitchen gas leakage, the concentration in the range of 5%~15% will cause an explosion, and the winter is particularly dry, the down jacket will produce static electricity, and the gas will cause an explosion.
Do: Close the valve immediately when you run out of gas or natural gas, and be sure to install a gas alarm to prevent it from happening.
06
Leave the soup unattended
Source: News screenshot
It usually takes a little longer to make soup, and it is not uncommon to do other things while making soup. This situation is very dangerous.
Analysis of the reason: If left unattended, the overflowing soup after boiling is easy to extinguish the fire, and at this time, it is easy to catch fire in the case of gas leakage. In addition, the continuous burning of the gas stove causes the pot to burn through, and the fire continues to burn with the help of the dry matter of the soup, and finally burns to the range hood and ignites the stove.
Correct approach: When people leave the kitchen, they must ensure that the fire is extinguished, and it is strictly forbidden to leave the gas stove on no one in the house.
07
If the oil pan catches fire, fire is extinguished with water
Source: News screenshot
In order to extinguish the fire, some people will pour a large plate of water into it, but instead of extinguishing the fire, the hot oil will burst to boil, and the fire on the oil pan will instantly rush to the roof.
Analysis reason: When adding water to the oil pot, the water is heavier than the oil, sinks to the bottom of the pot, and then quickly vaporizes, and the vaporized water vapor will bring the hot oil in the oil pan to the air, forming misty oil droplets, and the oil droplets will burn quickly when they encounter fire, causing detonation.
Correct approach: If the oil catches fire, use a foam or dry powder fire extinguisher to extinguish it, and remember not to use water.
08
Put cooking oil next to the stovetop
Stock copyright image
The cooking oil has been stored at home for a long time by the stove, and the oil accidentally overflows when cooking vegetables, and the open flame on the stove causes burning, although it is extinguished with a dry rag in time, but it also leaves a shadow on people's hearts.
Analyze the reason: the edible oil overflows, and it is easy to be ignited when it encounters an open flame. And even if there is no spillage, long-term heating at the cooktop will accelerate oxidation, resulting in a decrease in oil quality.
Do: Keep the cooking oil away from the stove and avoid being heated frequently.
bibliography
[1] Liu Tianyi. Evaluation of key influencing factors of combustion and explosion characteristics of wheat dust. Master's thesis, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, June 2023.
[2] Xu Yuchen. Don't ignore the safety of microwave ovens. Household Appliances (Green Appliances), 2021(12):30.
Planning and production
Author丨Denovo Science Team
Audit丨Zhong Kai, Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center
Planning丨Wang Mengru
Editor-in-charge丨Wang Mengru
Reviewer丨Xu Lai, Lin Lin
Source丨Popular Science China