[blindcooks] Re: Helping a totally blind friend learn to cook
- From: Penny Golden <goldpen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 23:40:30 -0600
If sighted cooks get cut more it is because they do not know the
position of the knife. And their hand gets in the way. I think blind
knife users tend to be safer because they're being more careful. was
that redundant?
Anyhow, I have never really cut myself when doing it right; only when
taking short cuts or cutting something over my open hand have I been
cut. Another thing blind persons might think about is using a kitchen
scissors for jobs that dono't need precision of size. I love my kitchen
scissors; the other day I cut potatoes with them.
On 11/24/2013 7:36 PM, M and L Dorn wrote:
Practicing with a cold pan and meat might be helpful to get the hang
of feeling your way around. I also thought about the glove, but I was
thhinking of the ov-glove which is for heat protection but with the
fingers. Either use the same type glove on each hand or an oven mit
on the pan holding hand for taking the pan out of the oven. The
people at state rehab when doing an evaluation on our skills had us
make a pan fried cheese sandwich. We taught them to melt the butter
in the pan first. Then place the sandwich into the pan. Then you
turn it over and move it around the pan to get all the butter. It's a
lot easier than trying to evenly spread butter onto the bread. It's
an easy item to feel with a spatula, and you can do it at a lower temp
and just cook it longer, which works better anyway. He needs to think
of the utensil as an extension of his hand and feel around the pan and
food in it. You can feel the edge of the pan's outside and the burner
to know it's well placed and not hanging too far off center. You can
feel around the edges of the steaks to see if they overlapped or are
partly running up the side of the pan. You can feel how firm the meat
is to judge doneness. I can see that trying to use the utensil with
an oven mit on could be cumbersome.
As for the produce cutting and knives etc., the sharp knife is much
less dangerous. A dull knife results in you having to force it
through the food, which could cause you to slip and cut yourself.
Simply slow down and focus on what your hands are doing. Taking your
time is the best injury prevention I know of. If and when an injury
happens, have the things you will need easily to hand so there's not a
delay looking for things. A good aloe vera burn cream and some
band-aids are something everyone needs handy... not just blind cooks.
Any cook who says they've never burned or cut themselves is full of
it. Sighted cooks get injured, sometimes more often than a blind
person because they don't pay attention to what they're doing. They
also make as much of a mess as anyone of us. Years ago the Bissel
company had a slogan that I use a lot... Life's messy; clean it up.
Take your time. Practice. Be willing to clean up and treat the
occasional injury. If you have trouble one way, try another.
Oh yes, I have done with pancakes, but the same method could work for
burgers, steaks, eggs, and more, to use 2 pans and turn the entire
pan over into the other one. If the second pan is larger, you have a
margin for error to be sure the food lands in the pan.
Maybe also try the steaks first with a side dish or salad that doesn't
need attention. One thing at a time to focus on might be easier until
the first thing is easily done. Then you can add other things to cook
at the same time. Trying to do multiple things at once can be
intimidating because you want things done almost at the same time.
Dividing your attention before you really have the hang of it could
prove to be a bit much.
TTFN,
Marilyn
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