Palmetto Parent October 2012 : Page 18
Kickoff! Make sure your tailgating foods are delicious — and safe to eat Autumn weather means ensure food football fever will strike and drinks families all across the South. stay super Rhonda Matthews Before any of the big games cold through take place, family and friends the entire often gather to share food tailgating and fun. event. Is your cooler too Tailgating traditions are revered as highly big and you need to ll up as the games themselves. RVs and grills empty space? A quick x are prepped for the big event, tents are put is to ll empty gallon milk up and charcoal res are stoked. Walking jugs with water and freeze through any campus or parking lot prior to them solid. ese giant the game will reveal all the favorite foods ice cubes will take up the extra space and that die-hard football fans enjoy sharing — prevent the temperature in the cooler from and sometimes showing o ! rising too quickly. Here are some tricks of the trade that Wash your hands when handling food. In smart tailgaters should know in order to 2011, the Centers for Disease Control esti-make sure their foods are not only delicious mated that one in six people got sick from but also 100 percent safe to eat. foodborne illnesses. A giant step toward Two small coolers are better than one big reducing the risk for you and your family is cooler. Place your raw meats for the grill to wash your hands before preparing food. in the bottom of one cooler, wrapping the When you’re tailgating, however, hand-meat well so that any juices do not leak. Top washing facilities can be almost impossible the meat with a layer of ice and nestle the to nd. e best solution is to make your remainder of your perishable items in or own hand-washing station. Here’s what on the ice. Make sure the cooler is placed you’ll need: a water jug with a spigot, a in a shady spot if possible and keep the lid pump bottle of soap and a roll of paper tow-closed when not in use. Place your canned els. ose three simple items and 20 seconds and bottled drinks in the other cooler. of sudsy scrubbing will get you ready for For maximum e ectiveness, both cool-preparing your best tailgating fare. ers should be lled to the top with ice to Is it done yet? e only way to know if Eat Right food is ready is to use a food thermometer. Food thermometers can be purchased at every discount store in America. All it takes is one case of food poi-soning to make the point that using a food thermometer is worth the e ort. Consider it “tailgating insurance. Here’s the benchmark that foods should meet in order to be safe: I Steaks and chops: 145 degrees I Burgers, bratwurst and hot dogs: 155 degrees I Chicken: 165 degrees I All cold items should be kept at 40 degrees or less According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, when perishable food sits at room temperature longer than 2 hours, bac-teria growth begins to escalate dramatically. If the temperature is 90 degrees, the growth rate starts increasing after just 1 hour. If the food remains unrefrigerated for prolonged periods and is eaten, food-borne illnesses could easily strike. e food is as much a part of the big game day as the opposing rivalries. Stay smart about how you feed your family and friends. is will ensure good food and fun times for everyone. 8 Rhonda Matthews is a Clemson University Exten-sion Service agent. Address comments or ques-tions to palmettoeditorial@me.com. 18 Palmetto Parent 3969 www.palmettoparent.com October 2012
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