I don’t know about you guys, but over the years, I’ve racked up some pretty interesting cooking injuries. I think the funniest (now) is the scar on the top of my left hand from where a George Forman grill closed on me. When it was still bright red and painful-looking, I told people I’d gotten into a fight with a tiger—and won, of course.
Then there was that burn from the pumpkin oatmeal that bubbled up and splashed my arm. And the time I grazed the oven rack with my wrist. And that other time a flaming marshmallow fell on my toe, and that other time…
Somehow while making breakfast Monday morning, I managed to bang my right hand on the underside of the cabinet over the sink. It may or may not have occurred when I was prying the top off the tea kettle so I could fill it with water. Cooking before you’ve had any caffeine can be dangerous.
Luckily, there was no blood, just this crazy bruise.
Whoops.
I can’t be the only one who does this stuff. What are some of your ridiculous kitchen injuries?
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Oven and Toaster oven burns are top on my list. There was the unfortunate bagel knife incident but it is still too painful to talk about. XO, Noo
Don’t feel bad—a corkscrew tried to eat the fleshy part between my finger one night when I had people over. I was gushing blood and chatting away as I administered first aid over the sink. Luckily, I’d already had some wine and didn’t feel a thing.
I’ve had my share of them – name it and I’ve probably done it. The most boneheaded was probably one of the times I started cooking something in a pan stovetop and then finished it off in the oven, and then grabbing the pan handle and forgetting that things in 400 degree ovens are hot – I remember walking into a film class with my hand all bandaged from doing that and getting crazy looks from people.
I know a few people who cook professionally, and I posed the question to them about how they avoid kitchen injuries on the job, and without fail, each one just laughed and set me straight: the pros hurt themselves just as much as us if not more!
Yeah, I’m with Nancy — I have a couple of burn scars from the toaster. But Brent has really sliced himself and burned himself up pretty good – nearly detached top of thumb was probably the worst. When he first started cooking at East Coast Grill and went to Idaho for Christmas his mother nearly fainted at seeing his hands!
I’ve definitely had the problem of being distracted by something/someone while grating carrots for a salad and–whoops! Grated more than carrots.
My most bizarre story, though, is the time I was so intent on opening a jar of tomato sauce that was stuck that I succeeded in tearing part of my palm in the process. From then on, I made sure I had one of those rubber grips in my kitchen at all times.