Do You Need to Wear Aprons When Cooking and Baking?

Cooking can be cathartic and a soulful way to show love and support to friends and family. Cooking is also messy. While wearing an apron isn’t required to whip up a great meal it is helpful for several reasons. Not only can it provide a shield for your clothes from the spattering of foods on the stovetop, but aprons also serve as other benefits many don’t necessarily think of.

Cleanliness And Grease

Grease is a formidable opponent and an unavoidable ingredient in all kitchens. Grease stains are notorious for being very difficult to remove from fabric. There is no greater tragedy then trying to put together a meal and have your favorite shirt covered in droplets of grease rendering it unwearable. No one wants to ruin their work clothes, exercise clothes, or comfy clothes with hard to remove stains. While you might not always have the time to change into something that can take spitting and sputtering of sauces and pans on your stove there is no doubt that you can put on an apron easily.

Keeping an apron hanging around in your kitchen makes protecting your favorite styles simple. Limiting the number of clothes that get dirty can save you a ton of time in the long run by limiting unnecessary laundry build-up. Additionally, it can also save you money. If you aren’t ruining your threads you don’t have to go out as often to replace them.

Aprons Keep Food Safe

Keeping food safe for consumption and aprons may not seem like linked ideas but they are. Food can get contaminated by germs when someone prepares food with unwashed hands, staying outside for too long, or by coming in contact with germs on your clothes. Yes, clothes gather germs throughout the day just like our hands. And these little nasty germs that build upon our clothing throughout the day present a risk for those that we are cooking for if they get into our food.

Wearing an apron is a sure-fire and easy way to limit the risk of germs from your clothes coming into contact with your food. While an apron isn’t going to be a magic bullet for eliminating contamination in all situations, it will bring lower the chances for it. Think about rolling around with your pup and getting that pet hair embedded in your threads. An apron is going to keep the hair out of the food you eat which is more hygienic, quite obviously.

Safety

According to the statistics reported from FEMA, the leading causes of residential fires are electrical malfunctions, unintentional causes, heating, and cooking. Cooking causes the most fires, by far than any of the other causes listed. Cooking is the cause of over 51 percent of all residential fires. Cooking is dangerous.

One way that fires start is because of loose clothing that makes contact with the stove and catches flames. An apron will keep all loose articles of clothing securely and safely tied down and held back from open flames. For this purpose, an apron isn’t just a safety item for inside cooks, but those who like to grill outside should also consider protecting themselves from high flames of their grill.

Setting A Good Example For Kids

Kids watch everything that we do and they will try to mick our behaviors and actions. If they see you wearing an apron they are likely going to want to wear one too. Starting your children early with wearing an apron means they will likely want to use one when they cook as they get older. Letting them pick out their own apron can also be encouraging for younger ones to want to learn how to cook.

Cooking together with kids doesn’t just teach your children a valuable skill, it also provides important bonding time together. Additionally, an apron will help your already-mess-prone children to better avoid getting ingredients all over themselves. Aprons come in many colors and patterns that allow for both adults and kids alike to find one that is stylish and suitable for their style senses.

When you are ready to start looking for an apron, make sure to pick one that matches your goals. You can find aprons that are plastic, cloth, or cloth that have a plastic lining. If you tend to be the human dishwasher in the kitchen as opposed to the cook, an apron that has a plastic lining is a good choice. If you are the cook in the family you can go with either but a cloth apron will work just right. Pockets are a nice feature in aprons so you can put a recipe or an oven mitt for easy access. For cleaning, pockets can hold sponges and cloths.

Resources— FEMA, Dawn, University of Kansas

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