It seems that Illinois is playing second fiddle in every bit of cooking news lately. In the recent pizza wars with New York, Jon Stewart kicked the crap out of deep dish. The East Coast’s cronut has been all the rage on Twitter, easily overshadowing our own twisted doughnut & gelato sandwich offerings.
When it comes to “Thanksgiving accidents caused by deep fryer mishaps,” things are no different. State Farm has released claims data from 2005-2012 of grease- and cooking-related reports. More cooking fires happen on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, and Illinois has clocked in at a comfortable 27 claims, surpassed only by Texas’ 38.
It goes without saying that dunking a big chunk of bird into a vat of hot oil is dangerous. State Farm has offered a few tips to help end Illinois’ reputable second place finish:
- The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking. It’s important to be alert to prevent cooking fires.
- Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
- Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stovetop.
- Keep an extinguisher approved for cooking or grease fire nearby.
State Farm is even enlisting those cool bearded dudes from Duck Dynasty to help stop you from burning down your kitchen.
Be careful when you’re firing up the ol’ deep fryer on Thursday, friends. Our reputation is at stake.
