The Most Dangerous Vegetables Ranked
Knife in hand, you shoot a puzzled glance at the butternut squash sitting on the cutting board, unsure of where to begin. You're not alone-a new study in the UK found that 88 percent of people injure themselves in the kitchen and over half of them do it while preparing vegetables.
In honor of National Safety Week, Just Eat surveyed over 2,000 of its customers to find the top five most dangerous vegetables to prep. Here's what topped the list:
1. Pumpkin 2. Swede (rutabaga) 3. Butternut Squash 4. Turnip 5. Jerusalem Artichoke
Thirty-nine percent of people said they injured themselves because the vegetable was difficult to cut.
"The kitchen is where some of the most serious home accidents occur and cuts are among the most common types of injury to happen, with tens of thousands of people attending A&E as a result each year," said Sheila Merrill, a public health adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in a statement.
"Good preparation is crucial when it comes to preventing kitchen accidents such as severe cuts, so make sure your knives are sharp and in a good condition, use a vegetable peeler where appropriate and do not rush chopping. Keep knives out of the reach of children and, if you're involving young children in food preparation, supervise them at all times and help them to develop good skills in the kitchen."
Thirty seven percent of people surveyed said they shouldn't enter the kitchen because they're a risk to themselves.
Just-Eat UK Managing Director David Buttress said, "Our research shows that cooking at home can be a dangerous game. When it comes to food preparation, it's the usual suspects that crop up time and time again… If it's a choice between laying down the potato peeler for a night and a trip to the hospital waiting room - I know which I'd choose!"