How can I cook food in my kitchen with sight loss?

By adapting how you work in the kitchen and using special equipment, you can carry on enjoying cooking. The following suggestions from people living with sight loss, may help you if you want to get back into the kitchen with confidence:

Use the right knife for cutting and slicing. A blunt knife is not necessarily safer than a sharp one because you need to exert more pressure and the knife might slip.
Keep your knuckle against the side of your knife as a guide – this way you can also measure the thickness of the slices you want.
You can also buy bread slicing guides, which enable you to slice bread evenly and at different thicknesses.
A chopping board with a funnel end is very useful when directing food into a pan or bowl
You could also use a food processor – with the appropriate chopping or slicing attachment – to deal with fruit or vegetables
It is helpful to use a D design peeler with a free-moving blade. Or avoid peeling by scrubbing vegetables thoroughly – of course, some vegetables have more nutritional value with their skins left on
Some people find talking scales useful, whereas others prefer balance scales with weights on the side. You can add braille, or tactile markings, to weights to indicate the amount they weigh
Consider recipes that use cups – or spoons – as units of measurements or purchase a talking measuring jug. Alternatively, you can adapt a standard measuring jug with seed beads glued on to the inside at various levels (100ml, 200ml and so on). If so, use a heat-resistant, non-toxic glue such as araldite

Further information and advice including a video can also be found on RNIB's Cooking web page.

For information on adapting appliances or where to find specialist appliances see How can I make my domestic appliances easier to use? and How can I find appliances or equipment that have been adapted for sight loss?

How can I cook food in my kitchen with sight loss?

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