Life Is What You Bake It...

Elisabeth Scott

Reference Librarian

...and so is cooking while blind or visually impaired. 

People have this idea that you shouldn't touch anything in the kitchen because you're low vision or blind. They think you'll have a lot or accidents or get hurt or something. But accidents don't have much of anything to do with sight, and there are a lot of preventative measures you can take to be a competent low-vision or blind chef.

That's Margaret Smitherman, Patron Services Librarian with MLC's Talking Book Services. Margaret is a low vision cook herself. She says that one of her favorite cooking memories was receiving her grandmother's recipe for pound cake, which was intended to be made in a wood-burning stove. The recipe even had directions for picking the proper sized logs to use in the oven. It was printed in New York Point, an early form of dot system used by the blind. Margaret adapted the recipe for a modern oven and has made it multiple times over the years, most recently for an MLC holiday gathering. (I'm here to tell you, it's delicious.) Some of her favorite tips for cooking with low or no vision include using a whistling tea kettle, keeping a bowl of ice water on the counter for treating mild burns, and using your timer and your nose to know when food is done.

There are a lot of places out there with advice and pointers on how to get started cooking with a visual impairment. Here are a few places we found to get you started:

• This article from the American Printing House for the Blind gives some great tips for organization and prep work when cooking.
  
  
• The Blind Kitchen offers videos and recipes for those with low or no vision, with the added bonus of having adaptive equipment available to purchase from their store.
  
  
• Cooking without Looking is a fun YouTube channel that features blind and low vision people cooking and leading their lives. There's a podcast, too!
  
  
• This article from The Blind Guide has more excellent tips for cooking with low or no vision. The website was started when the author's mother lost her vision in the 1990s.
  

If you're in Mississippi, you couldn't ask for a better resource to get cooking in the kitchen than the Addie McBryde Rehabilitation Center for the Blind. A part of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, they teach those with low or no vision how to cook on their own, imparting important skills like meal planning and preparation, grocery shopping, and kitchen organization. If you know someone who can benefit from this service, fill out their online form here.

Last but not least, don't forget about MLC's Talking Book Services! The service is available to all Mississippians who are unable to read standard print due to a visual, physical, or print disability. Their catalog offers hundreds of cookbooks and other books about cooking which can be accessed by downloading or requesting a hard copy on cartridge. Give them a call at 1-800-446-0892 if you have any questions or need help signing up for the service.