knife slicing a strawberry on a cutting board modified with assistive technology to stabilize the fruit

Can Be Caused by:

Eye injuries, retinal detachments, congenital conditions, stroke, brain injury and cancer. Common age-related causes include diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma.

Vision impairment ranges from complete blindness to partial sight. Persons who are blind typically have no functional vision. However, a person with low vision or who is considered legally blind will have some degree of usable vision.

How Vision Loss Can Affect Meal preparation:

Traditionally, the ability to cook relies on vision during all parts of the cooking process: knowing where everything in the kitchen is located, gathering the ingredients and utensils, preparing the food (measuring, cutting, chopping, pouring, mixing, setting/adjusting appliance controls, knowing when food is cooked properly, and cleaning up.

What To Think About:

Persons who are blind must learn to cook without relying on visual cues. The approach is to substitute touch, sound and smell to compensate for the loss of sight. For individuals with low vision, the strategy is to enhance the person’s remaining vision through proper lighting, glare reduction, high contrast colors and magnification, while also using compensatory tools and techniques for the missing sight.

Assistive Technology Tools, Strategies and Techniques

(These are examples, not an inclusive list)

Assistive Technology Tools for Low Vision

  • Use of task lighting via lamps or undercounter lighting that focuses light on the work area.
  • Position the cook and work surfaces to avoid glare.
  • Use high contrast colors to distinguish the foreground from the background such as solid color placements or trays for organizing utensils and ingredients.
  • Experiment with high contrast backgrounds to make reading text easier (black text with yellow or blue background, or white text with black background, etc.
  • Use or create large print for recipes and labels (18 – 24 pt font size).
  • Use desktop or portable video magnifiers for reading recipes and food labels.

Add caption here.

Add caption here.

Assistive Technology Tools for Blindness

  • Use of tactile (touch) indicators to identify utensils and controls on appliances (raised adhesive dots, Braille markings, puffy paint).
  • Text to speech software that reads the recipes or labels out loud.
  • Kitchen devices that talk: Talking scales, thermometers, microwave, toaster oven, talking portable induction cook units (these items are more commonly available from companies that specialize in selling products to people who are blind).
  • Smart kitchen appliances with sensors that identify individual food products and the temperatures they need to be prepared.
  • Use cut-resistant safety gloves.
  • Use plastic knuckle guards.
  • Liquid level indicators that make a sound or speak alert the cook to prevent liquid spillovers and to measure specific amounts of liquids.
  • Knife alternatives (rocker knife, plastic knives, vegetable choppers such as mini food processors and manual choppers).
  • Use adapted cutting boards with corner guards and food stabilizer projections.
  • “Pot minders” alert the cook when liquids are boiling.
  • For blind cooks who are Braille readers, recipes can be converted into Braille using Braille conversion software. The National Braille Press https://www.nbp.org/ sells Braille cookbooks.

Tips and Techniques for All Cooks with Vision Loss

  • Gather all ingredients and utensils before starting to cook.
  • Put frequently used items within easy reach.
  • Avoid clutter in workspaces and obstacles in pathways.
  • Develop a plan for consistent placement and storage of utensils and food – “a place for everything and everything in its place” – always!
  • Remind anyone helping the cook to put items back to their assigned location.
  • Pay attention to the sounds and smells of cooking to monitor the recipe. progression.
  • Start with simple recipes that limit ingredients and steps.
  • Consider the use of frozen, canned, and partially prepared food items for ease of preparation.

Add caption here.