These foods are red hot. No, seriously, they’re about to burst into flames. One in eight U.S. households suffer from fires each year, and combustible foods are a huge factor in that statistic. While we might think that turkeys in deep-fryers are the only way you could accidentally set the house ablaze while cooking, we’re here to tell you that’s not the case. Seemingly harmless foods are some of the most combustible and your safety may depend on knowing which ones they are. So, before we send you into a panic, here are the seven most combustible foods to be wary of in the kitchen.

Garlic

Photo: Dinner Then Dessert

Don’t you love the smell of garlic as it’s cooking in a pan? That amazing smell is the smell of a potential fire, my friends. Garlic is packed with natural oil, which is why it cooks so quickly when you sautée it. But the popping of the garlic may cause the oil in the pan to pop as well — and oil on an open burner? Not so good.

To still enjoy garlic and its delightful scent, simply sautée lightly and slowly instead of cranking the stove to high.

Flour

Photo: Eliesa Johnson

I know, I feel just as betrayed as you do. Powdered goods like flour and sugar have fine particles that tend to light on fire if they’re put over a flame without anything else, like oil or water. This might seem like a silly mistake to make, but hey, things happen.

Always make sure flour is combined with another ingredient, like butter, before adding it to a pot or pan. And, for the love of God, NEVER throw flour into a pan fire.

Marsala Sauce

Photo: The Grub Files

Don’t worry, marsala, you’re not alone. All alcohol-based sauces (like sherry, for example) have a tendency to flare up. Totally normal. The danger is when the bottle of sauce is too close to the rising flame. Makes sense.

Simple solution? Don’t put a bottle of flammable sauce very close to an open flame.

Peanut Brittle

Photo: Stevers Candy

But brittle, we love you! Sadly, it’s the best part of peanut brittle that makes it the most dangerous — the sugar. The sugar in ultra-sugary dishes, like flan, tends to catch fire in a flash, so you have to be very observant of the sugar as it cooks.

Keep the sugar on a low heat and DO NOT walk away from the pan! DILIGENCE, PEOPLE.

Bacon

Photo: Grubstreet

Like garlic, bacon is packed with fats and oils (that’s why we love it so much). Also like garlic, when those oils get hot, they tend to pop and bubble, making the oil it’s cooking in do the same. And, just to clarify again, oil on an open burner is very bad. Very, very bad.

Choose a deeper pan, so that the bacon can still be submerged in oil but the popping oil can’t escape. If you’re making multiple batches of bacon, pour out the old oil before you put in the next round.

Deep-Fried Peppers

Photo: Rasoi Experiments

While deep frying anything can be extremely dangerous (we mentioned deep fried turkeys, right?), peppers tend to be especially risky. When stuffed peppers are submerged in frying oil, air flow is constricted. This pressure can force the peppers to explode open, and the oil may fly onto the open flame. Oil. Flame. BAD.

Make sure the deep fryer isn’t filled all the way up with oil, about halfway should do it. Also, make sure the burners around the area are off, just to be safe.

Doritos

Photo: 72 Hour Kit

The biggest heartbreaker of them all. The best snacks are the ones covered in powdered cheese… but unfortunately, the most flammable snacks are the ones covered in powdered cheese, too. Like flour, the fine particles on snack foods like Doritos and Pirate’s Booty will burst into flames when met with fire. Why you’d be eating these snacks near an open flame is beyond me, but you never know.

Don’t stop eating these delicious foods (jeez, we would never encourage that) but try to be wary eating them around an open flame. Please. Death by Doritos is too ironic and sad.