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PRIMARY
PRINCIPLES
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The object of cooking food is to make it pleasing and
receptive, to render an appetite.
Boiling To cook in a liquid (water or stock) covered, seals.
Poaching Cooking in a minimum amount of water – never allowed
to boil.
Steaming Cooking in moist heat by steam.
Stewing Gentle simmering in small quantity of water s..b or
sauce.Food and liquid served together.
Braising Combination of roasting and stewing in pan with lid.
Pot roasting Cooking on a bed of root vegetables using butter for
basting vegetables used for accompanying sauce.
Roasting Cooking by direct (radiated) heat with the aid of fat
for basting 1st class joints.
Baking Dry heat in oven with the aid of moisture make steam.
Grilling or Broiling Over heat Grill bars Under heat Salamanda Between heat Roaster
Degrees of Cooking Rare au bleu Underdone saignant Just done a’ point Well done biencuit.
Frying In deep or shallow fat. Shallow – presentation side
first. Deep – fat should be clean
and free from smoke.
Paper Bag First class cuts fish, meat
(small) in well buttered pleated greese proof.
Microwave High frequency power, small
even cuts of meat etc. No metal to be used. Doesn’t colour it needs no
fat or water.
Deep Frying Covering to protect food and
retain moisture. Pane a la Anglase flour, egg wash, bread crumbs. A la Francase flour, milk. Batter. Fritcure for deep frying controlled heat manually 3 – ¼ filled with fat for
safety reasons.
Deep fryer Controlled heat by thermostat.
Fat is at
the right heat when a blue haze comes off.
Frying Mediums
·
Suet – Hard fat from the kidney regions.
·
Dripping – Clarified animal fat.
·
Margarine – an emulsion of fat free milk (lactic acid)
and bleached edible oils, chilled and blended. Addition of caustic soda,
removes fatty acids. Hydrogen in passed through to help thickening.
Oil – A good quality oil should be used to prolong its life, as it is costly to replace this represents the high cost element of in frying.
A good frying medium – A high smoke point, do noticeable
smoking, exceptions are olive oil, dripping. A high flash point for safety. Good clean flavour, colour and odour.
BOILING
Boiling is a very misleading term as the process of
boiling does not necessarily mean that the liquid is kept at boiling point
throughout. Boiling of Meat The
meat is put into boiling water but after the first five minutes the temperature
must be lowered to simmering point, or the meat will be tough. Salt meat
must be put into cold water, brought just to boiling point and then simmered
for the remaining time. Boiling of Fish The
water must be just under boiling point when the fish is put in, or the
fish will break up. It must simmer for the required time. Boiling of Vegetables The
water must be kept boiling quickly. Boiling of Puddings The
water must be kept boiling and replenished with boiling water as it boils
away.
STEAMING
Steaming is cooking in moist heat in direct or indirect
contact with steam. Food may be :--
It is a slower
method than boiling and usually takes about half as long again. Steamed
food is lighter and more digestible than foods cooked by other methods.
There is less danger of over-cooking or of protein becoming hardened and
there is little or no loss. Steamed foods are, therefore, frequently give
to invalids. The steamer
must be provided with a tightly fitting lid and it must fit the lower
pan. The water
must be kept boiling and must be replenished as it boils away. The exception
to this rule is in the steaming of dishes in which egg is the main ingredient,
e.g. egg custard, when the water should simmer only.
STEWING
Stewing is long, slow cooking in a little liquid in a closed vessel. It is an economical method of cooking because the cheaper, tougher kinds of food become tender in the long slow process. Stewing may
be carried out in a pan on top of the stove or in a casserole in the oven.
Whichever way it is done, the heat must be gentle so that the liquid just
simmers. Action of heat in minimum amount of liquid/sauce.
Meats Lamb – shoulder, scrag end, breast. Veal – Shoulder, scrag end, breast. Beef – Chuck, plate, sticking piece, leg of mutton cut,
thin flank, shin.
On bone p/p 175g Off bone p/p 125g
CLASSIFICATION
Stewing is not sauté, quality difference.
Method – White
Fricasse method as for Brown stew but 1
Blanquette
Irish Stew thickening agent is potato.
Fish Stew Bouillabaise a la Marsillaise. – Fish Stock
Method for all brown stews.
Tom puree added, incorporate brown stock. Bring to boil and cover with GPP disc battered, lid over. 4. Meat decanted into clean pan when cooked, sauce strained connected, passed over meat. Reheated dressed in dish with any appropriate garnish.
BRAISING
Braising is a combination of stewing and baking. It
is a suitable method for stuffed joints, poultry, game, rabbit, vegetables
and tougher joints. The food to be braised is placed on a bed of vegetables
in a baking tin with a lid or cover to fit, in a casserole with a tightly
fitting lid, or in a stewpan with a tightly fitting lid. A little fat
should be added and stock poured round to come halfway up the bed of vegetables
consisting of carrot, turnip, celery, onions, the whole being covered
with greased paper and a tightly fitting lid. The braise is cooked in
moderate heat. For about the last half-hour the paper and lid must be
removed and the braise put into the oven to brown.
White Meats Prepare
joints/cuts. Best
ends, saddles, loins, cassions of veal, calves, sweetbreads (blanched),
turkeys, large chickens. Added
fat threaded through meat to add moisture. Larding.
Young
well fleshed meat and poultry. - lightly seal joint/cut.
-
lightly cook braising base without colour.
-
add meat to base and cover with veal stock and reduce
to a glaze.
-
Repeat reduction.
-
Moisten halfway with stock. Cover with lid.
-
Cook slowly in moderate oven.
Vegetable Braise Wash, prepare, wash Firstly, blanch anf refresh , trim.
·
Line pan with thin slices of salt pork fat.
·
Arrange vegetables on a layer of sliced vegetables in
lined pan.
·
Cover with salt pork fat.
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Place on top of stove and stew in own juices (slightly)
·
Cover with white bullion replace lid.
·
Place in a gentle moderate oven.
·
When cooked remove vegetables and drain.
·
Cut and trim to appropriate shape.
·
Keep warm in shallow pan with little cooking stock (reduced)
Storage
·
Place vegetables in earthenware dish.
·
Cover with cooking stock (unskimmed).
·
Cover with grease proof.
Sauce for braising vegetables.
·
Reduce braising liquor Removing
all fat.
·
For some vegetables addition of meat glaze.
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For some vegetables addition of demi glace.
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Monte au barre.
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Few drops of lemon juice for flavour.
ME) lautes Braisees au Jus Wash blanch refresh squeeze , tie in twos, braise. When cooked, untie, trim cut in half, fold, arrange
with heart shaped croutons coated with reduced cooking liquor with the
addition of jus lie.
Celeri Braise 20cm trimmed tender celery on rod, discard green stalks,
wash blanch for 15min, refresh and drain. Braaise in usual manner, when
cooked cut in two, fold top ends over and arrange in a dish.
ROASTING OR BAKING
Roasting is, correctly speaking, cooking in a current
of air, i.e. in front of a hot, open fire. Today, because of the general
use of gas, electric, oil and hard-fuel stoves, roasting has mostly been
superseded by baking or oven roasting, and the joint is described as “roast.”
1.
In roasting, the food is put into a hot oven (see chart,
page 141) and exposed to a high temperature for the first 10 to 15 minutes
–
a.
to coagulate the surface albumen ;
b.
to prevent the escape of juices.
2.
After 10 to 15 minutes, the heat must be reduced
a.
To prevent over-hardening of the surface ;
b.
To raise the centre part to the required cooking temperature
;
c.
To coagulate the albumen thoroughly and evenly throughout.
3.
The oven should be well ventilated and scrupulously
clean.
4.
Meat and vegetables should be basted every 15 to 20
minutes the first half of the time, afterwards every 30 minutes, unless
a covered baking tin is used. Basting (if not frequent) :--
a.
Keeps the food moist ;
b.
Prevents charring of the outside ;
c.
Provides undue shrinkage ;
d.
Improves flavour. Baking is the method by which cakes, bread, puddings,
pastry, etc., are cooked. Dry heat in oven with the aid of moisture produces steam.
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Baste joint, causes glazing and sealing in of juices.
-
Should not be over cooked.
-
Joints may be larded.
First Stage Braising Braising base. Thick slices of carrot and onion fried in fat (pincage).
Place in bottom of thick pan/pot.
Braise meat must be basted because of sauce reduction.
Red meat need not be young (but not too old, tough,
dry). Suitable meats 1.
Beef mutton - Red meat 2.Veal,
lamb, poultry - white meat.
Larding. Joints without suitable covering of fat. Joints without marbeling. e.g. sirloin ribs are suitably marbled with good covering.
Lardons : pork strips 1 cm sq, placed with needle along
grain. Method of preparation : Rolled and seasoned pepper,
nutmeg, spiced, sprinkled with parsley and marinated 2 hrs in brandy.
First stage. Marinating joints.
Firstly rolled in salt, then placed between layers of
vegetables, herbs and spices. Red or white whine is added. The join is rolled and
turned regularly for several hours.
The stages. First Stage Second
Stage Sealing & Braising cooking
Process revinsed. From the outside in concentration
Cooks from the centre outwards. of juices. Water vaporises. Breakdown of meat. Break down of meat. Meat juices leak in sauce. Sauce penetrates back into the meat.
1.For clear
gravy. Remove joint
to suitable clean pan. Strain liquor
over Reduce to
jus lie and thicken with arrowroot.
2.For an
accompanying sauce. Remove joint
from pan. Reduce cooking
liquor by ½. Add sauce
amount of (demi, glace) sauce, espangole.
ii.
Pour sauce over joint in clear pan.
iii.
Continue cooking – basting.
iv.
When cooked remove joint.
v.
Strain sauce and allow to settle for 10 min.
vi.
Skim fat.
vii.
Correct consistency. Must be braised because of sauce reduction.
GRILLING
The principle of grilling is the same as that of roasting.
It is carried out on a grid-iron on the fire, in front of a fire in a
double grid-iron, or on a grid under a gas or electric griller. Owing to the intense heat and rapid cooking, it is suitable
only for the best cuts of meat; inferior meat would be tough and uneatable.
Grilling is suitable for small pieces of tender meat – chops, cutlets,
steak, kidney and cutlets of fish or small whole fish, e.g. herring.
FRYING
There are two methods of frying :-
1.
in
shallow fat frying there may be –
(a)
enough
fat to cover the bottom of the pan – the food being turned to cook evenly
on both sides. This method is suitable for chops, steaks, cutlets, kidneys,
liver, fish, pancakes, etc.
(b)
a
small quantity of fat – just enough to be absorbed by the food which is
tossed in the fat or sautéed. The food may be completely cooked as sautéed
potatoes or kidneys, or partly cooked to improve the flavour, as in the
sautéing of vegetables for soups, sauces, etc.
(c)
no
fat but just a heated an, as in the frying of bacon, sausages, etc.
2.
in
deep fat frying there should be sufficient fat to fill the pan about two-thirds
full. the fat must be quite still with a faint bluish fume rising before food is put in.
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