Aims and objectives of cooking

Aims and objectives of cooking

We eat with our 5 senses, so cook with 5 senses:

ü  Cooking by sight, smell, taste, sound and touch allows you to cook the food to just the way you like it.

ü  Time estimates specified in the recipes are not always the best guide: they do not necessarily apply to all situations since cooking conditions will vary depending on the type and materials of utensils and stoves. Different materials in cooking utensils: aluminium, carbon steel, copper, non-stick, composites etc.

Different types of stoves: gas, infra-red, induction etc.

ü  Cooking by sight: vegetables’ turning a vibrant, brighter green; vegetables and meat browning when caramelised; pasta turns translucent; fish turns opaque, large bubbles means boiling where as small bubbles mean simmering, etc.

ü  Cooking by smell: cooking is also about bringing aromas from the ingredients- smell the aromatics, herbs and spices as they cook.

ü  Cooking by sound: the sizzling of the food tells you the pan is hot enough to vaporise the moisture rapidly, using ingredients with crunch adds to your eating experience etc.

ü  Cooking by touch: vegetables turn soft, proteins firm up when cooked. Control your preferred doneness by feeling the food with your spatula, and if you prefer with your clean finger.

ü  Cooking by taste: taste the marinade, stock, and sauces as you making it. do not taste that has raw meat, poultry, or seafood inside.

Effect of cooking:

Cooking is both art and science- cooking involves physics, chemistry, and biology.

A physical change occurs when a substance changes its form, colour or size, but still remains the same like water changes to ice,

 a chemical change occurs when a substance changes its form, colour or size, combining so as to form an entirely new body.

Effect of cooking upon three main constituents of food - proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Proteins

       The Protein of meat (myosin), of egg (albumen), of wheat (gluten), of pulse (legumin) is           coagulated by heat. Avoid high temperatures as the protein hardens, denatures and shrinks and the food becomes indigestible. The connective tissue is converted into gelatine which is   soluble in water and rendered digestible.

Carbohydrates

  1. Starch in food is greatly affected by heat. By moist heat, it is converted first into a soluble form and then by extreme heat into a new substance, sweetish in flavour-dextrin-as in the crust of bread. Moist heat causes the starch grains to swell; it gelatinises at a temperature below boiling point of water.

2. Cellulose is softened by the application of moist heat.

3. Sugar when heated in water dissolves, then colours; upon further heating, turns brown and becomes a caramel and emits a lovely flavour, but does not crystallise.

Fats

 If heated to a very high degree for a long time, fats undergo partial decomposition and fatty acids and glycerol are produced. Glycerol further decomposes into acerolin which is an irritating compound to the digestive system.

 Aims and objectives of cooking:

ü  Cooking preserves food for a longer time. The high temperature destroys bacteria and limits spoilage.

ü  It is economical as the cooked leftovers could be utilised and interesting new dishes could be prepared.

ü  Cooking gives variety to the menu, as one food item could be cooked in various ways and given different textures.

ü  Cooking helps in creating eye appealing dishes by combining or mixing different coloured ingredients.

ü  Different flavours can be created by cooking.

ü  Cooking is good for increasing nutritive value of the ingredients.

ü  Cooking helps in making food easily digestible.

Importance of spices and herbs:

Ø  Helps in digestion: from prehistoric times, spices have been used. Clove oil stimulates the flow of gastric juices; garlic, aniseed and asafoetida help in better digestion, and to reduce the chances of hypertension.

Ø  For medical purposes: for those with toothache, clove oil relieves pain. Turmeric oil applied on swellings and wounds, as it is believed that it has antiseptic qualities. Garlic and saunf help in digestion, ginger added to tea helps to cure colds.

Ø  Enhances flavour: dishes would be insipid and bland if spices were not added, because they give good flavour and stimulate appetite.

Ø  Improves appearance: some of the spices give colour to the dish and improve the appearance of the dish for ex. Turmeric, saffron etc.

Ø  Improves palatability: salt is one of the important seasonings that enhance the taste of the food. It also brings out the flavour. The other seasonings that improve the palatability are pepper, chillies, coriander etc.

Ø  Acts as a preservative: many foods are preserved for the longer time with the help of spices. Salt is used extensively for preserving.

Ø  Herbs and spices are available in different forms; fresh dehydrated and powdered, liquid and some are essences.

Textures:

The texture, as related to food, is not an entity in itself, but rather the accumulated effect of several characteristics or qualities to create individuality. Variety includes some hard and soft food in a meal. The menu must be having different types of textures included like soft, hard, crisp, smooth etc.

1) Appearance: it is the first factor in the appreciation of food. The size and shape and distribution of cells (holes) are of prime importance. Large cells produce coarseness to the eye, as in cakes, bread, etc.

2) Feel to touch: the perceptiveness to touch should be exact as it is desired to be- a sponge cake should be light and spongy.

3) Softness: it is the characteristics of texture and the product should possess the resiliency (springiness) to gradually return to its normal shape- idlis, khaman dhokla etc.

4) Mouth feel: texture involves feels or bite tenderness- dry, soft, wet, firm etc.

Various textures

DESIRABLE TEXTURES: - These are the good texture of the food. They indicate the good qualities of the food and hence are always preferable in every food that is prepared. Following are the examples of the desirable textures of the food

1.             Firm and close the texture of the food will be firm and close together, rising agent are added to the food, the volume of the food will be increased the holes are even and close together. They are small and equally distributed in all over the food product.
2.             Short and crumby -the final product is short and crumbly. It will just melt in your mouth when you eat them. These are very delicate in nature. The right quantity of fat is used to get good texture like this. If the proportion goes wrong the final texture may be different from the good one.
3.         Light and even these are very light and even food textures, there are plenty of holes and are equally distributed in the food. It is less short than pastry and less spongy than sponge. Most commonly cakes have these textures in it.
4.        Spongy there are plenty of holes present in the food and are equally distributed in to the food, as the air is trapped while making food. They are very soft and light food product to touch like sponge cake, idllies etc
5.           Flaky these products have thin crisp layers of flakes and they are formed by air pockets. The crispiness is due to method of rubbing fat in to flour. in order to get good flaky texture , the right amount of ingredients, proper mixing method correct temperature id require. These are mostly used for bakery items.
6.           Smooth when the dry ingredients are added to liquid ingredients and blended to a smooth paste form, it result in smooth textures.

NON-DESIRABLE TEXTURES: - These are undesirable texture of the food, which are not good sigh of the preparation. By any means if something’s goes wrong with the recipe these textures are formed and are indication of the faulty food preparation and hence one should avoid formation of the following textures.

1.       Hard texture: -the air enclosed in the product may be driven off due to addition of extra liquid in to it or has not mixed properly or sometime if the temperature is too low may result in to hard textures.

2.       Course and open: - this may be caused of improper way of mixing or when too much rising agents are used in food it may result in to course or open texture of the food. The holes are uneven and are wide open in the food.

3.       Soggy texture: - this is again a bad food textures, these may happened if there if too much moisture or liquid present in the food. It tends to sticks to the hand or pan or vessels. It can be found in various rice preparations.

4.       Lumpy textures: - this happens when the solid and liquid are not mixed properly at the same temperature or even if they are at even temperature. Once lumps are cooked they very difficult to remove. These may occur in sauces sooji hulwa or in pasta.

LIQUID CONSISTENCIES
The texture of food should not be thinner than the prescribed liquid consistency.
Thin: Includes all liquids, Jell-O, sherbet, Italian ice, and ice cream. This  consistency is considered non-restrictive. Nothing is added .
Nectar: Apricot or tomato juice consistency; some liquids will require  a thickening agent to reach this consistency.

       Honey: Liquids can still be poured, but are very slow. Liquids will  require a thickening agent to be added to achieve this  consistency.
 Pudding: Liquids are spoonable, but, when spoon is placed upright,  it will not stay upright.

PREPARATION TECHNIQUES

Bake To cook breads, cookies, veggies, casseroles and some meats in an oven

Beat To thoroughly mix ingredients by stirring rapidly in a circular or over and over motion.

Blend To mix two or more ingredients together until combined.  Also known as combining ingredients.

Boil To cook food in a liquid that is 100^oC.

Bread  To coat food with fine bread, cracker or other crumbs, usually by dipping it first into a liquid (e.g. eggs, milk etc.) then into the crumbs.

Broil To cook under direct heat.

Brown  To bake, broil, fry, or toast a food quickly over high heat, causing the surface of the food to turn brown.

Chop Using quick, heavy blows of a knife to cut food into bite-size or smaller pieces.

Cream To beat together ingredients until soft, creamy and smooth.

Cube To cut food into small square pieces. (about 1/2 inch or 1.3 cm)

Dice To cut food into small cubes. (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch or 3 to 6 cm)

Fold To combine two mixtures by gently cutting down through the mixture, across the bottom, and bringing the utensil back up to the surface along with some of the mixture from the bottom (i.e. down-across-up-and-over motion).  The utensil should not be lifted out of the mixture until the ingredients are well blended.

Grate To reduce a large piece of food to small particles or thin shreds by rubbing it on a grater (i.e. a coarse, serrated surface).

Grease  To rub the surface of a pan with grease or shortening usually using a paper towel.

Marinate To soak food in an acid-oil seasoned liquid mixture.  Foods should be covered and refrigerated while marinating.

Mince To cut food into very small pieces (i.e. smaller than chopped)

Mix To combine two or more ingredients by beating or stirring.

Pare To cut off a very thin layer of peel (e.g. a potatoe or apple).

Purée To grind or mash food until it is completely smooth and semi-liquid.

Reduce To cook a liquid until some of the moisture evaporates and the liquid becomes more concentrated.

Roast To cook meat, poultry or veggies in a shallow uncovered pan.

Scald To heat a liquid, such as milk, to just below the boiling point.

Sift To pass dry ingredients though a fine sieve, to remove any large pieces or incorporate air to make the ingredients lighter.

Simmer To cook food in a liquid at a temperature just below boiling.  Bubbles rise slowly but do not break the surface.

Slice To cut a food into large, thin pieces.

Steam To cook food over, but not in boiling water.

Stir To mix ingredients gently in a circular motion.

Whip To beat ingredients rapidly to incorporate air and to increase their volume until they are light and fluffy.