1.
Leeks
–
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of Allium ampeloprasum, the broadleaf wild leek. The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes called a stem or stalk. Historically, many names were used for leeks, but they are now all treated as cultivars of A. ampeloprasum. The name leek developed from the Anglo-Saxon word leac, two closely related vegetables, elephant garlic and kurrat, are also cultivars of A. ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food. The onion and garlic are also related, being other species of the genus Allium, rather than forming a tight bulb like the onion, the leek produces a long cylinder of bundled leaf sheaths that are generally blanched by pushing soil around them. They are often sold as small seedlings in flats that are started off early in greenhouses, once established in the garden, leeks are hardy, many varieties can be left in the ground during the winter to be harvested as needed. Leek cultivars may be treated as a cultivar group, e. g. as A. ampeloprasum Leek Group. Summer leek types are smaller than overwintering types, overwintering types are generally more strongly flavored. Cultivars include King Richard and Tadorna Blue, leeks are easy to grow from seed and tolerate standing in the field for an extended harvest, which takes place up to 6 months from planting. The soil in which it is grown has to be loose and drained well, leeks usually reach maturity in the autumn months. The thrips species Thrips tabaci is considered a leek pest and leeks can also get leek rust. Leeks can be bunched and harvested early when they are about the size of a finger or pencil, hilling leeks can produce better specimens. Leeks have a mild, onion-like taste, in its raw state, the vegetable is crunchy and firm. The edible portions of the leek are the base of the leaves, the light green parts. One of the most popular uses is for adding flavor to stock, the dark green portion is usually discarded because it has a tough texture, but it can be sautéed or added to stock. A few leaves are sometimes tied with twine and other herbs to form a bouquet garni, leeks are typically chopped into slices 5–10 mm thick. The slices have a tendency to fall apart, due to the structure of the leek. The different ways of preparing the vegetable are, Boiling turns it soft, frying leaves it crunchier and preserves the taste
2.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
3.
Browning (food process)
–
Browning is the process of food turning brown due to the chemical reactions that take place within. The process of food browning is one of the most important reactions that take place in chemistry and represents an interesting research topic regarding health, nutrition. Though there are different ways food chemically changes over time, browning in particular falls into main 2 categories. The browning process of foods may yield desirable or undesirable results, browning has many important implications on the food industry relating to nutrition, technology, and economic cost. Researchers are especially interested in studying the control of browning and the different methods that can be employed to maximize this inhibition, enzymatic browning is one of the most important reactions that takes place in most fruits and vegetables as well as in seafood. These processes affect the taste, color, and value of such foods, generally, it is a chemical reaction involving polyphenol oxidase, catechol oxidase, and other enzymes that create melanins and benzoquinone from natural phenols. Enzymatic browning requires exposure to oxygen and it begins with the oxidation of Phenols by Polyphenol oxidase into Quinones, whose strong electrophilic state causes high susceptibility to a nucleophilic attack from other proteins. These Quinones are then polymerized in a series of reactions, eventually resulting in the formation of brown pigments on the surface of the food, the rate of enzymatic browning is reflected by the amount of active polyphenol oxidases present in the food. Hence most research investigating methods to inhibit enzymatic browning has focused on hindering polyphenol oxidase activity, however, not all browning of food produces negative effects. Examples of beneficial enzymatic browning, Developing color and flavor in Coffee, Cocoa beans, Developing color and flavor in dried fruit such as figs and raisins. Examples of non-beneficial enzymatic browning, Fresh fruit and vegetables, including apples, potatoes, bananas, polyphenols oxidases is the major reaction in the formation of Melanosis in crustaceans such as shrimp. A variety of methods are used to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning of foods, the control of enzymatic browning has always been a challenge for the food industry. In addition, the use of chemicals to inhibit browning, such as sulfite have been reconsidered due to the hazards it causes along with its activity. Much research has been conducted regarding the types of control mechanisms that take place when confronted with these enzymatic process. The different types of enzymatic browning control can be classified different groups, low temperatures can also prevent enzymatic browning by reducing rate of reaction. Use of ascorbic acid in certain pHs to control browning of apples under certain conditions by changing their phenolase activity, different pH values affect phenolase activity of apples differently. The two main forms of non-enzymatic browning are caramelization and the Maillard reaction, caramelization is a process involving the pyrolysis of sugar. It is used extensively in cooking for the desired nutty flavor, as the process occurs, volatile chemicals are released, producing the characteristic caramel flavor
4.
Deglazing (cooking)
–
Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies. The French culinary term for these deposits is sucs, pronounced, ), the meat is removed and the majority of the fat is poured off, leaving a small amount with the dried and browned meat juices. The pan is returned to the heat, and a such as vegetable or meat stock. Dairy, however, is not recommended for deglazing, as it may curdle when added to high heat. The solvent allows the cook to scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan and dissolve them, the culinary term fond, French for base or foundation, refers to this sauce, although it is also sometimes used to describe the browned food bits instead. Burned pieces should not be confused with fond, which is dark brown, the flavour is determined chiefly by the meat, the liquid used for deglazing, and any flavouring or finishing ingredients added, such as aromatics, herbs, or butter. This method is the cornerstone of many well-known sauces and gravies, the resulting liquid can be seasoned and served on its own, or with the addition of aromatic vegetables, such as onions or shallots, carrots, and celery, or used as the base for a soup. Deglazing can also be used while cooking vegetables, especially ones which have left sugars at the bottom of a pan and it is commonly used in caramelizing onions. Because vegetables do not produce as much fat, they do not need to be removed from the pan to pour off excess grease. Instead, the liquid can be added directly to the pan and stirred, allowing the fond to meld with the vegetables, deglazing, It works like magic, Leslie Brenner - Los Angeles Times
5.
Pan frying
–
Pan frying is a form of frying characterized by the use of minimal cooking oil or fat, typically using just enough oil to lubricate the pan. In the case of a greasy food such as bacon, no oil or fats may be needed, as a form of frying, pan frying relies on oil as the heat transfer medium and on correct temperature and time to retain the moisture in the food. Because of the coverage, the food must be flipped at least once to cook both sides. A pan fry takes place at lower heat than does a sauté and this is because the food to be pan-fried, such as chicken breasts, steak, pork chops or fish fillets, is not cut into small pieces before cooking. Pan frying requires a lower heat so that the exterior of the food does not overcook until the interior reaches the proper temperature. The same amount of oil is used as for a sauté – just enough to glaze the pan –, the oil should always be hot enough to ensure that the moisture in the food can escape in the form of steam. The force of the keeps the oil from soaking into the food. Generally, a cooking vessel is used for pan frying than deep frying. A denser cooking vessel is better than a less dense pan because that mass will improve temperature regulation, an electric skillet can be used analogously to an electric deep fryer and many of these devices have a thermostat to keep the liquid at the desired temperature. Foods to be pan-fried are sometimes covered with a batter or breading, batters consist of dried ingredients such as flour or cornstarch in conjunction with liquids such as milk, water or other beverages. Breading can be as simple as dusting the food in flour or more commonly what is called the standard breading procedure. The standard breading procedure involves first dusting the food in flour, then dipping it in beaten eggs, season the food with salt and pepper prior to coating. Allowing the food to rest for 15–30 minutes before frying enables the breading to stick to the food with greater tenacity, shallow frying Sautéing Deep frying Frying pan
6.
Searing
–
Searing is a technique used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, etc. in which the surface of the food is cooked at high temperature until a caramelized crust forms. Similar techniques, browning and blackening, are used to sear all sides of a particular piece of meat, fish, poultry. To obtain the desired brown or black crust, the surface must exceed 150 °C, so searing requires the meat surface be free of water. Nonetheless, it remains an essential technique in cooking meat for several reasons, The browning creates desirable flavors through caramelization, the appearance of the food is usually improved with a well-browned crust. The contrast in taste and texture between the crust and the interior makes the food more interesting to the palate, typically in grilling, the food will be seared over very high heat and then moved to a lower-temperature area of the grill to finish cooking. In braising, the seared surface acts to flavor, color, the incorrect belief that searing meat seals in the juices is widespread and still often repeated. This theory was first put forth by Justus von Liebig, a German chemist and food scientist, the notion was embraced by contemporary cooks and authors, including Auguste Escoffier. It is more cited in regards to larger cuts, especially steaks and chops, of non-poultry meats such as beef, pork, lamb. Simple experimentation can test the theory, in two similar cuts of meat are cooked, one of which is seared and one of which is not. Each piece is then cooked normally in a preferred method until each reaches exactly the same predetermined internal temperature and they are then weighed to see which lost more moisture. As early as the 1930s, such experiments were carried out, moisture in liquid and vapor form continues to escape from a seared piece of meat
7.
Clarified butter
–
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, clarified butter has a higher smoke point than regular butter, and is therefore preferred in some cooking applications, such as sautéing. Clarified butter also has a longer shelf life than fresh butter. It has negligible amounts of lactose and casein and is, therefore, smen Dairy product List of butters Food portal
8.
Rapeseed oil
–
Rapeseed, also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae, consumed in China and Southern Africa as a vegetable. The name derives from the Latin for turnip, rāpa or rāpum, older writers usually distinguished the turnip and rape by the adjectives round and long, respectively. Rutabagas, Brassica napobrassica, are considered a variety of B. napus. Some botanists also include the closely related B. rapa within B. napus, B. napus is cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, the third-largest source of vegetable oil in the world. The term rape derives from the Latin word for turnip, rapum, rapeseed is known by many common names in the English language. Some names have only applied to certain subspecies, forms. B. napus = B. napus subsp and this list is from the Germplasm Resources Information Network, which attributes the names to other sources, Brassica napus – rape B. napus subsp. Napus – Argentine canola, canola, colza, oilseed rape, napus f. annua – annual rape and summer rape B. napus subsp. Napus f. napus – swede rape B. napus subsp, napus var. pabularia – Hanover-salad, rape kale, and Siberian kale B. napus subsp. Rapifera – rutabaga, swede, Swedish turnip, and winter rape Brassica napus grows to 100 cm high with lower leaves pinnatifid and glaucous, the flowers are yellow and about 17 mm across. B. napus differs from B. nigra, but can be distinguished by the leaves which do not clasp the stem. In north-east of Ireland B. napus and B. rapa are recorded as escapes in roadside verges, in 1973, Canadian agricultural scientists launched a marketing campaign to promote canola consumption. Today, rapeseed is grown for the production of animal feeds, edible oils, and biodiesel, leading producers include the European Union, Canada, China, India. In India,6.7 million tons are produced annually, the Food and Agriculture Organization reports 36 million tons of rapeseed were produced in the 2003–2004 season, and estimated 58.4 million tons in the 2010–2011 season. In Europe, rapeseed is primarily cultivated for feed, owing to its very high lipid. Natural rapeseed oil contains 50% erucic acid, wild seeds also contain high levels of glucosinolates, chemical compounds that significantly lowered the nutritional value of rapeseed press cakes for animal feed. In North America, the term canola—a contraction of Canada and ola, meaning oil—became widely used to refer to rapeseed, the rapeseed is the harvested component of the crop. The crop is grown as a winter cover crop
9.
Sunflower oil
–
Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil compressed from the seeds of sunflower. Sunflower oil is used in food as a frying oil. The worlds total production of oil in 2014 was nearly 16 million tonnes, with Ukraine. Sunflower oil is a monounsaturated /polyunsaturated mixture of mostly oleic acid -linoleic acid group of oils, the oil content of the seed ranges from 22% to 36%, the kernel contains 45–55% oil. The expressed oil is of amber color with a mild and pleasant flavor. Refining losses are low and the oil has good keeping qualities with light tendency for flavor reversion, the oil contains appreciable quantities of vitamin E, sterols, squalene, and other aliphatic hydrocarbons. In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for crops such as sunflower oil. Measures such as the development of hybrid sunflowers to increase oil production have been introduced to meet this demand, sunflower oil is mainly a triglyceride, a typical constituent is shown. Mid-oleic sunflower oil typically has at least 69% oleic acid, high oleic sunflower oil has at least 82% oleic acid. Variation in unsaturated fatty acids profile is strongly influenced by genetics and climate. In the last decade, high stearic sunflower lines have developed in Spain to avoid the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in the food industry. Sunflower oil is high in the essential vitamin E and low in saturated fat, the two most common types of sunflower oil are linoleic and high oleic. Linoleic sunflower oil is a cooking oil that has high levels of polyunsaturated fat. It is also known for having a taste and low levels of trans fat. High oleic sunflower oils are classified as having monounsaturated levels of 80%, newer versions of sunflower oil have been developed as a hybrid containing linoleic acid. They have monounsaturated levels lower than other oleic sunflower oils, the hybrid oil also has lower saturated fat levels than linoleic sunflower oil. The phosphatides present in the oil are lecithin and cephalin, they occur in combination with protein, sunflower oil also contains lecithin, tocopherols, carotenoids and waxes. Sunflower oils properties are typical of a triglyceride oil
10.
Stewing
–
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables or meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used. While water can be used as the liquid, wine, stock. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added, stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature, allowing flavors to mingle. Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat become tender. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking, cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry. Stews may be thickened by reduction or with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used. Stews are similar to soups, and in some there may not be a clear distinction between the two. Generally, stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker, while soups are almost always served in a bowl, stews may be thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients. Stews have been made since ancient times, herodotus says that the Scythians put the flesh into an animals paunch, mix water with it, and boil it like that over the bone fire. The bones burn very well, and the paunch easily contains all the meat once it has been stripped off, in this way an ox, or any other sacrificial beast, is ingeniously made to boil itself. Amazonian tribes used the shells of turtles as vessels, boiling the entrails of the turtle, other cultures used the shells of large mollusks to boil foods in. There is archaeological evidence of these practices going back 8,000 years or more, there are recipes for lamb stews and fish stews in the Roman cookery book Apicius, believed to date from the 4th century AD. Le Viandier, one of the oldest cookbooks in French, written in the early 14th century by the French chef known as Taillevent, has ragouts or stews of various types in it, the first written reference to Irish stew is in Byrons The Devils Drive, The Devil. A rebel or so in an Irish stew, stew is traditionally known as an English dish and has been a household favorite for centuries. In meat-based stews, white stews, also known as blanquettes or fricassées, are made with lamb or veal that is blanched, or lightly seared without browning, and cooked in stock. Brown stews are made with pieces of red meat that are first seared or browned, before a browned mirepoix and sometimes browned flour, stock and wine are added
11.
Fond
–
Stock is a flavored liquid preparation. It forms the basis of many dishes, particularly soups and sauces, making stocks involves simmering animal bones or meat, seafood, or vegetables in water or wine, adding mirepoix or other aromatics for more flavor. Traditionally, stock is made by simmering various ingredients in water, a newer approach is to use a pressure cooker. The ingredients may include some or all of the following, Meat Leftover cooked meat, quantities recommended are in the ratio of 1 part fresh meat to 2 parts water. Bones Veal, beef, and chicken bones are most commonly used, the flavour of the stock comes from the cartilage and connective tissue in the bones. Connective tissue has collagen in it, which converted into gelatin that thickens the liquid. Stock made from bones needs to be simmered for longer than stock made from meat, pressure cooking methods shorten the time necessary to extract the flavour from the bones. Mirepoix Mirepoix is a combination of onions, carrots, celery, often, the less desirable parts of the vegetables that may not otherwise be eaten are used. The use of parts is highly dependent upon the chef. Herbs and spices The herbs and spices used depend on availability, in classical cuisine, the use of a bouquet garni consisting of parsley, bay leaves, a sprig of thyme, and possibly other herbs, is common. This is often placed in a sachet to make it easier to remove once the stock is cooked, today, ready-made stock and stock cubes consisting of dried, compressed stock ingredients are readily available. These are commonly known as bouillon cubes, as cooking base in the US, or as Oxo cubes in Britain, the difference between broth and stock is one of both cultural and colloquial terminology but certain definitions prevail. Stock is the liquid produced by simmering raw ingredients, solids are removed and this yields classic stock as made from beef, veal, chicken, fish and vegetables. Broth differs in that it is a soup where the solid pieces of flavoring meat or fish, along with some vegetables. It is often made more substantial by adding starches such as rice, traditionally, broth contained some form of meat or fish, however, nowadays it is acceptable to refer to a strictly vegetable soup as a broth. Chicken stock is cooked for several hours. Fish stock is made with fish bones and finely chopped mirepoix, fish stock should be cooked for 20–25 minutes—cooking any longer spoils the flavour. Concentrated fish stock is called fish fumet, in Japanese cooking, a fish and kelp stock called dashi is made by briefly cooking skipjack tuna flakes called katsuobushi in nearly boiling water
12.
Skillet
–
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically 200 to 300 mm in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared vertical sides, while a sauté pan can be used like a frying pan, it is designed for lower heat cooking methods, namely sautéing. Copper frying pans were used in ancient Mesopotamia, frying pans were also known in ancient Greece where they were called tagēnon and Rome, where they were called patella or sartago. The word pan derives from the Old English panna, cooking pots and pans with legless, flat bottoms were designed when cooking stoves became popular, this period of the late 19th century saw the introduction of the flat cast iron skillet. A versatile pan that combines the best of both the pan and the frying pan has higher, sloping sides that are often slightly curved. This pan is called a sauteuse, an evasée, or a fait-tout, most professional kitchens have several of these utensils in varying sizes. A grill pan is a pan with very low sides. A grill pan cooks food with radiant heat on a stovetop and it is referred to as a griddle pan in British English. A rappie pan is a pan used to make rappie pie, the pan is made from Aluminum or Stainless Steel. Traditionally, frying pans were made of cast iron, although cast iron is still popular today, especially for outdoor cooking, most frying pans are now made from metals such as aluminium or stainless steel. Frying pans made from bare cast iron or carbon steel can also gain non-stick properties through seasoning, a process for bonding Teflon to chemically roughened aluminum was patented in France by Marc Gregoire in 1954. In 1956 he formed a company to market non-stick cookware under the Tefal brand name, the durability of the early coatings were poor, but improvements in manufacturing have made these products a kitchen standard. The surface is not as tough as metal and the use of metal utensils can permanently mar the coating and degrade its non-stick property. For some cooking preparations a non-stick frying pan is inappropriate, especially for deglazing, since little or no residue can stick to the surface, the sauce will fail for lack of its primary flavoring agent. Non-stick frying pans featuring teflon coatings may give off toxic fumes, such temperatures can be reached within minutes on gas or electric ranges using high heat. An electric frying pan or electric skillet incorporates an electric heating element into the pan itself. Accordingly, it has heat-insulated legs for standing on a countertop, electric frying pans are common in shapes that are unusual for unpowered frying pans, notably square and rectangular
13.
Agaricus bisporus
–
Agaricus bisporus is an edible basidiomycete mushroom native to grasslands in Europe and North America. It has two states while immature—white and brown—both of which have various names. When mature, it is known as mushroom, often shortened to just portobello. When immature and white, this mushroom may be known as mushroom, button mushroom, white mushroom, cultivated mushroom, table mushroom. A. bisporus is cultivated in more than seventy countries, and is one of the most commonly and widely consumed mushrooms in the world, the common mushroom has a complicated taxonomic history. It was first described by English botanist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke in his 1871 Handbook of British Fungi, danish mycologist Jakob Emanuel Lange later reviewed a cultivar specimen, and dubbed it Psalliota hortensis var. bispora in 1926. In 1938, it was promoted to species status and renamed Psalliota bispora, emil Imbach imparted the current scientific name of the species, Agaricus bisporus, after the genus Psalliota was renamed to Agaricus in 1946. The specific epithet bispora distinguishes the two-spored basidia from four-spored varieties, the pileus or cap of the original wild species is a pale grey-brown in color, with broad, flat scales on a paler background and fading toward the margins. It is first hemispherical in shape before flattening out with maturity, the narrow, crowded gills are free and initially, pink, then red-brown and finally a dark brown with a whitish edge from the cheilocystidia. The cylindrical stipe is up to 6 cm tall by 1–2 cm wide and bears a thick and narrow ring, the firm flesh is white, although stains a pale pinkish-red on bruising. The spore print is dark brown, the spores are oval to round and measure approximately 4. 5–5.5 μm × 5–7. This mushroom is found worldwide in fields and grassy areas following rain, from late spring through to autumn. It is widely collected and eaten, even by those who would not normally experiment with mushroom hunting, thus it is always important to clear away debris and examine the base of such similar mushrooms, as well as cutting open young specimens to check the gills. Furthermore, the destroying angel grows in woods and lives symbiotically with spruce. A more common and less dangerous mistake is to confuse A. bisporus with Agaricus xanthodermus, a. xanthodermus has an odor reminiscent of phenol, its flesh turns yellow when bruised. This fungus causes nausea and vomiting in some people, the poisonous European species, Entoloma sinuatum, has a passing resemblance as well, but has yellowish gills, turning pink, and it lacks a ring. The earliest scientific description of the cultivation of A. bisporus was made by French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in 1707. French agriculturist Olivier de Serres noted that transplanting mushroom mycelia would lead to the propagation of more mushrooms, spawn collected this way contained pathogens and crops commonly, would be infected, or not grow at all
14.
Cooking
–
Cooking or cookery is the art, technology and craft of preparing food for consumption with the use of heat. The ways or types of cooking also depend on the skill, cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. Cooking can also occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, such as in ceviche, preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans. It may have started around 2 million years ago, though evidence for it reaches no more than 1 million years ago. The expansion of agriculture, commerce, trade and transportation between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients, New inventions and technologies, such as the invention of pottery for holding and boiling water, expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation to further enhance the flavor of the dish served, phylogenetic analysis suggests that human ancestors may have invented cooking as far back as 1.8 million to 2.3 million years ago. Re-analysis of burnt bone fragments and plant ashes from the Wonderwerk Cave, there is evidence that Homo erectus was cooking their food as early as 500,000 years ago. Evidence for the use of fire by Homo erectus beginning some 400,000 years ago has wide scholarly support. Archeological evidence, from 300,000 years ago, in the form of ancient hearths, earth ovens, burnt animal bones, and flint, are found across Europe, anthropologists think that widespread cooking fires began about 250,000 years ago, when hearths started appearing. More recently, the earliest hearths have been reported to be at least 790,000 years old, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, food was a classic marker of identity in Europe. In the nineteenth-century Age of Nationalism cuisine became a symbol of national identity. Communication between the Old World and the New World in the Colombian exchange influenced the history of cooking, the Industrial Revolution brought mass-production, mass-marketing and standardization of food. Factories processed, preserved, canned, and packaged a wide variety of foods, in the 1920s, freezing methods, cafeterias and fast-food establishments emerged. Along with changes in food, starting early in the 20th century, governments have issued nutrition guidelines, the 1916 Food For Young Children became the first USDA guide to give specific dietary guidelines. Updated in the 1920s, these guides gave shopping suggestions for different-sized families along with a Depression Era revision which included four cost levels, in 1943, the USDA created the Basic Seven chart to make sure that people got the recommended nutrients. It included the first-ever Recommended Daily Allowances from the National Academy of Sciences, in 1956, the Essentials of an Adequate Diet brought recommendations which cut the number of groups that American school children would learn about down to four. In 1979, a guide called Food addressed the link between too much of certain foods and chronic diseases, but added fats, oils, most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi
15.
Cookware
–
Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers, commonly found in a kitchen. Cookware comprises cooking vessels, such as saucepans and frying pans, bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware, some choices of material also require special pre-preparation of the surface—known as seasoning—before they are used for food preparation. Both the cooking pot and lid handles can be made of the material but will mean that. In order to avoid this, handles can be made of non-heat-conducting materials, for example bakelite and it is best to avoid hollow handles because they are difficult to clean or to dry. A good cooking pot design has an edge which is what the lid lies on. The lid has an edge that avoids condensation fluid from dripping off when handling the lid or putting it down. The history of cooking vessels before the development of pottery is due to the limited archaeological evidence. The earliest pottery vessels, dating from 19, 600±400 BP, were discovered in Xianrendong Cave, Jiangxi, the pottery may have been used as cookware, manufactured by hunter-gatherers. Harvard University archaeologist Ofer Bar-Yosef reported that When you look at the pots and it is also possible to extrapolate likely developments based on methods used by latter peoples. Among the first of the believed to be used by stone age civilizations were improvements to basic roasting. Examples of similar techniques are still in use in many modern cuisines, of greater difficulty was finding a method to boil water. For people without access to heated water sources, such as hot springs. In many locations the shells of turtles or large mollusks provided a source for waterproof cooking vessels, according to Frank Hamilton Cushing, Native American cooking baskets used by the Zuni developed from mesh casings woven to stabilize gourd water vessels. He reported witnessing cooking basket use by Havasupai in 1881, roasting baskets covered with clay would be filled with wood coals and the product to be roasted. When the thus fired clay separated from the basket, it would become a usable clay roasting pan in itself and this indicates a steady progression from use of woven gourd casings to waterproof cooking baskets to pottery. Other than in other cultures, Native Americans used and still use the heat source inside the cookware. Cooking baskets are filled with hot stones and roasting pans with wood coals, Native Americans would form a basket from large leaves to boil water, according to historian and novelist Louis LAmour
16.
Saucier
–
A saucier or sauté chef is a position in the classical brigade style kitchen. It can be translated into English as sauce cook, in addition to preparing sauces, the saucier prepares stews, hot hors dœuvres, and sautés food to order. Although it is considered the highest position of the station cooks. In Georges Auguste Escoffiers system of the kitchen brigade, outlined in his Guide Culinaire. Frederic Forrests character Jay Chef Hicks in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now remarks to protagonist Capt. Benjamin Willard, who is from New Orleans, that he was raised to be a saucier. In Tropic Thunder, the character Kirk Lazarus is playing in the movie within the claims to have been a saucier in San Antonio before the war broke out
17.
Stir frying
–
Stir frying is a Chinese cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into parts of Asia. Many claim that this quick, hot cooking seals in the flavors of the foods, as well as preserving their color and texture. Well into the 20th century, while restaurants and affluent families could afford the oil and fuel needed for stir fry, stir fry cooking came to predominate over the course of the century as more people could afford oil and fuel, and in the West spread beyond Chinese communities. The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language in Buwei Yang Chaos book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, the Chinese character chao is attested in inscriptions on bronze vessels from the Eastern Zhou period, but not in the sense of stir frying. Dry stirring was used in the Han dynasty to parch grain, although there are no surviving records of Han dynasty stir frying, archaeological evidence of woks and the tendency to slice food thinly indicate that the technique was likely used for cooking. The term chao appears for the first time in the sense of stir frying in the Qimin Yaoshu, in sources from the Tang dynasty, chao refers not to a cooking technique, but to a method for roasting tea leaves. It reappears as a method in a dozen recipes from the Song dynasty. The Song period is when the Chinese started to use oil for frying instead of animal fats. Until then, vegetable oil had been used chiefly in lamps, historically, stir frying was not as important a technique as boiling or steaming, since the oil needed for stir frying was expensive. The increasingly commercial nature of city life in the late Ming and Qing periods also favored speedy methods, but even as stir frying became an important method in Chinese cuisine, it did not replace other cooking techniques. By the late Qing, most Chinese kitchens were equipped with a wok range convenient for stir-frying because it had a hole in the middle to insert the bottom of a wok into the flames. Stir frying was brought to America by early Chinese immigrants, and has used in non-Asian cuisine. The term stir fry as a translation for chao was introduced in the 1945 book How To Cook and it was designed by the authors husband, the linguist Yuen Ren Chao. The book told the reader Roughly speaking, chao may be defined as a big-fire-shallow-fat-continual-stirring-quick-frying of cut-up material with wet seasoning and we shall call it stir-fry or stir for short. The nearest to this in western cooking is sauté, because stir-frying has such critical timing and is done so quickly, it can be called blitz-cooking. In the West, stir fry spread from Chinese family and restaurant kitchens into general use, one popular cookbook noted that in the health-conscious 1970s suddenly it seemed that everyone was buying a wok, and stir frying remained popular because it was quick. Many families had difficulty fitting a family dinner into their crowded schedules, broadly speaking, there are two primary techniques, chao and bao
18.
Wok
–
A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel, originating from China. The use of the wok is very prevalent in South China and it is one of the most common cooking utensils in China and also found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as becoming a popular niche cookware in all the world. Wok cooking is done with long-handled utensils called chahn or hoak, the long handles of these utensils allow cooks to work with the food without burning their hands. In Japan the wok is called a chūkanabe, in Indonesia the wok is known as a penggorengan or wajan. In Malaysia it is called a kuali or kawah, similarly in the Philippines, the wok is known as kawali, while bigger woks used for festivals and gatherings are known as kawa. The woks most distinguishing feature is its shape, classic woks have a rounded bottom. Hand-hammered woks are sometimes flipped inside out after being shaped, giving the wok a gentle flare to the edge that makes it easier to push food up onto the sides of the wok. Woks sold in western countries are found with flat bottoms—this makes them more similar to a deep frying pan. The flat bottom allows the wok to be used on an electric stove, a round bottom wok enables the traditional round spatula or ladle to pick all the food up at the bottom of the wok and toss it around easily, this is difficult with a flat bottom. With a gas hob, or traditional pit stove, the bottom of a round wok can get hotter than a flat wok, most woks range from 300 to 360 mm or more in diameter. Woks of 360 mm are the most common, but home woks can be found as small as 200 mm, smaller woks are typically used for quick cooking techniques at high heat such as stir frying. Large woks over a meter wide are used by restaurants or community kitchens for cooking rice or soup. The most common used in making woks today are carbon steel. Although the latter was the most common used in the past. Their light weight makes them easier to lift and quicker to heat, carbon steel woks, however, tend to be more difficult to season than those made of cast-iron. Carbon steel woks vary widely in price, style, and quality, the lowest quality steel woks tend to be stamped by machine from a single ply or piece of stamped steel. Less expensive woks have a tendency to deform and misshape. Cooking with lower quality woks is also difficult and precarious since they often have a hot spot
19.
List of cooking techniques
–
This is a list of cooking techniques. Cooking is the art of preparing food for ingestion, commonly with the application of heat, Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, with cultural traditions and trends. The way that takes place also depends on the skill. This is an comprehensive list of cooking techniques, and includes techniques that are unique to countries, provinces, states, regions. Amandine – a culinary term indicating a garnish of almonds, dishes of this sort are usually cooked with butter and seasonings, then sprinkled with whole or flaked, toasted almonds. Amylolytic process – used in the brewing of alcohol from grains Anti-griddle – a kitchen appliance that flash freezes or semi-freezes foods placed on its chilled metal top, the oil is then added to a dish for flavoring. Cheesemaking – the craft of making cheese Chinese cooking techniques – a set of methods, the cooking techniques can either be grouped into ones that use a single cooking method or a combination of wet and dry cooking methods. Red cooking – also called Chinese stewing, red stewing, red braising, clay pot cooking – a process of cooking food in a pot made from unglazed & natural clay Coddling – heating food in water kept just below the boiling point. Coddled egg may be prepared using this method, concasse – to rough chop any ingredient, usually vegetables. Curdling – the breaking of an emulsion or colloid into large parts of different composition through the processes of flocculation, creaming. Curdling is intentional and desirable in making cheese and tofu, unintentional and undesirable in making sauces and custards. Curing Curing is any of various food preservation and flavoring processes of foods such as meat, fish and vegetables, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite, many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking. The use of food dehydration was the earliest form of food curing, a food dehydrator uses a heat source and air flow to reduce the water content of foods. Dum pukht – or slow oven cooking, is a technique associated with the Awadh region of India, in which meat and vegetables are cooked over a very low flame. Dutch oven cooking – A Dutch oven is well suited for long, slow cooking, such as in making roasts, stews, virtually any recipe that can be cooked in a conventional oven can be cooked in a Dutch oven. They are often used in cooking, such as when camping. Earth oven – one of the most simple and long-used cooking structures, at its simplest, it is a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food. A common example of an infusion is tea, and many herbal teas are prepared in the same way
20.
Dry roasting
–
Dry Roasting is a process by which heat is applied to dry foodstuffs without the use of oil or water as a carrier. Unlike other dry heat methods, dry roasting is used with such as nuts. Dry roasted foods are stirred as they are roasted to ensure even heating, dry roasting can be done in a frying pan or wok, or in a specialized roaster. Dry roasting changes the chemistry of proteins in the food, changing their flavor, roasted spices are commonly prepared by adding various herbs, spices and sugars in the frying pan and roasting until brown
21.
Hot salt frying
–
Hot salt frying and hot sand frying are cooking techniques used by street-side food vendors in Pakistan, China and India. In Pakistan, hot salt frying is used by street vendors to cook corn. Rock salt is preheated in a wok, either the whole corn or individual kernels are buried in the salt and occasionally turned. Coarse sea salt is placed in a wok and heated to a high temperature. Dry food items, such as eggs in shell, are buried in the hot salt, in India, this technique is used by street vendors sell shelled peanuts or popcorn cooked in salt heated in an iron wok. Hot sand frying is a cooking technique for street-side food vendors in China. A large wok is filled with sand and heated to high temperature. Nuts are buried in the hot sand and occasionally turned with a spatula, then the sand and nuts are separated through a wire-mesh screen
22.
Baking
–
Baking is a method of cooking food that uses prolonged dry heat, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many types of foods are baked. Heat is gradually transferred from the surface of cakes, cookies, as heat travels through it transforms batters and doughs into baked goods with a firm dry crust and a softer centre. Baking can be combined with grilling to produce a hybrid barbecue variant by using both methods simultaneously, or one after the other, Baking is related to barbecuing because the concept of the masonry oven is similar to that of a smoke pit. Because of historical social and familial roles, baking has traditionally performed at home by women for domestic consumption and by men in bakeries. When production was industrialized, baking was automated by machines in large factories, the art of baking remains a fundamental skill and is important for nutrition, as baked goods, especially breads, are a common but important food, both from an economic and cultural point of view. A person who prepares baked goods as a profession is called a baker, all types of food can be baked, but some require special care and protection from direct heat. Various techniques have developed to provide this protection. In addition to bread, baking is used to prepare cakes, pastries, pies, tarts, quiches, cookies, scones, crackers, pretzels, and more. Larger cuts prepared without stuffing or coating are often roasted. Roasting, however, is suitable for finer cuts of meat. One of these is the known as en croûte, which protects the food from direct heat. Meat, poultry, game, fish or vegetables can be prepared by baking en croûte, the en croûte method also allows meat to be baked by burying it in the embers of a fire – a favourite method of cooking venison. In this case, the casing is made from a paste of flour. Salt can also be used to make a protective crust that is not eaten, another method of protecting food from the heat while it is baking, is to cook it en papillote. In this method, the food is covered by baking paper to protect it while it is being baked, the cooked parcel of food is sometimes served unopened, allowing diners to discover the contents for themselves which adds an element of surprise. Eggs can also be used in baking to produce savoury or sweet dishes, in combination with dairy products especially cheese, they are often prepared as a dessert. For example, although a baked custard can be made using starch, baked custards, such as crème caramel, are among the items that need protection from an ovens direct heat, and the bain-marie method serves this purpose
23.
Roasting
–
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air envelops the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance flavor through caramelization and Maillard browning on the surface of the food, Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat, and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted, any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. A roast joint of meat can take one, two, even three hours to cook—the resulting meat is tender, also, meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as roasted, e. g. roasted chicken or roasted squash. For roasting, the food may be placed on a rack, in a pan or, to ensure even application of heat. If a pan is used, the juice can be retained for use in gravy, Yorkshire pudding, during oven roasting, hot air circulates around the meat, cooking all sides evenly. There are several plans for roasting meat, low-temperature cooking, high-temperature cooking, each method can be suitable, depending on the food and the tastes of the people. A low-temperature oven,95 °C to 160 °C, is best when cooking with large cuts of meat, turkey and this is not technically roasting temperature, but it is called slow-roasting. The benefit of slow-roasting an item is less moisture loss and a tender product. More of the collagen that makes meat tough is dissolved in slow cooking, at true roasting temperatures,200 °C or more, the water inside the muscle is lost at a high rate. Cooking at high temperatures is beneficial if the cut is tender enough—as in filet mignon or strip loin—to be finished cooking before the juices escape. A reason for high temperature roasting is to brown the outside of the food, fast cooking gives more variety of flavor, because the outside is brown while the center is much less done. The combination method uses high heat just at either the beginning or the end of the cooking process, searing and then turning down to low is also beneficial when a dark crust and caramelized flavor is desired for the finished product. The objective in any case is to retain as much moisture as possible, while providing the texture, as meat cooks, the structure and especially the collagen breaks down, allowing juice to come out of the meat. So meat is juiciest at about medium rare while the juice is coming out, during roasting, meats and vegetables are frequently basted on the surface with butter, lard, or oil to reduce the loss of moisture by evaporation. In recent times, plastic bags have become popular for roasts. These cut cooking times and reduce the loss of moisture during roasting and they are particularly popular for turkeys. Until the late 19th century, roasting by dry heat in an oven was called baking, Roasting originally meant turning meat or a bird on a spit in front of a fire
24.
Smoking (cooking)
–
Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, and ingredients used to make such as whisky, smoked beer. In Europe, alder is the traditional smoking wood, but oak is often used now. In North America, hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, maple, and fruit-tree woods, such as apple, cherry, other biomass besides wood can also be employed, sometimes with the addition of flavoring ingredients. Chinese tea-smoking uses a mixture of uncooked rice, sugar, and tea, some North American ham and bacon makers smoke their products over burning corncobs. Peat is burned to dry and smoke the barley used to make whisky. In New Zealand, sawdust from the native manuka is commonly used for hot smoking fish, in Iceland, dried sheep dung is used to cold-smoke fish, lamb, mutton and whale. Historically, farms in the Western world included a building termed the smokehouse. This was generally well-separated from other buildings both because of the danger and because of the smoke emanations. The smoking of food directly with wood smoke is known to contaminate the food with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the smoking of food dates back to the time of primitive cavemen. As caves or simple huts lacked chimneys, these dwellings could become very smoky, until the modern era, smoking was of a more heavy duty nature as the main goal was to preserve the food. Large quantities of salt were used in the process and smoking times were quite long. The advent of modern transportation made it easier to transport food products long distances. Smoking became more of a way to flavor than to preserve food, in 1939 a device called the Torry Kiln was invented at the Torry Research Station in Scotland. The kiln allowed for uniform mass-smoking and is considered the prototype for all modern large-scale commercial smokers, smokehouse temperatures for cold smoking are typically done between 20 to 30 °C. In this temperature range, foods take on a smoked flavor, cold smoking does not cook foods. Meats should be cured before cold smoking. Cold smoking can be used as an enhancer for items such as chicken breasts, beef, pork chops, salmon, scallops
25.
Grilling
–
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, food to be grilled is cooked on a grill, a grill pan, or griddle. Heat transfer to the food when using a grill is primarily through thermal radiation, heat transfer when using a grill pan or griddle is by direct conduction. In the United States, when the source for grilling comes from above. In this case, the pan that holds the food is called a broiler pan, direct heat grilling can expose food to temperatures often in excess of 260 °C. Grilled meat acquires a distinctive roast aroma and flavor from a process called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction only occurs when foods reach temperatures in excess of 155 °C, marination may reduce the formation of these compounds. Grilling is often presented as an alternative to cooking with oils, although the fat. In Japanese cities, yakitori carts, restaurants, or shops can be found and these contain charcoal-fired grills and marinated grilled meat on a stick. Yakiniku is a type of food where meat and/or vegetables are grilled directly over small charcoal or gas grills at high temperatures. In Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, a food item from food vendors is satay. In Germany, the most prominent outdoor form of grilling is using the gridiron over a bed of burning charcoal, care is taken that the charcoal does not produce flames. Often beer is sprinkled over the sausages or meat and used to suppress flames, the meat is usually marinated before grilling. Besides charcoal, sometimes gas and electric heat sources are used, other methods are used less frequently. In Argentina and Uruguay, both asado and steak a la parrilla are staple dishes and even hailed as national specialties, in Sweden, grilling directly over hot coals is the most prominent form of grilling. Usually the meat is Boston butt, pork chops or pork fillet and it is also common to cook meat and vegetables together on a skewer, this is called grillspett. In the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland, grilling refers to cooking food directly under a source of direct. The grill is usually a part of an oven where the food is inserted just under the element
26.
Rotisserie
–
This method is generally used for cooking large joints of meat or entire animals, such as pigs or turkeys. The rotation cooks the meat evenly in its own juices and allows access for continuous self-basting. In medieval and early modern kitchens, the spit was the way of cooking meat in a large household. A servant, preferably a boy, sat near the turning the metal rod slowly and cooking the food. Mechanical turnspits were later invented, first powered by dogs on treadmills, the spit could also be powered by a turbine mounted in the chimney with a worm transmission for torque and speed conversion. Spits are now driven by electric motors. Rotisserie can also refer to a device used for rotisserie cooking. The word comes from French where it first appeared in Paris shops around 1450, additionally, in restaurants employing the Escoffierian brigade de cuisine, the rotisseur is the chef responsible for all spit-roasted, oven roasted, grilled and in some cases fried foods. It is commonly known in Latin America as A la brasa and this style mounts the spit horizontally. They are often used to cook whole chickens or roasts of various meats including beef, the design may include a single spit mounted over an open broiler or grill, a single spit mounted within an otherwise-conventional oven, or many spits mounted within a large industrial oven. The latter are used to mass-produce roasted meats for sale to consumers. In this style of rotisserie, balance is important, if the object to be cooked is far out of balance, it will impose a heavy load on the drive mechanism or cause the mechanism to fail to turn. Loose chicken legs or wings can cause the mechanism to jam. For these two reasons, some skewering skill is required, high-end consumer ovens commonly come with a rotisserie. In these cases, the drive mechanism is usually concealed within the oven. The rotisserie is used by removing the normal cooking racks, a carrier may be needed to provide one or both bearing points for the spit. The speed of rotation can vary, depending on the type of food being cooked, large animals, such as whole pigs, are often cooked at speeds ranging from 3 rpm to 1 rpm. Ron Popeil, inventor of the Ronco Showtime rotisserie oven, claims that 6 rpm is a speed for cooking a variety of food
27.
Toast
–
Toast is sliced bread about 1⁄2 inch thick that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread, toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable. Bread is often toasted using a toaster, but toaster ovens are also used, toast is commonly eaten with butter or margarine and sweetened toppings, such as jam or jelly. Regionally, savoury spreads, such as butter or yeast extracts. When buttered, toast may also be served as an accompaniment to savoury dishes, especially soups or stews, toast is a common breakfast food. While slices of bread are most common, bagels and English muffins are also toasted, scientific studies in the early 2000s found that toast may contain carcinogens caused by the browning process. The word toast, which sliced bread singed by heat comes from the Latin torrere. The first reference to toast in print is in a recipe for Oyle Soppys that dates from 1430. In the 1400s and 1500s, toast was discarded or eaten after it was used as a flavouring for drinksIn the 1600s, toast was still thought of as something that was put it into drinks. Shakespeare gave this line to Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor,1616, Go, fetch me a quart of Sacke, toast has been used as an element of American haute cuisine since at least the 1850s. In a modern kitchen, the usual method of toasting bread is by the use of a toaster. To use a modern toaster, sliced bread is placed into the slots on the top of the toaster, the toaster is tuned to the correct setting. The toast is ready when the lever pops up along with the toast, if the bread is insufficiently toasted, the lever can be pressed down again. Bread toasted in a conventional toaster can sweat when it is served and this occurs because moisture in the bread becomes steam while being toasted due to heat and when cooled the steam condenses into water droplets on the surface of the bread. It can also be toasted by a toaster which are often used in hotels, restaurants. These work by having one heating element on the top and one on the bottom with a conveyor belt in the middle which carries the toast between the two heating elements. This allows toast to be made consistently as more slices can be added at any time without waiting for ones to pop up. Bread can also be toasted under a grill, in an open oven and this oven toast is usually buttered before toasting
28.
Blanching (cooking)
–
The meaning of blanch is to whiten, but this is not always the purpose of blanching in cooking. Food is blanched to soften it, or to partly or fully cook it, when almonds or pistachios are blanched, the skin of the nut softens and can be easily removed later. Blanching may simply mean boiling in water for a period to remove unpleasant flavours such as tannins. For example, a treatment for African yam bean, is dehulling followed by blanching in water for 40 minutes at 100 °C. It is recommended that protein-rich salads to be eaten cold be prepared by immersing these protein foods in boiling water for 30 seconds followed by fast chilling, in addition celery, which is almost always a component of these salads…should be treated so as to minimize its bacterial content. In the case of French fries, blanching consists of pre-cooking the French fries in oil at a lower temperature prior to finishing them at a higher temperature, the blanching step cooks the interior of the potato, while the second step at the higher temperature crisps the outside. Parboiling How to Blanch Almonds at about. com
29.
Boiling
–
Transition boiling is an intermediate, unstable form of boiling with elements of both types. The boiling point of water is 100 °C or 212 °F, boiling water is used as a method of making it potable by killing microbes that may be present. Clostridium spores can survive this treatment, but as the infection caused by this microbe is not water-borne, boiling is also used in cooking. Foods suitable for boiling vegetables, starchy foods such as rice, noodles and potatoes, eggs, meats, sauces, stocks. As a cooking method it is simple and suitable for large scale cookery, tough meats or poultry can be given a long, slow cooking and a nutritious stock is produced. Disadvantages include loss of water-soluble vitamins and minerals, commercially prepared foodstuffs are sometimes packed in polythene sachets and sold as boil-in-the-bag products. Nucleate boiling is characterized by the growth of bubbles or pops on a heated surface, in general, the number of nucleation sites are increased by an increasing surface temperature. An irregular surface of the vessel or additives to the fluid can create additional nucleation sites, while an exceptionally smooth surface, such as plastic. Under these conditions, a liquid may show boiling delay. As the boiling surface is heated above a temperature, a film of vapor forms on the surface. Since this vapor film is less capable of carrying heat away from the surface. The point at which this occurs is dependent on the characteristics of boiling fluid, transition boiling may be defined as the unstable boiling, which occurs at surface temperatures between the maximum attainable in nucleate and the minimum attainable in film boiling. If a surface heating the liquid is significantly hotter than the liquid then film boiling will occur, where a layer of vapor. This condition of a vapor film insulating the surface from the liquid characterizes film boiling, in distillation, boiling is used in separating mixtures. This is possible because the rising from a boiling fluid generally has a ratio of components different from that in the liquid. The elimination of micro-organisms by boiling follows first-order kinetics—at high temperatures it is achieved in time and at lower temperatures. Boiling does not ensure the elimination of all micro-organisms, the bacterial spores Clostridium can survive at 100 °C but are not water-borne or intestine affecting, thus for human health, complete sterilization of water is not required. Though the boiling point decreases with increasing altitude, it is not enough to affect the disinfecting process, boiling is the method of cooking food in boiling water, or other water-based liquids such as stock or milk
30.
Decoction
–
Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material to dissolve the chemicals of the material, which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes. Decoction involves first mashing the plant material to allow for maximum dissolution, Decoction can be used to make herbal teas, leaf teas, coffees, tinctures and similar solutions. A decoction is also the name for the resulting liquid, although this method of extraction differs from infusion and percolation, the resultant liquids can sometimes be similar in their effects, or general appearance and taste. The term dates back to 1350–1400 from present participle stem of Latin decoquere, in herbalism, decoctions are usually made to extract fluids from hard plant materials such as roots and bark. To achieve this, the plant material is usually boiled for 1–2 hours in 1-5 liters of water, concoction Percolation Infusion Maceration Tincture Herbalism How To Make a Herbal Decoction from unexplained. net
31.
Parboiling
–
Parboiling is the partial boiling of food as the first step in cooking. The word is a portmanteau of partial and boil used by Americans to describe Blanching, the word is often used when referring to parboiled rice. Parboiling can also be used for removing poisonous or foul-tasting substances from foodstuffs, the food items are added to boiling water and cooked until they start to soften, then removed before they are fully cooked. Parboiling is usually used to cook an item which will then be cooked another way such as braising, grilling. Parboiling differs from blanching in that one does not cool the items using cold water or ice after removing them from the boiling water, sometimes raw rice or paddy is dehusked by using steam. This steam also partially boils the rice while dehusking and this process generally changes the colour of rice from white to a bit reddish. This type of rice is eaten in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka state, in the state of Kerala, and in most parts of Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Africa and the Afro-Caribbean diaspora are also accustomed to parboiling rice. Blanching Parbaking Parcooking The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Kitchen Dictionary at Recipe*zaar
32.
Coddling
–
In cooking, to coddle food is to heat it in water kept just below the boiling point. In the past, recipes called for coddling fruit, but in recent times the term is only applied to coddled eggs. The process is either done in a pan or pot. The word coddle evolved from the name of a drink, caudle
33.
Creaming (food)
–
L Creaming is used to refer to several different culinary processes. Creaming, in sense, is the technique of softening solid fat, like shortening or butter, into a smooth mass. The technique is most often used in making buttercream, cake batter or cookie dough, the dry ingredients are mixed or beaten with the softened fat until it becomes light and fluffy and increased in volume, due to the incorporation of tiny air bubbles. These air bubbles, locked into the fat, remain in the final batter and expand as the item is baked. It then gives it a nice finish to the cake, creamed food, in cooking, denotes food that is prepared by slow simmering or poaching in milk or cream. Some typical creamed dishes include creamed corn and creamed chipped beef on toast, some commercial preparations of creamed food substitute water and a starch for all or some of the milk or cream. This produces a creamy texture with no actual cream or milk used, Creaming in milk production is the process by which cream rises to the top of un-homogenized milk. In this sense, the word is similar to the term creaming as it is used in chemistry
34.
Infusion
–
An infusion is also the name for the resultant liquid. The process of infusion is distinct from decoction, which involves boiling the plant material, or percolation, the first recorded use of essential oils was in the 10th or 11th century by the Persian polymath Avicenna, possibly in The Canon of Medicine. Tea is far older than this, dating back to the 10th century BC as the earliest recorded reference, an infusion is a very simple chemical process used with botanicals that are volatile and dissolve readily, or release their active ingredients easily, in water, oil or alcohol. The botanicals are typically dried herbs, flowers or berries, the liquid is typically boiled and then poured over the herb, which is then allowed to steep in the liquid for a period of time. The liquid may then be strained or the herbs otherwise removed from the liquid, unless the infusion is to be consumed immediately, it may then be bottled and refrigerated for future use. The amount of time the herbs are left in the liquid depends on the purpose for which the infusion is being prepared, usually steeping for not more than 15 to 30 minutes, or until the mix cools, will create a beverage with optimal flavor. Steeping for a longer time typically results in a somewhat bitter-tasting infusion, four hours, however, is a more appropriate length of time for achieving herbal potency if health benefits are the priority. Quantities of the herb and liquid used will vary according to the herb or how strong the infusion is required to be, a common proportion used is 28 g of herb to 0.5 L of liquid. There have been several accessories and techniques for removing the steeped or left over products that were used to infuse liquids such as water, oil, the use of a metal steeper, which looks like a metal clamp. Tea infusers work as strainers and assist in removal of used herbs, leaves, french presses are commonly used to infuse water with various teas and coffee. Lastly, and most commonly used, the tea bag, tea bags today are made with filter paper and filled with various tea flavors. A common example of an infusion is tea, most varieties of tea call for steeping the leaves in hot water, although some variants call for decoction instead. Many herbal teas are prepared by infusion, as well, lemon, chamomile, senna, apple, ginger, rooibos, herbal infusions in water and oil are both commonly used as herbal remedies. Coffee can also be made through infusion, but is often made through percolation. Plants with desirable flavors may be steeped in an oil or vinegar for an extended period, the infused oil or vinegar is often sold still containing the plant. Chiles, lemon, garlic, and many plants may be used. There can be ambiguity in the labeling of oils, for example, what is described as sesame oil may be oil extracted from sesame seeds
35.
Poaching (cooking)
–
Poaching is a type of moist-heat cooking technique that involves cooking by submerging food in a liquid, such as water, milk, stock or wine. Poaching is differentiated from the other moist heat cooking methods, such as simmering and boiling and this temperature range makes it particularly suitable for delicate food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out using other cooking methods. Poaching is often considered as a method of cooking because it does not use fat to cook or flavor the food. This moist-heat cooking method uses a sautoir or other cooking vessel, heat is transferred by conduction from the pan, to the liquid. Shallow poaching is best suited for boneless, naturally tender, single serving size, sliced or diced pieces of meat and this preparation involves smearing the inside of the pan with whole butter and adding aromatics into the pan. The items to be cooked are then placed on top of the aromatics presentation side up, cold poaching liquid is then poured in until the product is partially submerged then heated. The liquid should never be allowed to boil but kept as close to boiling as possible, a more contemporary technique of shallow poaching involves BPA free plastic bags and is very convenient for the home cook. This technique is similar to shallow poaching but the product is fully submerged, the pot used for deep poaching should hold the food, liquid, and aromatics comfortably, with enough room to allow the liquid to expand as it heats. There should also be enough space so that the surface can be skimmed if necessary throughout cooking, a tight-fitting lid may be helpful for bringing the liquid up to temperature. The poaching liquid traditionally uses a court bouillon which consists of an acid and aromatics, although any flavorful liquid can be used in poaching. The liquid should ideally be around 160–185 °F, but when poaching chicken, it is vital that the chicken reach a temperature of at least 165 °F in the core. A significant amount of flavor is transferred from the food to the cooking liquid, for maximum flavor, the cooking liquid is usually reduced and used as the base for a sauce. Poached eggs are cooked in water and vinegar, fish in white wine, poultry in stock. The liquid used for shallow poaching is typically called a cuisson, Poaching allows the proteins to denature without pulling out too much moisture out of the food. For this reason, it is important to keep the low and to keep the poaching time to a bare minimum. Typically an egg is poached just to the point where the white is no longer runny, some people say creating a whirlpool helps with poaching eggs because it really helps the egg stay together, wrapping the white around the yolk. Water is a relatively efficient conductor of heat, but it also has a fairly low limit to its maximum potential temperature, as such, it is a technique that applies itself to a broad spectrum of methods and results. It is used to food at a low temperature for extended periods
36.
Simmering
–
Simmering is a food preparation technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water, but higher than poaching temperature. To keep a pot simmering, one brings it to a boil and then reduces the heat to a point where the formation of bubbles has almost ceased, simmering ensures gentler treatment than boiling to prevent food from toughening and/or breaking up. Simmering is usually a rapid and efficient method of cooking, food that has simmered in milk or cream instead of water is sometimes referred to as creamed. The appropriate simmering temperature is a topic of debate among chefs, in Japanese cuisine, simmering is considered one of the four essential cooking techniques. Food prepared in a crockpot is simmered, examples include stews, chili, soups, etc. Bulgarian traditional food, especially meat dishes are often simmered for extended periods of time. Examples include stews, soups, Vanyas, etc, in traditional Dutch and Flemish cuisine, less tender cuts of beef are simmered for several hours to obtain Carbonade flamande. Traditionally a small flame is used, fed by burning oil, on modern stoves, the source of heat is put very low, or a simmering plate is used to diminish the heat. Usually a cast iron pan is used with a thick bottom, the meat is ready if it can be easily torn apart into threads. Some modern gas ranges are equipped with a burner, with such burners usually located at the rear of the range. Many electric ranges have a simmer setting
37.
Slow cooker
–
A slow cooker, also known as a Crock-Pot, is a countertop electrical cooking appliance used to simmer at a lower temperature than other cooking methods, such as baking, boiling, and frying. This facilitates unattended cooking for hours of dishes that would otherwise be boiled, pot roast, soups, stews. A wide variety of dishes can be prepared in slow cookers, including ones typically made quickly, such as cocoa, the Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago, under the leadership of Irving Naxon, developed the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker. Naxon was inspired by a story his Jewish grandmother told about how back in her native Lithuanian town, her mother made a stew called cholent, a 1950 advertisement shows a slow cooker called the Simmer Crock, made by the Industrial Radiant Heat Corp. of Gladstone, NJ. The Rival Company bought Naxon in 1970 and reintroduced it under the Crock-Pot name in 1971, slow cookers achieved popularity in the US during the 1970s, when many women began to work outside the home. They could start dinner cooking in the morning going to work. In 1974, Rival introduced removable stoneware inserts making the appliance easier to clean, the brand now belongs to Sunbeam Products, a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation. Other brands of this appliance include Cuisinart, GE, Hamilton Beach, KitchenAid, Magic Chef, West Bend Housewares, and the now defunct American Electric Corporation. A basic slow cooker consists of a round or oval cooking pot made of glazed ceramic or porcelain, surrounded by a housing, usually metal. The lid itself is made of glass, and seated in a groove in the pot edge, condensed vapor collects in the groove. The contents of a pot are effectively at atmospheric pressure. A slow cooker is quite different from a pressure cooker and presents no danger of a pressure release. The crock, or ceramic pot, itself acts as both a container and a heat reservoir. Slow cookers come in capacities from 500 mL to 7 L, because the heating elements are generally located at the bottom and often also partway up the sides, most slow cookers have a minimum recommended liquid level to avoid uncontrolled heating. Many slow cookers have two or more heat settings, some have continuously variable power, most slow cookers have no temperature control and deliver a constant heat to the contents. The temperature of the contents rises till it reaches boiling point, at a lower setting, it may just simmer at a temperature below the boiling point. Newer programmable rice cookers may be used as slow cookers, to use a slow cooker, the cook places raw food and a liquid, such as stock, water, or wine, in the slow cooker. Some recipes call for pre-heated liquid, the cook puts the lid on the slow cooker and turns it on
38.
Smothering (food)
–
Smothering meat, seafood or vegetables is a cooking technique used in both Cajun and Creole cuisines of Louisiana. The technique involves cooking in a pan over low heat with a small amount of liquid. The meat dishes cooked in this fashion are typically served over boiled or steamed rice as a rice and gravy. It is often done in a cast iron pot or dutch oven, a large variety of meats are smothered in South Louisiana cuisine, including both domestic animals and wild game. Domestic animals cooked in this fashion include chicken, domestic duck, pork, beef, wild game commonly cooked in this fashion include squirrel, rabbit, nutria rat, feral pig, woodcock, wild duck, and venison. Raised on Rice and Gravy, a 2009 documentary film by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl, chronicles the prevalence of the dish at local plate lunch houses, in French, the word étouffée means smothered. Étouffée can be using different shellfish, the most popular version of the dish being Crawfish Étouffée. Originally étouffée was a dish in the Acadiana area surrounding Breaux Bridge. In the late twentieth century a waiter at the popular Bourbon Street restaurant Galatoires brought the dish in to his employer to try, the dish was added to their menu and other restaurants in the city soon followed, with the dish gaining in popularity with locals and tourists alike. Many Cajun restaurant owners claim that étouffée is the most popular dish on their menus, varieties of vegetables cooked by smothering include cabbage, okra, potatoes and corn. The vegetables are kept burning by the addition of animal fats or oils
39.
Steeping
–
Steeping is the soaking in liquid of a solid so as to extract flavours or to soften it. The specific process of teas being prepared for drinking by leaving the leaves in heated water to release the flavour, herbal teas may be prepared by decoction, infusion, or maceration. Some solids are soaked to remove an ingredient, such as salt from smoked ham or salted cod, one example is the steeping of corn, part of the milling process. As described by the US Corn Refiners Association, harvested kernels of corn are cleaned, in the process their moisture content rises from 15% to 45% and their volume more than doubles. The gluten bonds in the corn are weakened and starch is released, the corn is then ground to break free the germ and other components, and the water used, which has absorbed various nutrients, is recycled for use in animal feeds. Dried teas as loose tea or tea bags are prepared for drinking by steeping the leaves in just boiled or heated water to release the flavour and this is often done in a cup, mug, teapot, pitcher or urn. A tea infuser or a tea strainer may be used to assist in this process, steeping grain is a part of beer making
40.
Stew
–
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables or meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used. While water can be used as the liquid, wine, stock. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added, stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature, allowing flavors to mingle. Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat become tender. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking, cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry. Stews may be thickened by reduction or with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used. Stews are similar to soups, and in some there may not be a clear distinction between the two. Generally, stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker, while soups are almost always served in a bowl, stews may be thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients. Stews have been made since ancient times, herodotus says that the Scythians put the flesh into an animals paunch, mix water with it, and boil it like that over the bone fire. The bones burn very well, and the paunch easily contains all the meat once it has been stripped off, in this way an ox, or any other sacrificial beast, is ingeniously made to boil itself. Amazonian tribes used the shells of turtles as vessels, boiling the entrails of the turtle, other cultures used the shells of large mollusks to boil foods in. There is archaeological evidence of these practices going back 8,000 years or more, there are recipes for lamb stews and fish stews in the Roman cookery book Apicius, believed to date from the 4th century AD. Le Viandier, one of the oldest cookbooks in French, written in the early 14th century by the French chef known as Taillevent, has ragouts or stews of various types in it, the first written reference to Irish stew is in Byrons The Devils Drive, The Devil. A rebel or so in an Irish stew, stew is traditionally known as an English dish and has been a household favorite for centuries. In meat-based stews, white stews, also known as blanquettes or fricassées, are made with lamb or veal that is blanched, or lightly seared without browning, and cooked in stock. Brown stews are made with pieces of red meat that are first seared or browned, before a browned mirepoix and sometimes browned flour, stock and wine are added
41.
Bain-marie
–
A bain-marie is also used to melt ingredients for cooking. Under the outer container of the bain-marie is a heat source, typically the inner container is immersed about halfway into the working fluid. The insulating action of the water helps to keep contents of the pot from boiling or scorching. Using different working fluids in the container will result in different maximum temperatures. A contemporary alternative to the traditional, liquid-filled bain-marie is the electric dry-heat bain-marie, the dry-heat form of electric bains-marie often consumes less energy, requires little cleaning, and can be heated more quickly than traditional versions. They can also operate at higher temperatures, and are much less expensive than their traditional counterparts. Electric bains-marie can also be wet, using hot water or vapor, or steam. The open, bath-type bain-marie heats via a small, hot-water tub, chocolate can be melted in a bain-marie to avoid splitting and caking onto the pot. Special dessert bains-marie have an insulated container and are used as a chocolate fondue. Cheesecake is often baked in a bain-marie to prevent the top from cracking in the centre, custard may be cooked in a bain-marie to keep a crust from forming on the outside of the custard before the interior is fully cooked. The humidity from the steam that rises as the water helps keep the top of the custard from becoming too dry. Classic warm sauces, such as Hollandaise and beurre blanc, requiring heat to emulsify the mixture, some charcuterie such as terrines and pâtés are cooked in an oven-type bain-marie. Thickening of condensed milk, such as in confection-making, is easily in a bain-marie. Controlled-temperature bains-marie can be used to heat frozen breast milk before feedings, bains-marie can be used in place of chafing dishes for keeping foods warm for long periods of time, where stovetops or hot plates are inconvenient or too powerful. A bain-marie can be used to re-liquefy hardened honey by placing a glass jar on top of any improvised platform sitting at the bottom of a pot of boiling water. In small scale soap-making, a bain-maries inherent control over maximum temperature makes it optimal for liquefying melt-and-pour soap bases prior to molding them into bars and it offers the advantage of maintaining the base in a liquid state, or reliquefying a solidified base, with minimal deterioration. Similarly, using a bath, traditional wood glue can be melted. The name comes from the medieval-Latin term balneum Mariae—literally, Marys bath—from which the French bain de Marie, the devices invention has been popularly attributed to Mary the Jewess, an ancient alchemist
42.
Sous-vide
–
The intent is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and retain moisture. The method was first described by Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford in 1799 and it was re-discovered by American and French engineers in the mid-1960s and developed into an industrial food preservation method. The method was adopted by Georges Pralus in 1974 for the Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne and he discovered that when foie gras was cooked in this manner, it kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat, and had better texture. Another pioneer in sous-vide is Bruno Goussault, who researched the effects of temperature on various foods. As chief scientist of Alexandria, Virginia-based food manufacturer Cuisine Solutions, as may also be done in traditional poaching, sealing the food in sturdy plastic bags keeps in juices and aroma that otherwise would be lost in the process. If the food is removed from the heat too late, it becomes overcooked, as a result of precise temperature control of the bath and the fact that the bath temperature is the same as the target cooking temperature, very precise control of cooking can be achieved. Additionally, temperature, and thus cooking, can be very even throughout the food in cooking, even with irregularly shaped or very thick items. Fat on meat, which may become rancid with prolonged exposure to air, the degree of accuracy and constancy of cooking temperature required varies with the food cooked. But for an egg, which has proteins that denature at different temperatures, cooking times for normal cooking are determined by when the center of the cooked item reaches a few degrees below the targeted temperature. Then heating should be stopped immediately, while resting the food, if the heating continues, the food will be overcooked. The time taken for the center of food to reach the temperature depends on the initial temperature, the thickness and shape of the food. One limitation of sous-vide cooking is the fact that browning happens at much higher temperatures, the flavors and ‘crust’ texture developed by browning are generally seen as very desirable in the cooking of certain types of meat, such as a steak. The flavors and texture produced by browning cannot be obtained only the sous-vide technique. This secondary browning is done briefly, and sometimes at higher heat than normally used, so as to only the surface of the food. Similarly, the skin of fish can be cooked at high temperatures after the sous-vide to make the skin crisp, food safety is a function of both time and temperature, a temperature usually considered insufficient to render food safe may be perfectly safe if maintained for long enough. Some sous-vide fish recipes, for example, are cooked below 55 °C, however, people with compromised immunity should never eat food that has not been properly pasteurized. Women eating food cooked sous-vide while pregnant expose themselves and/or their unborn children to risk, pasteurization kills the botulism bacteria, but the possibility of hardy botulism spores surviving and reactivating once cool remains a concern as with many preserved foods, however processed. For that reason, Baldwins treatise specifies precise chilling requirements for cook-chill, pasteurised food can then be stored for up to two weeks at around 3 °C sealed within the vacuum pack
43.
Double steaming
–
Double steaming, sometimes called double boiling, is a Chinese cooking technique to prepare delicate food such as birds nest soup and shark fin soup. The food is covered with water and put in a ceramic jar. This technique ensures there is no loss of liquid or moisture from the food being cooked, in Cantonese, double steaming is called dun. The meaning of the Chinese character for dun in Cantonese is different from that in Mandarin and this technique is also common in Fujian, a neighbouring province of Guangdong. Cantonese cuisine is famous for its slow-cooked soup, one famous dish of this kind is called the winter melon urn. It is prepared by emptying the inside of a melon to make an urn. The outside of the melon is often carved with artistic patterns. The inside is filled with soup ingredients, such as Chinese cured ham. The whole urn, complete with its original melon lid, is double-steamed for at least four hours, the flavour of the soup is soaked into the flesh of the melon. The whole melon and its contents are brought to the dinner table, the soup is served by scooping out the liquid and the inside wall of the melon. In this case, the edible melon takes the place of the double steaming jar and this application is possible because winter melon has a waxy, and thus waterproof, rind. Winter melon is believed to be nourishing and it is cooked with ingredients that are believed to be too yin or too yang. A dessert dish called double-steamed frog ovaries in a coconut is traditionally prepared for women, Chinese medicinal ingredients, spices, and rock sugar, are placed inside a young coconut to soak in the original coconut juice. The filled coconut is then double-steamed for several hours, the whole coconut is served whole at the table after dinner. The contents and the wall of the coconut are scooped out to be consumed. Steaming Double boiler Bain-marie List of steamed foods
44.
Steaming
–
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking have been found dating back about 5,000 years, steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique that can be used for many kinds of food. Steaming works by boiling water continuously, causing it to vaporize into steam, the food is kept separate from the boiling water but has direct contact with the steam, resulting in a moist texture to the food. This differs from double boiling, in food is not directly exposed to steam, or pressure cooking. Such cooking is most often done by placing the food into a food steamer, the steamer usually has a lid that is placed on the top of the container during cooking to allow the steam to cook through the food. When a steamer is unavailable, food can be steamed inside a wok, some modern home microwave ovens include a structure to cook food by steam vapor produced in a separate water container, providing a similar result to being cooked by fire. There are also specialized steam ovens available, some of the earliest examples of steam cooking have been found in Cochise County, Arizona, where steam pits were used for cooking about 10,000 years ago. In Chinas Yellow River Valley, early steam cookers made of stoneware have been found dating back as far as 5000 BCE, from the eighth century CE, thin cypress strips were used to make steamers, today they are constructed from bamboo with slatted bases. The classic steamer has a chimney in the center, which distributes the steam among the tiers, in Western cooking, steaming is most often used to cook vegetables—it is rarely used to cook meats. However, steamed clams are prepared by steaming, with Chinese cuisine, vegetables are usually stir fried or blanched and seldom steamed. Seafood and meat dishes are steamed, for example, steamed whole fish, steamed crab, steamed pork spare ribs, steamed ground pork or beef, steamed chicken and steamed goose. Rice can be steamed too, although in Chinese cooking this is referred to as cooking rather than steaming. In Thailand steaming is the definition of minimalist cooking, steaming fish in Thai-style gently cooks the fish until just tender. Wheat foods are steamed as well, examples include buns and Chinese steamed cakes. Steamed meat dishes are common in Chinese restaurants than in traditional home cooking. Commercially sold frozen foods formerly had instructions to reheat by steaming, until the rise in popularity of home microwave ovens, overcooking or burning food is easily avoided when steaming it. Individuals preferring to avoid additional fat intake may prefer steaming to methods which require cooking oil, steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling, because fewer nutrients are leached away into the water, which is usually discarded
45.
Blackening (cooking)
–
Blackening is a cooking technique used in the preparation of fish and other foods. Often associated with Cajun cuisine, this technique was popularized by chef Paul Prudhomme. The food is dipped in melted butter and then dredged in a mixture of herbs and spices, usually some combination of thyme, oregano, chili pepper, peppercorns, salt, garlic powder and it is then cooked in a very hot cast-iron skillet. The characteristic brown-black color of the crust results from a combination of browned milk solids from the butter, while the original recipe calls for redfish, the same method of preparation can be applied to other types of fish and other protein sources, such as steak or chicken cutlets
.jpg)
.svg){kind=small}
