AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOKING

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE OF COOKING

1. Making food safe for consumption – Cooking sterilizes food partially. The growth of bacteria gets restricted at 40^oC (104^oF). Non-sporing bacteria are killed at temperatures above 60^oC (140^oF). For example, pasteurization – milk is made safe by holding it at 63^oC (145^oF) for 30 minutes or at 72^oC (161^oF) for 15 seconds. Boiling kills living cells. Spore-bearing bacteria take 4-5 hours of boiling to be destroyed.

2. Making food more digestible – Complex foods are split into simpler substances during cooking. The human body can absorb and utilize these more readily.

3. Increasing palatability

4. Making food look better – Heat brings about changes in colour, texture and overall appearance of the food, making it more appetizing.

5. Introducing variety – A single ingredient may be used in many different ways, cooked by different methods and bring about changes in the meal.

6. Balancing a meal – Different ingredients combined in one dish make it easier to provide a balanced meal – i.e. providing all the required vital nutrients to the consumer.

   B. Various textures:

As explained above, raw foods get exposed to some form of heat and then are called ‘cooked’ for consumption. The term TEXTURE is used to describe the characteristics of a finished (ready-to-eat) food product.

A correct texture has to be brought about in the food. The chef should not only know the correct texture, but should be able to produce the same in the food. The various textures which are listed down, are difficult to explain in words, they should be felt and understood better. There are very thin differences between some of these, which one should learn better during practical.

1. Firm and close – biscuits and plain short pastries can explain this texture. Raising agents are used while preparing these, but they do not make the product very light or brittle. In fact they are hard as a result of many tiny air bubbles created by raising agents. But the biscuits are not too hard either, because of the fat included.

2. Short and crumbly – nankhatai and tarts are good examples of this texture. Fat included is more than that in biscuits, so it breaks more easily into smaller particles.

3. Spongy – Swiss rolls, sponge cakes, idli and dhokla are spongy. A soft, elastic texture due to incorporation of more air results in this texture.

4. Light – Madeira cake has plenty large holes in it, making it ‘light’. It is firm, but not hard and tough. It is neither as short as a tart nor as spongy as a Swiss roll.

5. Flaky –lacchha paratha, chicken or veg puffs and khara biscuits are flaky. Thin, crisp layers are formed by spreading fat in between two layers of dough which get separated during baking / frying and remain separated due to air pockets. The flakes by themselves should not be tough / hard. Ideally the layers break easily and melt in the mouth.

6. Coarse – large and uneven holes are a result of too much of the raising agent or too little liquid. This is not a good texture to have in food; in fact, it is something to be avoided. Such cakes and other products are sunken at the centre.

7. Tough – too much liquid, over mixing, incorrect mixing, too little fat and long cooking time could result in toughness in food. Mostly, like the coarse texture, this also is to be avoided.

8. Hard – another texture which should be avoided as far as possible. In fact, it is considered to be a fault in the product. Too much pressure while mixing, excessive liquid in the product and incorrect quantity of fat result in this texture. Air that is incorporated gets removed out of the mixture, making the final product hard.

C. Various consistencies:

Like different textures found in solid foods (which are mentioned above), different ‘consistencies’ are found in liquid foods.

Some substances flow readily, others resist flow and some require force or weight application to start flow.  The concept of consistency is closely related to viscosity.

Generally speaking, the following consistencies could be found in liquid foods –

A.       Pouring – like water and milk. These do not show any resistance and flow easily / readily. Stocks and some thin soups like consommé are examples of ‘cooked’ liquids having pouring consistency.

B.       Coating – when a starchy thickening agent is mixed with a liquid, and the mixture is heated, the starch gelatinizes. In case of a protein as a thickening agent, it coagulates when exposed to heat. In both these cases, the liquid starts to thicken. If a spoon is dipped in this mixture, it starts coating the spoon. A thin film of the mixture could be seen in the beginning. Later on it goes on becoming visibly thicker. Depending upon one / more factors listed before, the thickening will take place up to a certain point. While making basic custard, this will be understood better. Here, liquid is milk and thickening is egg yolk.

The liquid is proportionately more than the flour or thickening agent.

C.       Dropping – when a liquid is added to dry flour, it forms lumps as only some flour (granules) gets combined with liquid. Later, when added more liquid, it converts into dough and with some more liquid, it turns into ‘batter’. Here, the amount of solid (flour) is more than the liquid. For example, a cake mixture of fat, sugar, egg and flour is moistened with water or milk. Only that much liquid is required which will make the mixture fall out in a big moist smooth lump. The liquid should be dispersed well to get a smooth mixture. When you make cake batter in the bakery class, you will understand it better. Also, next time when you are waiting for your (batata)vada-pav, don’t forget to observe the vender making and using the batter.

D.       Techniques used in pre-preparation:

Raw materials used in food production are mostly natural products. They are available in various shapes and weights. For example, no two potatoes or onions will be same in size, shape and weight. No two red pumpkins will be of the same size, shape and weight. Preparing a finished product calls for basic uniformity in size, shape and weight. This is the base for uniformity in cooking and also the appearance of the food. Breaking down the raw materials into required form is called ‘prepreparation’. Following are a few prepreparation techniques –

       Washing – superficial dirt is removed during washing. Vegetables, fish, meat and sometimes even eggs are washed with cold water before any other process. These days this is done at the very entrance of the store to prevent any dirt and mud entering in the store / kitchen / workplace. Water soluble vitamins and minerals are lost if they are soaked for a long period of time or washed after cutting.

       Peeling and scraping – spoilt, soiled and inedible portions are removed. Skins of potatoes, carrots, radish or fruits can be removed by peeling. Smaller ingredients like ginger, galangal are scraped. Peel off as little of the fleshy part as possible. If vegetables like carrots are washed well, their peels could be used for making stocks.

       Paring – remove surface layers by using a circular motion as in paring an apple.

       Cutting – reducing to smaller parts with a knife or a pair of scissors. When a chopping knife or a food chopper is used, it is termed as chopping.

Cutting into even size cubes --- --- ---      dicing.

Cutting into very fine pieces --- --- ---      mincing.

Cutting (especially green leafy vegetables &      

             cabbage) into fine, long pieces  --- shredding.

Cutting into slightly thicker, flat pieces --- slicing.

       Grating – reducing to fine particles by rubbing over a rough, sharp surface.

       Grinding – reducing to fine fragments by crushing in a mill, a grinding stone .

       Mashing – breaking up soft foods like cooked potatoes.

       Sieving – passing through a mesh to remove impurities or to break down into even parts or to enclose air.

       Milling – used for cereals, to remove husk.

       Steeping – extracting colouring or / and flavouring by allowing ingredients to stand in water at a simmering temperature.

       Centrifuging – Separate two parts of a substance by application of whirling force like separation of cream from milk.

       Emulsification – Blending or mixing to non-mixable (insoluble) liquids by application of force.

       Evaporation / Reduction – removal of moisture by heating.

E.       Techniques used in preparation:

When raw materials are ready to be cooked, they are sent to the preparation area or hot section of the kitchen where it gets exposed to heat. Following are some of the techniques in preparation. List may be enriched as and when you start actual cooking.

       Stirring – this mixes two or more ingredients as they get cooked. Wooden / stainless steel flat spoons, round spoons, perforated spoons etc. of various sizes could be used. Liquids as well as solid and semi-solid ingredients need stirring. Generally it helps in even dispersion of heat leading to even cooking.

       Masking – to prevent food from getting burnt in case of baking / roasting, it needs to be masked with some other food material. It can also be done to get a desired colour and appearance.

       Coating or dipping in batter – as mentioned earlier, batter is a mixture of flour and liquid (mostly equal quantities). Certain foods are dipped in batter and deep fried. The most apt example would be potato vadas. The batter should coat the stuffing fully and not expose any stuffing. This needs skill, because food should be dropped in hot oil immediately after dipping in batter. So, in a split of a second, the process has to be completed. Thus, the consistency of the batter plays a very important role.

       Basting – this is a technique which goes hand in hand with roasting. This means to apply fat / butter on the food while being roasted. It helps by protecting the surface from going dry and also by giving a pleasant brown colour to the roasted food.

       Tadka / baghar – these terms and technique are used in Indian cuisine. Oil is heated to the required temperature and certain spice ingredients are added to it (which should crackle,) then the food (like cooked dal or chopped vegetables) are combined with this. It develops additional taste and flavour to the dish. A peculiar flavour which is the characteristic of the dish can be added through the ingredients in the tempering.

Sometimes, continental dishes, especially rich soups and sauces are also ‘tempered’; but the technique is applied for a different purpose and using different ingredients. A mixture of egg yolk and cream (liaison) is added to a dish to enrich it, to give it a glaze and to make it smooth. A little of the hot soup / sauce is first mixed with the liaison, and then it is slowly stirred into the larger quantity of soup / sauce.

       Seasoning – seasonings bring about the natural taste and flavours of the ingredients. No dish can be complete without seasonings.

       Flavouring – these are those ingredients which impart additional flavours in the dishes. Nutmeg powder in creamed potatoes, cardamom powder in Indian sweets like kheers, vanilla essence in vanilla buns are some of the examples. Flavourings could be added in various forms – powders, drops or whole spices (which are removed before serving the dish to guest)

BASIC CREAM AND SAUCES

BASIC CREAMS AND SAUCES

WHIPPED CREAM

Whipped cream is not only one of the most useful dessert toppings and fillings but also an ingredient in many desserts. Cream with a fat content of 30% or more, but preferably over 35%, can be whipped into foam. EG: 1 cup of cream produces about 2 to 21⁄2 cups of whipped cream.

In the classical pastry shop, sweetened, vanilla-flavored whipped cream is known as Crème Chantilly (pronounced “kremm shawn tee yee”)

Guidelines for Whipping Cream

-Chill the cream and all equipment thoroughly, especially in hot weather. Cream that is too warm is hard to whip and curdles easily.

-Use a wire whip for beating by hand. For machine whipping, use the whip attachment and run the machine at medium speed.

-If the cream is to be sweetened, use extra-fine granulated sugar or, for best stability, sifted confectioners’ sugar.

 -Do not overwhip. Stop beating when the cream forms peaks that hold their shape. If the cream is whipped longer, it first becomes grainy in appearance and then separates into butter and whey.

 -Cream to be folded into other ingredients should be slightly under beaten because the action of folding whips it more and may overbeat it.

Uses of Crème Chantilly

-It is used for filling between sponge cakes to create gateaux and pastries.

-Used for various Desserts like Mousse and soufflé

-Used for Serving with coffee and milkshakes

-Used as a condiment to fresh fruits such as strawberries and mangoes

MERINGUE

Meringues are whipped egg whites sweetened with sugar. They are frequently used for pie toppings and cake icings. They are also used to give volume and lightness to buttercream icings and to such preparations as mousses and dessert soufflés.

Another excellent use for meringues is to bake them in a slow oven until crisp. In this form, they can be used as cake layers or pastry shells to make light, elegant desserts. To add flavor, chopped nuts may be folded into meringues before forming and baking.

Basic Meringue Types

Meringues may be whipped to various degrees of stiffness as long as they are not overbeaten until they are too stiff and dry. For most purposes, they are beaten until they form stiff, or nearly stiff, moist peaks.

Common meringue, also called French meringue, is made from egg whites at room temperature, beaten with sugar. It is the easiest to make, and it is reasonably stable due to the high percentage of sugar.

Swiss meringue is made from egg whites and sugar that are warmed over a hot water bath while they are beaten. This warming gives the meringue better volume and stability.

Italian meringue is made by beating a hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. This meringue is the most stable of the three because the egg whites are cooked by the heat of the syrup. When flavored with vanilla, it is also known as boiled icing. It is also used in meringue-type buttercream icings.

Guidelines for Making Meringues

-Fats prevent whites from foaming properly: This is very important. Make sure all equipment is free of any trace of fat or grease, and that the egg whites have no trace of yolks in them.

-Egg whites foam better if they are at room temperature than if they are cold Remove them from the cooler 1 hour before whipping.

3. Do not overbeat Beaten egg whites should look moist and shiny. Overbeaten meringues look dry and curdled; they are difficult to fold into other ingredients and have lost much of their ability to leaven cakes and soufflés.

4. Sugar makes egg white foams more stable Meringues are thicker and heavier than unsweetened egg white foams, and they are more stable. However, egg whites can hold only a limited amount of sugar without sacrificing some volume. For this reason, when making common meringues, many cooks prefer to whip the egg whites with no more than an equal weight of sugar. Additional sugar can be folded in after the meringue is whipped.

5. Mild acids help foaming A small amount of cream of tartar or lemon juice is sometimes added to egg whites for whipping in order to give them more volume and stability. This is especially helpful when the whipped whites are folded into other ingredients to provide lightness or leavening.

CRÈME ANGLAISE

Crème anglaise (pronounced “krem awng glezz”), also known as vanilla custard sauce, is a stirred custard. It consists of milk, sugar, and egg yolks stirred over very low heat until slightly thickened, then flavored with vanilla.

The following guidelines will help you be successful:

-Use clean, sanitized equipment and follow strict sanitation procedures. Egg mixtures are good breeding grounds for bacteria that cause food poisoning.

-When combining the egg yolks and sugar, whip the mixture as soon as the sugar is added. Letting sugar and egg yolks stand together without mixing creates lumps that cannot be beaten out.

-Heat the milk to scalding (just below simmering) before combining with the egg yolks. This makes the final cooking much shorter

-Slowly beat the hot milk into the beaten eggs and sugar. This raises the temperature of the eggs gradually and helps prevent curdling.

-Set the bowl containing the egg mixture in a pan of simmering water and stir constantly to prevent curdling.

-To test for doneness, two methods are available. Keep in mind that this is a very light sauce, so you can’t expect a lot of thickening.

• Check the temperature with a thermometer. When it reaches 85°C, the sauce is cooked. Never let the temperature go above 87°C.

• When the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, instead of running off it like milk, the sauce is cooked.

-Immediately cool the sauce by setting the pan or bowl in ice water. Stir occasionally to cool it evenly.

Uses

-Used as a Base in many desserts like Bavorois

-Used as an accompanying sauce to various desserts .can be flavored with flavours like zest, caramel, chocolate and spirits like Rum, Brandy and whisky.

CRÈME ANGLAISE

Ingredients                      Quantity

Egg yolks                                  12 nos

Sugar                                       250 gm

Milk                                          1 lt

Vanilla extract                          15 ml

METHOD

-Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a stainless-steel bowl. Whip until thick and light.

- Scald the milk in a boiling water bath or over direct heat.

- Very gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while stirring constantly with the whip.

- Set the bowl over simmering water. Heat it, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon or until it reaches 85°C.

- Immediately remove the bowl from the heat and set it in a pan of cold water to stop the cooking. Stir in the vanilla. Stir the sauce occasionally as it cools.

PASTRY CREAM -CRÈME PATISSERIE

It contains a starch thickening agent, which stabilizes the eggs. It can actually be boiled without curdling. In fact, it must be brought to a boil or the starch will not cook completely and the cream will have a raw, starchy taste. Pastry cream has many applications in the bakeshop.

-Pastry cream is used for fillings in tarts, pies and flans

-It is used as a base for hot desserts eg: Hot Soufflé

-It is used for filling choux pastry

Crème Chilboust: Pastry cream+ Meringue + gelatin

Also called as St.Honore cream

CRÈME PATISSERIE (PASTRY CREAM)

Ingredients                                        Quantity

Milk                                           1 Lt

Sugar                                       125 g

Egg yolks                                  4 yolks

Whole eggs                              2 eggs

Cornstarch                                75 g

Sugar                                       125 g

Butter                                      60 g

Vanilla essence                          as required

Procedure

1. In a heavy saucepan or kettle, dissolve the sugar in the milk and bring just to a boil.

2. With a whip, beat the egg yolks, whole eggs, cornstarch and sugar into the eggs. Beat with the whip until perfectly smooth.

3. Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating in the hot milk in a thin stream.

4. Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

5. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat.

6. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Mix until the butter is melted and completely blended in.

7. Pour out into a clean pan. Cool and chill as quickly as possible.

CHOCOLATE CREAMS

Ganache (pronounced “gah nahsh”) is a rich chocolate cream filling with many uses. When freshly made and still warm, it can be used as a glaze or icing for cakes, pour it over the product to be iced and it will set into a soft icing. When cooled, Ganache is used to make chocolate truffles or a filling for other candies. It can also be whipped to make a filling for cakes, tortes and meringue pastries.

In its simplest form, Ganache is a mixture of heavy cream and melted chocolate. Butter can also be included.

COULIS: Purées of fresh or cooked fruits, sweetened with sugar. Such a purée is often called a coulis (pronounced “koo-lee”)

SABAYON: Egg yolks are mixed with sugar and few tablespoons of liquid like water /wine/liquor they are whipped over bain marie until they form ribbons.

Used as a base for mousse and soufflé .Zabaglione from Italy (made with Marsala wine) served by itself.

REFERENCE BOOKS: Professional baking- Wayne Gisslen

QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS PAPERS

Explain the following culinary terms: Crème Anglaise

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF INGREDIENTS USED IN BREAD MAKING

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF INGREDIENTS USED IN BREAD MAKING

       Every ingredients used in bread making has a particular role to playing achieving the final, desired product.

1.  FLOUR

It is one of the structural ingredients used in Pastry and Bakery. There are many different kinds of flours used in the Pasty and bakery kitchens and each flour has a different role to play in the final outcome of the product. Therefore it is important to choose the right kind of flour for the right type of product.

Usually strong flours are used in bread making. Whole wheat flours have a less concentration of gluten as the bran content is increased. This causes weaker structure in bread. Since the bran particles are slightly abrasive, the cut the gluten fibres resulting in a loaf with a denser crumb.

2.  Water

Water is the most commonly used liquid in bread making. It moistens the flour and help forming the dough. Water helps the following functions

-Help hydrate and moisten the insoluble proteins.(glutenin and gliaden)

-Disperse the yeast in the entire dough.

-Binds the flour and other ingredients into the dough.

3.  YEAST

Yeast is the leavening agent in breads, dinner rolls. Fermentation is the process by which yeast acts on sugars and changes them into carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. This release of gas produces the leavening action in yeast products. The alcohol evaporates completely during and immediately after baking.

Because yeast is a living organism, it is sensitive to temperatures.

1°C-----------------------Inactive (storage temperature)

15° to 20°C--------------Slow action

20° to 32°C-------------Best growth (fermentation and proofing temperatures for bread dough)

38°C-------------------- Reaction slows

60°C------------ Yeast is killed

Yeast is available in three forms:

1. Fresh yeast, also called compressed yeast, is moist and perishable and

is preferred by professional bakers. It is usually purchased in 450 g cakes.

2. Active dry yeast is a dry, granular form of yeast. Active dry yeast must be rehydrated in 4 times its weight of warm water (about 43°C) before use. When using active dry yeast in a bread formula, use part of the water in the formula to dissolve the yeast. Do not add additional water.

3. Instant dry yeast is also a dry granular form of yeast, but it does not have

to be dissolved in water before use. It can be added in its dry form because it absorbs water much more quickly than regular dry yeast. It also produces more gas than regular dry yeast, so less of it is needed. Instant dry yeast is sometimes called rapid-rise or quick-rise yeast.

4.  SUGAR

-They add sweetness and flavor.

- They create tenderness and fineness of texture, partly by weakening the gluten structure.

-They give crust color.

- They increase keeping qualities by retaining moisture.

- They act as creaming agents with fats and as foaming agents with eggs.

- They provide food for yeast.

5. SALT

Salt plays a very important role in baking. It is more than just a seasoning or flavor enhancer. It also has these functions:

• Salt strengthens gluten structure and makes it more stretchable. Thus, it improves the texture of breads.

• Salt inhibits yeast growth. It is therefore important for controlling fermentation in bread dough

For these reasons, the quantity of salt in a formula must be carefully controlled. If too much salt is used, fermentation and proofing are slowed down. If not enough salt is used, fermentation proceeds too rapidly. The yeast uses up too much of the sugar in the dough and, consequently, the crust doesn’t brown well.

6.  FAT

-To tenderize the product and soften the texture.

- To add moistness and richness.

- To increase keeping quality.

- To add flavor

-Increases the nutritional value of the bread

7.  EGGS

Shortening action: The fat in egg yolks acts as a shortening. This will help shorten the gluten strands and will yield softer bread.

 Moisture: Eggs are mostly water. This moisture must be calculated as part of the total liquid in a formula

Flavor and Nutritional value

Color: Yolks impart a yellow color to dough. Also, eggs brown easily and contribute to crust color.

8.  MILK

Fresh Milk, being 88 to 91% water, fulfills the function of developing gluten.

Milk adds to the texture, flavor, crust color, keeping quality and nutritional value of baked products.