AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF COOKING

AIM OF COOKING

The aim or intention of cooking is to see that the food cooked undergoes a physical and at times chemical changes and that the end result is edible and acceptable.

OBJECTIVES OF COOKING

  1. Cooking preserve food for a longer time.
  2. Cooking kills the germs present in the raw food items.
  3. Cooking pleases the eye and is receptive to the palate and helps to stimulate the digestive juices, thereby creating an appetite
  4. Cooking gives a variety to the menu, as one item could be cooked in various ways.
  5. Cooking retains nutritive and flavouring ingredients.
  6. Enhance the flavor.
  7. Easily to masticate the food items.
  8. It helps to digest the food

EFFECT OF COOKING

While we cook any ingredient either it is any meat item, vegetable etc, it becomes soft after cooking. Below is the list of effect of cooking to make you understand better:

  • Proteins: The protein of meat (myosin), of egg (albumin), of wheat (gluten), of pulse (legumin) is coagulated by heat. Avoid high temp. as the protein hardens, denatures and shrinks and the food becomes indigestible. The connective tissue is converted into gelatine which is soluble in water and rendered digestible.
  • Carbohydrates: Moderate heat does not cause much loss of mineral salts and vitamins, except vitamin c. Sugar: – when heated in water dissolves, then colors, upon further heating, turns brown and becomes a caramel and emits a lovely flavour, but does not crystallize. Cellulose: – it is softened by the application of moist heat. Starch: – starch in food is greatly affected by heat. By moist heat, it is converted first into a soluble form and then by extreme heat into a new substance, sweetish in flavour.
  • Fats:– if heated to a very high degree for a long time, fats undergo partial decomposition and fatty acids and glycrol are produced.

TEXTURES OF FOOD

Texture is the term used to describe the characteristics of a finished food product. The menu includes dishes that have different textures as soft, crisp, hard, smooth etc . The factors those contribute to the concept of texture:

  1. Mouth feel
  2. Softness
  3. Feel to touch
  4. Appearance

The various textures are:

  1. Smooth: – sauces, gravies, batters
  2. Flaky:- paratha, patties, vol-au-vent
  3. Spongy: – idlis, khaman dhokla, swiss rolls
  4. Light and even:- madeira or queen cake
  5. Short and crumbly: – short bread, nankhatai, shirt crust pastry.
  6. Firm and close: – biscuits, tartlets

VARIOUS CONSISTENCIES

  1. Flavourings and seasonings.
  2. Thickening agents and binding agents
  3. Raising or leavening agents:-
  • Lamination (folding, rolling)
  • Mechanical (whisking, beating)
  • Chemical (baking powder)
  • Biological (yeast)
  • Combination of the above.

TECHNIQUES IN PRE-PREPARATION

  • Macedoine: It is a vegetable cutting In dices.
  • Mandolin: it is an equipment used for cutting vegetables
  • Meringue: it is a dessert or candy made by using egg white, sugar and cream of tartar.
  • Mincing: it is a fine cutting of vegetables/meat for e.g. minced meat.
  • Mire-poix: Roughly cutting of vegetables
  • Cutting: the vegetables are cut in various shapes and sizes.
  • Paring: peeling of fruit skins such as apples and pears etc.
  • Peeling : to remove the skin of the vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and turnips etc.
  • Washing: putting the edible items in running water or stored water, to remove the soil and bacteria.
  • Refining: straining of used oil/liquid to use again and remove out the impurities.
  • Sieving : to pass the refined flour from siever to remove out the impurities or insects.
  • Pressing
  • Pureeing
  • Mashing: a potato masher is used to mash the boiled vegetables. To press the items till it becomes soft in texture.
  • Grinding: a grinder is used to pound the ingredients such as dry masala.
  • Grating: the edible items are grated with the help of grater to cut into fine pieces.
  • Slitting
  • Slicing
  • Shredding
  • Emulsification
  • Homogenization
  • Evaporation or reduction
  • Flotation
  • Folding
  • Flavouring
  • Filtration
  • Rendering
  • Skimming

TECHNIQUES IN PREPARATION

  • Whisking
  • Whipping
  • Sealing
  • Marinating
  • Kneading
  • Folding
  • Creaming
  • Cutting
  • Blending
  • Beating