Basic preparation methods
The choice of basic cooking preparation is not a problem for who knows its merchandises and ingredients. For example: a piece of veal’s hough can be roasted or boiled, but never pan-fried or grilled.
In the kitchen there is basically fourteen methods of preparation;
ü Blanching
ü Poaching
ü Boiling
ü Steam cooking
ü Frying
ü Pan frying (fast)
ü Grilling
ü Gratinating
ü Oven cooking
ü Roasting
ü Braising
ü Glazing
ü Pan sweating
ü Sweating
Due to constant technical progresses each professional should always be in touch with the new trends.
To cook food we have to transmit heat through:
ü Water at a temperature between 65 to 100º Centigrade
ü Steam at a temperature between 100º to 120º Centigrade
ü Hot air at a temperature reaching until 280º Centigrade
ü Fat (frying) at a temperature between 130º C between 130º to 180º Centigrade.
ü Little fat (pan-frying) at a temperature reaching 180º Centigrade.
Blanching
Short pre-cooking for divers reasons
q Take off heavy flavour of certain vegetables
q Take off bone’s impurity
q Shortening cooking time
How to blanch?
q Blanch foodstuff in salted boiling water
q Blanch foodstuff in cold or hot water at the beginning of cooking process
q Blanch in frying oil at a temperature of about 130º centigrade
q Blanch by steaming or sweating with steam
Created on 20th January, 2009
Poaching
A soft preparation (temperature between 65º and 80º Centigrade). Only tender aliment should be treated this way.
How to poach?
q In little liquid (wine or stock)
q In a lot of liquid (stock or water)
q In the Bain Marie, stirring (béarnaise)
q In the Bain Marie, not stirring
q In the new steaming device with temperature adjusting
Boiling
Cooking under boiling point (i.e. meat) or to boiling point (i.e. pastas)
How to boil?
q Just under boiling point
q Under boiling point
q Starting with cold liquid
q Starting with hot liquid
q Covered
q Uncovered
Steam cooking
Technical progress had tremendously influenced this type of cooking. Actually we can chose between cooking pot and inside grill, as used by our grand mothers, or the new pressure steamer, combo-steamer, or pressure cooker for large quantity.
How to Cook with steam?
q With pressure
q Without pressure
q With water steam
q With dry steam
q Vacuum
Frying
To fry, use only fats and oils with high combustion point
ü Fry only small and dry quantities
ü For frying breaded aliment in flower, egg or frying dough - shake excess.
ü Always drain fat or oil excess from food – never cover
How to fry?
q At constant temperature
q Augmenting temperature
q Direct cooking (small food pieces)
q Pre-cooking at about 30º C (bigger pieces)
Pan frying
Only for food item with delicate fibres (meat marble), smaller or tender structures.
How to pan-fry?
q In a little pre-heated fat
q In a pan
q In a casserole
q On the grill
Grilling
Take particular attention to heat level adequate to each piece!
Bigger piece of meat –fast and high intensity grilling and sizzling.
When pores are closed, it is recommended to slow down heat intensity, to allow cooking to the core of the piece.
How to grill?
Grill directly marinated food item.
q On charcoal grill
q On electric grill
q On gas grill
q In a pan grill
Gratinating
Higher temperature needed (about 280º C). For few aliment (fine slices of fish, fine slices of vegetable) it will be the complete cooking process, otherwise pre-cook.
To obtain a nice colour and a round flavour, we are using the following ingredients: cheese, breadcrumb, creme, Sauce Hollandaise) sugar (for desserts).
How to gratinate?
q Under salamander at high temperature
q In the oven at high temperature from the top
Oven cooking
To cook in the oven it is not necessary to add fat or liquid (except sometimes for cooking trays, which will facilitate removing food item). Only dry heat will influence cooking.
How to oven cook?
q Conventionally in the oven, on a plaque, directly on the grill or in mould (glass, metal, or earthenware)
q In hot air pulsated oven, on special plaques
q In steam combo-cooker
Roasting
To start with, always at high temperature to form a crust and seal pores. Continue roasting at lower temperature, basting constantly with fat.
Attention: a) do not add liquid during roasting. b) Let the roast repose at least 20 minutes, before slicing.
How to roast?
q On a spit, basting constantly with fat
q In the oven, basting few times
q In hot air oven, basting few times
Braising
Braising is one of the most delicate preparation method. Meats pieces poor in fat will be “larded” before braising to keep aroma and taste. Braising is convenient for red meat, fish, vegetable and poultry. White meat and poultry will be glazed (see glazing). All braised items will be “wetted” to ¼ or 1/3 of its height and cooked in the oven, covered.
How to braise?
q First sizzle well red meat (to close pores), add vegetable or tomatoes or wet with red wine. Cover the piece until ¼ of its height with stock, cook in oven - wetting often - Cover.
q For fish use a “matignon”. Then put the fish on a buttered holed tray (that will allow better handling of cooked fish). We will “wet” the fish with white wine and fish stock to a maximum of 1/3 of its height. Cook in the oven, covered and “wetting” constantly.
q For vegetable (Belgium endive, fennel, etc) use a “matignon” or onions, or lard (i.e. for red cabbage) lay vegetable on top (sometime blanched) “wet” to 1/3 of white veal stock and cook in the oven, covered.
q For white and clear vegetable it is recommended to cover with buttered parchment paper or wax paper to avoid colour alteration.
Glazing
We can glaze vegetables, poultry or white meat.
How to glaze?
q Sizzle well white meat and poultry, roasting at the same time a “mirepoix”, deglaze with white wine and “wet” with according stock until 1/6 of its height. Cook covered in the oven, “wetting” often. Before the end of the cooking process, take off cover and “wet” with reduced stock. That will give a glaze to the food item, thus the name “glazed”.
q Vegetable will be first steamed, then glazed at the end of cooking process with a mix of juice and reduced adequate stock.
Pan sweating (poeler)
Pan sweating is a combination between sweating and roasting. For this characteristic, only soft and tender piece of meat will be processed this way. Cooking will start covered, in the oven at a temperature of about 150º C. At the end of cooking process, temperature will be brought at about 180º C, cover will be taken away. That will give the piece of meat its nice brownish colour.
How to pan sweat?
q With little fat and no other liquid, covered in the oven at a 150º C to start, wetting constantly with its own juice. Take off cover at the end of cooking process and bring temperature to 180º C, to give the piece of meat its brownish colour.
Sweating
For Vegetables, meat and mushroom.
How to sweat?
q Mix the ingredient to sweat with fat substance, if necessary onion (goulash) and other vegetables. Add adequate liquid (stock, wine) and sweat slowly in a covered pan.
q Use only adequate recipients with adequate covers.
Most usual cooking methods in assembly kitchens
1. Steam cooking and steam cooking with or without pressure
2. Vacuum pack cooking
3. Low temperature roasting
4. Pan frying
5. Grilling
6. Poaching
7. Regeneration cooking (bring back to temperature)
Most common equipment and machinery used in assembly kitchen
To realise assembly kitchen in optimal conditions, it is necessary to associate intermediary products and new techniques and cooking methods.
· Convection oven
· Steamer / auto-cooker / jet-cooker (with or without pressure)
· Combo-cooker
· Microwave oven
· Salamander
· Induction stove
· Shock freezer (blast)
· Electronic scale
· Vacuum pack machine
Steamer
Among the fourteen fundamental and known ways to prepare foods, four can be processed in the steamer.
· Blanching
Steam cooking is one of the most ancient methods. Chinese are using this method for more than 4000 years. Mr. Pappin, a Yugoslav scientist, invented the first steamer with pressure in 1681.
The steam that we are using for cooking is water that is transformed from a liquid state to a gaseous state. Pure steam is invisible. Steam becomes visible when it is condensing partially, which means that it is becoming water again. Steam that you can observe above a casserole is then a mix of air and water drop.
Steam is an excellent heat vector. Its volume is approximately 1000 times superior to water. One decilitre of water gives about 100 litres of steam. It is then much more economical to cook with steam than cook with water.
Beside, water can only reach a maximal temperature of 100º Centigrade.
Temperature of water steam depends on the pressure. When water is heated in a closed and sealed container, it produces steam. The more the pressure augments in this container, the more the temperature is elevating. Such elevated temperature is shortening cooking time. It is not the pressure, which permits to cook faster, but the highest temperature.
Among the fourteen fundamental and known ways to prepare foods, four can be processed in the steamer.
· Blanching
Steam cooking is one of the most ancient methods. Chinese are using this method for more than 4000 years. Mr. Pappin, a Yugoslav scientist, invented the first steamer with pressure in 1681.
The steam that we are using for cooking is water that is transformed from a liquid state to a gaseous state. Pure steam is invisible. Steam becomes visible when it is condensing partially, which means that it is becoming water again. Steam that you can observe above a casserole is then a mix of air and water drop.
Steam is an excellent heat vector. Its volume is approximately 1000 times superior to water. One decilitre of water gives about 100 litres of steam. It is then much more economical to cook with steam than cook with water.
Beside, water can only reach a maximal temperature of 100º Centigrade.
Temperature of water steam depends on the pressure. When water is heated in a closed and sealed container, it produces steam. The more the pressure augments in this container, the more the temperature is elevating. Such elevated temperature is shortening cooking time. It is not the pressure, which permits to cook faster, but the highest temperature.
Have few names according to countries: Auto-cooker high performance, pressure cooker, jet-cooker or fast cooker.
· Poaching
· Boiling
· Steaming
The measure unit to determine the pressure of the steam water in a steamer is called the bar. One bar corresponds to about 120º Centigrade.
We can represent the relation between pressure and temperature with the following mean;
ü Steam is produced in a steam generator or with the help of separated water boiler to be further injected directly in the cooking container, on the food items. Food items are inserted preferably on holed “Gastronorm”. It is exclusively the pressure process that allows the saturated steam to reach high temperature, without loosing its humidity. That is reducing considerably cooking time for vegetables, potatoes, cereals, etc. It has also the advantage of keeping the colours of difficult vegetables such as beans and cauliflower.
Combo-steamers / Aerosteamer
As its name is indicating this device is a multifunctional machine. It is in fact an improvement of the air convection oven. It works with two fluids, hot air and steam, that can be used separately, simultaneously or one after the other one.
In the “hot air” mode, with or without steaming, between 40 to 250º Centigrade, this device permits,
ü Oven cooking
ü Roasting, low temperature roasting
ü Braising, stewing
ü Gratinating, mixed cooking
ü Regeneration.
The mix steam-oxygen is uniformly distributed in the cooking device by ventilation. Cooking times are superior to steam cookers. More than 200 cooking process can be added to the machine’s memory.
The processor is watching automatically the desired cooking style, cooking temperature, external temperature and time.
Microwave
The central head of each microwave is the magnetron. That is where the electromagnetic waves or microwaves are produced.
They are sent in the cooking chamber by a distributor to allow the repartition on food items. Water molecules in food items are brought by microwaves to oscillate strongly.
The resulting heat produced by friction is warming the food items. Since the microwaves are reflected by metal, never use plates or trays with metal content in the microwave oven. International studies have proved that microwave oven used correctly have no negative incidence on food.
Induction stoves
Utilisation of induction stoves is identical to regular stove. An electronic generator produces a magnetic camp that gives energy exactly where needed. When a ferromagnetic bottom pan is placed in the magnetic camp, whirling currents will appear at the pan’s bottom. This process will produce heating current in the pan’s bottom and thus a heating of the contents. Cooking surface is vitro-ceramic and not magnetic. It will produce no heat on itself.
The energy is released immediately and adjusted very precisely. Heat is produced as soon as the pan is on the cooking surface, and disappears immediately when the pan is removed.
This device has a high thermal strength (about 85º C) and minimal heat radiance, which reduce energy consumption and protect environment. To cook on induction a special cooking battery is needed.
Vitro-ceramic cooking surfaces or griddle
The cooking or roasting surface in this device is an ultra hard and solid vitro-ceramic sheet. It is extremely resistant to heat variation. An infrared heater produces the temperature that comes to food through the vitro-ceramic. The (little) thickness of the sheet allows fast heating and good temperature’s regulation. This device is of low consumption. Most of those devices are equipped with an automatic detection that regulates energy only when food is on the sheet. Aliments are dropped directly on the sheet. This non-porous surface does need a minimum of fat.
Sequential burner
Most of food preparations demand a steady temperature in cooking container. Studies have shown that this result can be obtained also when heat is not provided continuously but periodically. That is why, a system was created that is controlling the arrival of gas to the burner and open it periodically (one period = one service time / a dead time, during about 40 seconds). Burner can be programmed to heat rapidly with a strong flame or slowly with a low flame, continuously or periodically.
The gas pipe bringing gas to the open burner is supplied with a security valve that assures also the alimentation of gas for the ignition flame. A heat regulator also manages the security valve.
Beside that, the security valve that manages the periodical alimentation in gas can also be controlled with a manual regulator. Which means that even in case of electricity shortening, work can continue, as with a regular stove.
