AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOKING FOOD

What does cooking mean?

Can cuchumbers and salads be called cooked foods?

Cooking means exposing food materials to heat. The medium of transfer of

heat from its source could be water, air or oil. This will be dealt with in
detail at a later stage. First let us understand why we need to cook food.

In the ancient times, human beings ate / consumed raw meats and other
foods like roots and fruits. It was much later after the fire was invented
that the concept of cooking was known. It is believed that
food accidentally fell in the fire and thus the discovery of cooked food.
Today we do eat some food in the uncooked (raw) form; though, mostly we
associate food with its cooked form.
A. Aims and objectives of cooking food:
1. Making food safe for consumption Cooking sterilizes food partially.
The growth of bacteria gets restricted at 40oC (104oF). Non-sporing
bacteria are killed at temperatures above 60oC (140oF). For example,
pasteurization milk is made safe by holding it at 63oC (145oF) for 30
minutes or at 72oC (161oF) for 15 seconds. Boiling kills living cells. Sporebearing 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. The final
product will have a certain texture depending on

the order in which ingredients are added

the way of mixing

the method of cooking

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 chiroti, 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.
Factors affecting consistency of liquid are

concentration (of thickening agent)

temperature

degree of dispersion

mechanical treatment

time (how long is it after preparing)

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 consomm 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. Similar coating consistency
could be observed in kadhi where liquid is buttermilk and thickening is
gram flour (besan)
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, dont 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 or an ostirizer.

Mashing breaking up soft foods like cooked potatoes. {SMASHes are

in boxing, NOT is food production}

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.

Homogenization subdivision of large drops into smaller ones by

forcing them through a small opening under great pressure.

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).