Cooking Essentials: Understanding Heat and Food Components

1. Heat and Food Heat and Food

2. Components of food • Proteins • Carbohydrates • Fruit and vegetable fiber • Fats • Minerals, Vitamins, Pigments, flavor components

3. Proteins • Found in meats, poultry, fish, eggs, milk • Coagulation- become firm, shrink, loose moisture • Connective tissue- found in different degrees in meat, cooking procedure varies depending on amount of tissue • Acids- speed coagulation, dissolve tissue

4. Carbohydrates • Starches and Sugars • Caramelization- browning of sugars • Gelatinization- absorb water and swell *note- acids inhibit gelatinization

5. Fruit and vegetable fiber • Fiber- gives structure and strength to plants • Cooking fruits and vegetables is breaking down the fibers • Sugar- makes fiber firmer • Alkalis- “baking soda” softens fiber *note- softening fibers cause fruits and vegs to become mushy and loose vitamins

6. Fats • Present in food products and also used as a cooking medium • Liquid -vs- solid • Liquids are known as oils • Smoking point- consideration for which fat to use

7. Minerals Vitamins Pigments and Flavoring components • Important to the nutritional quality of food • May be destroyed by heat or cooking • Choose cooking method to preserve these elements

8. Heat Transfer • Conduction • Convection • Radiation

9. Conduction • When heat moves from one item to another by touching it • Pot of soup • Roast

10. Convection • When heat is spread by the movement of air • Natural- frier • Mechanical- convection oven

11. Radiation • When heat is spread by waves from the source to the food • Infrared- broiler, hot element • Microwave- waves “excite” water molecules causing temperature to rise

12. Cooking times • Factors that effect cook times • Cooking temperature • Speed of heat transfer • Characteristics of the food

13. Cooking Methods • Moist heat • Dry heat

14. Moist heat methods • Poach, simmer, boil • Cooking food in water or a seasoned liquid • Boil- above 212 degrees • Simmer- 185-205 degrees • Poach- 160-180 degrees

15. Moist heat methods • Steaming • Exposing foods directly to steam • Extremely rapid method with little agitation and minimizes the loss of nutrients

16. Moist heat methods • Braise- to cook in a small amount of liquid • Usually after browning • Considered a “combination cooking process”

17. Dry heat cooking methods • Roast and bake • Roast- usually applies to meat and poultry • Bake- applies to breads, fish, vegetables • Usually on a rack, and uncovered

18. Dry heat cooking methods • Broil- to cook with radiant heat from above • Used for tender meat, poultry, fish and vegetables

19. Dry heat cooking methods • Grilling • Cooking using dry heat from below • Grilling- open heat source over grid • Griddling- solid heat surface • Pan-broiling- saute pan

20. Dry heat cooking methods • Saute- to cook quickly using a small amount of fat • Sauter- to jump • Start with hot pan • Sometimes coat with flour • Deglaze pan after with liquid

21. Dry heat cooking methods • Pan-Fry- to cook in a moderate amount of fat

22. Dry heat cooking methods • Deep Fry • Quality is characterized by the following… • Minimum fat absorption • Minimum moisture loss • Attractive golden color • Crisp surface • No off flavors from fat

23. Dry heat cooking methods • Microwave • Used for reheating, defrosting and cooking • Measured by watts (500-2000) • Radiation “excites” water molecules *note- never use metal in a microwave