FINALS Flashcards
make them ideal for all kinds of food-service operations, from elegant restaurants to cafeterias and fast-food restaurants.
relatively low cost
versatility
popularity
popular among diet-conscious people because they are lower in fat and cholesterol than other meats.
chicken
turkey
are also increasing in popularity and availability because they are now raised domestically by many producers.
Game birds, such as pheasant
are similar, in many ways, to chicken, so learning techniques for cooking and handling chicken teaches you a great deal about handling these other birds as well.
Farm-raised game birds
The flesh of poultry and game birds is, as is the flesh of beef, lamb, veal, pork, and game.
muscle tissue
Its composition and structure are essentially the same as those of meat.
Water (about 75 percent)
Protein (about 20 percent)
Fat (up to 5 percent)
Other elements, including carbohydrate, in small quantities
consist of muscle fibers held together in bundles by connective tissue.
Muscles
tenderness of a piece of meat—or poultry—is related to connective tissue and that connective tissue increases with
- Use or exercise of the muscle.
* Maturity or age of the animal or bird.
Use or exercise is of less concern in poultry. Most poultry is so young that it is relatively tender throughout.
Maturity is a major consideration when selecting poultry. Young, tender birds are cooked by dry-heat methods, such as broiling, frying, and roasting, as well as by moist- heat methods. Older, tougher birds need slow, moist heat to be made palatable.
is the major factor in categorizing each kind of poultry.
Maturity
is determined by diet and is not related to the flavor or tenderness of the poultry
Skin color
Poultry is not divided into as many small cuts as are meats. Chicken and turkey, however, are usually thought of as consisting of two kinds of parts, depending on the color of the meat. These color differences reflect other differences:
Light meat
Dark meat
breast and wings Less fat
Light meat
Less connective tissue. Cooks faster
Light meat
legs (drumsticks and thighs) More fat
Dark meat
More connective tissue. Takes longer to cook
Dark meat
have all dark meat, but the same differences in connective tissue hold true.
Squab
Goose
Duck
The dark color of dark meat is due to a protein called ___.
Myoglobin
This protein stores oxygen for muscles to use during periods of great activity.
Myoglobin
are used for flying, and because chickens and turkeys rarely, if ever, fly, these muscles don’t need a great deal of myoglobin. In flying birds, such as ducks, the breast muscles have more myoglobin and thus are darker. Active muscles, in addition to being darker, also have more connective tissue.
breast muscle of birds
cook must observe these differences when preparing poultry.
Cooking whole birds
Cooking poultry parts
Everyone has tasted chicken or turkey breast so dry it was difficult to swallow. In fact, light meat is overcooked more often than not because it cooks faster than the legs and is done first. In addition, the breast has less fat than the legs, so it tastes much drier when cooked (or overcooked).
A major problem in roasting poultry is cooking the legs to doneness without over- cooking the breast.
Chefs have devised many techniques to help solve this problem. Here are some of them.
- Roasting breast-down for part of the roasting period. Gravity draws moisture and fat to the breast rather than away from it.
- Basting with fat only, not with water or stock. Fat protects against drying, but moisture washes away protective fat.
- Barding, or covering the breast with a thin layer of pork fat. This is usually done with lean game birds.
- Separating breast from leg sections and roasting each for a different time. This is often done with large turkeys
Many recipes have been devised especially for certain poultry parts, such as wings, drumsticks, and boneless chicken breasts. These recipes take into account the different cooking characteristics of each part. For example, flattened boneless chicken breasts can be quickly sautéed and remain juicy and tender. Turkey wings, when braised, release enough gelatin to make a rich sauce.
Many of these items have especially high customer appeal, especially boneless chicken breast, and are served in the most elegant restaurants.
Those that use cut-up whole chickens can easily be adapted for specific parts. For example, you may want to buy whole chickens, braise the leg sections, and reserve the breasts for other preparations.
The following terms are used to classify poultry:
Kind Class Style Live: Dressed Ready to cook Whole. Cut up, or parts. State of refrigeration—chilled or frozen.
the species, such as chicken, turkey, or duck.
Kind
the subdivision of kind, depending on age and sex.
Class
the amount of cleaning and processing.
Style
almost never purchased in food service.
Live
killed, bled, and plucked. Also rarely seen in food service.
Dressed
dressed and eviscerated, with head and feet removed.
• Whole.
• Cut up, or parts.
Ready to cook
chilled or frozen.
State of refrigeration
It is almost always cooked well done (except ____).
Domestic poultrys
quab and sautéed or grilled duck breast
Many cooks, however, cannot tell the difference between well done and overcooked.
Skilled chefs with years of experience can often tell the doneness of a roast chicken or turkey just by looking at it. Until you gain that much experience, you should rely on other methods.
Chicken and turkey are low in fat, so they quickly become dry and unpalatable when over- cooked. Even duck and goose, which are very fatty, taste dry and stringy if cooked too long.
It is the most accurate guide to doneness.
Internal temperature, as tested with a thermometer,
The thermometer should be inserted into the
thickest muscle of the inner part of the thigh, away from the bone.
It is tested rather than the breast because the it is the last part of the bird to become fully cooked.
Thigh
The recommended safe internal temperature) for roast whole poultry is ___. However, the more usual practice is to aim for a final temperature of ____.
165°F
180°F
This higher temperature provides a margin of safety to allow for the difficulty of measuring poultry temperatures accurately.
(Most customers do not like to see red or pink at the bone joints of chicken and turkey.) Depending on the size of the bird, removing it from the oven when the thermometer reads between 165° and 175°F (74° and 79°C) should result in a final temperature of 180°F (82°C) after carryover cooking.
Doneness of smaller birds is determined in the following ways.
Looseness of joints.
Flesh separating from breast and leg bone.
Clear yellow juices.
Firmness to touch. This method is especially useful for sautéed boneless chicken breasts.
Not recommended: Do not test by piercing deeply with a fork and twisting the flesh. Too many valuable juices will be lost.
at one time, abused and neglected, relegated to the minor role of unimportant side dishes, to be taken or left, or not even noticed on the table.
Vegetables
Today, however, they are much more appreciated, not only for their nutritional importance but for the variety, flavor, eye appeal, and even elegance and sophistication they bring to the menu.
lowly vegetables
Because they are so perishable, vegetables require extra care from receiving to service. ___ is their most appealing and attractive quality, and one must be especially careful to preserve it.
Freshness
The goals of proper vegetable cookery are to
Preserve fresh flavor, texture, and color,
Prepare and serve vegetables that are not just accepted but sought after.
Cooking affects vegetables in four ways. It changes the following:
Texture Nutrients Flavor Color
It is one of the main purposes of cooking vegetables
Changing texture
the fiber structures of vegetables give them shape and firmness. Cooking softens some of these components
Cellulose and pectins
The amount of fiber varies
Spinach and tomatoes have less fiber than carrots and turnips,
Old, tough carrots have more fiber than young fresh carrots
Tender tips of asparagus and broccoli have less fiber than their tougher stalks.
Fiber is made firmer by:
Acids
Sugars
when added to cooking vegetables, extend the cooking time.
Lemon juice, vinegar, and tomato products
It strengthens cell structure. You will use this principle primarily in fruit cookery.
Sugar
Fiber is softened by:
Heat
Alkalis
In general, longer cooking means
softer vegetables
Do not add ___ to green vegetables. Not only does
it destroy vitamins but it also makes the vegetables unpleasantly mushy.
Baking soda
Vegetable components that affects texture.
Starch
Fiber
Dry starchy foods like dried legumes (beans, peas, lentils), rice, and macaroni products must be cooked in enough water for the starch granules to absorb moisture and soften. Dried beans
are usually soaked before cooking to replace lost moisture.
Moist starchy vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes have enough moisture of their own, but they must still be cooked until the starch granules soften.
It is said to be done when it reaches the desired degree of tenderness.
Vegetables
This stage varies from vegetable to vegetable. Some, such as winter squash, eggplant, and braised celery, are considered properly cooked when they are quite soft.
Most vegetables, however, are best cooked very briefly, until they are crisp-tender or al dente (firm to the bite). At this stage of tenderness they not only have the most pleasing texture but also retain maximum flavor, color, and nutrients
Guidelines for achieving proper doneness vegetables
For uniform doneness, cut vegetables into pieces of uniform size before cooking.
Don’t overcook.
If vegetables must be cooked in advance, slightly undercook them, cool, rapidly in cold water, drain, and refrigerate, then reheat to order.
Cook as close to service as possible.
Vegetables with both tough and tender parts must need special treatment
Don’t mix batches of cooked vegetables
tender parts are not overcooked by the time the tougher parts are done. For example,
Peel the woody stalks of asparagus.
Peel or split broccoli stalks.
Pierce the base of Brussels sprouts with a sharp knife.
Remove the heavy center stalks of lettuce leaves before braising.
Don’t mix batches of cooked vegetables. They are likely to be cooked to slightly different levels of doneness.
Cooking Produces Flavor Loss
Many flavors are lost during cooking by dissolving into the cooking liquid and by evaporation. The longer a vegetable is cooked, the more flavor it loses.
Flavor loss can be controlled in several ways:
Cook for as short a time as possible.
Use boiling salted water.
Steam vegetables whenever appropriate
Use just enough water to cover to minimize leaching.
strong-flavored vegetables
Cabbage Brussel sprouts Cauliflower Broccoli Onion Leeks Garlic Shallots Turnips Rutabagas
It is desirable to lose some of the flavor to make them more appealing to the taste.
leave uncovered to allow these flavors to escape, and use larger amounts of water.
Cooked vegetables do not taste like raw vegetables because ___. As long as the vegetables are not overcooked, this change is desirable. It produces the flavors one looks for in vegetable dishes.
cooking produces certain chemical changes
It produces undesirable changes in members of the cabbage family. They develop a strong, unpleasant flavor. Cabbage and its relatives should be cooked quickly, uncovered.
Overcooking
Young, freshly harvested vegetables have a relatively __that makes them taste sweet. As they mature, or as they sit in storage, the sugar gradually changes to __. This is especially noticeable in ___
High sugar content
Starch
Corn Peas Carrots Turnips Beets
To serve sweet-tasting vegetables:
Try to serve young, fresh vegetables that have been stored as short a time as possible.
For older vegetables add a small amount of sugar to the cooking water to replace
lost sweetness.
It is important to preserve as much natural color as possible when cooking vegetables. Because customers may reject or accept a vegetable on the basis of its appearance,
it can be said that its visual quality is as important as its flavor or nutritional value.
They are compounds that give vegetables their color.
Pigments
Pigments called ___ range from pale yellow to white. These are the primary coloring compounds in ___and in the white parts of such vegetables as celery, cucumbers, and zucchini.
Flavonoids
Anthoxanthins
Potatoes
Onions
White Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumbers
Zucchini
White pigments stay white in __ and turn yellow in __. To keep vegetables such as cauliflower white, add a little ___ to the cooking water. (Don’t add too much, though, as this may toughen the vegetable.) Covering the pot also helps keep acids in. Cooking for a short time, especially in a steamer, helps maintain color (and flavor and nutrients as well). Overcooking or holding too long in a steam table turns white vegetables dull yellow or gray.
Acid
Alkaline water
Lemon juice
Cream of tartar
Red pigments, called __, are found in only a few vegetables, mainly red cabbage and beets. Blueberries also are colored by these red pigments. (The red color of tomatoes and red peppers is due to the same pigments that color carrots yellow or orange.)
Anthocyanins
Red pigments react very strongly to acids and alkalis.
__ turn them a brighter red.
__ turn them blue or blue-green (not a very appetizing color for red cabbage).
Acid
Alkalis
Red beets and red cabbage, therefore, have their best color when cooked with a small amount of acid. Red cabbage is often cooked with tart apples for this reason.
When a strongly acid vegetable is desired, as for Harvard beets or braised red cabbage, add just a small amount of acid at first. Acids toughen vegetables and prolong cooking time. Add the rest when the vegetables are tender.
Red pigments dissolve easily in water. This means
When steaming, use solid pans instead of perforated pans to retain the red juices.
Use a short cooking time.
Serve the cooking liquid as a sauce with the vegetable.
Use only as much water as is necessary.
Cook beets whole and unpeeled, with root and an inch of stem attached, to protect color.
Green coloring, or ___, is present in all green plants.
Chlorophyll
Green vegetables are common in the kitchen, so it is important to understand the special handling required by this pigment.
Green vegetables
They are enemies of green vegetables. Both acid and long cooking turn green vegetables a drab olive green.
Acids
Protect the color of green vegetables by
Cooking uncovered to allow plant acids to escape.
Cooking for the shortest possible time.
Cooking in small batches
It is rapidly becoming the preferred method for cooking green vegetables. It cooks food rapidly, lessens the dissolving out of nutrients and flavor, and does not break up delicate vegetables. Overcooking, however, can occur rapidly.
Steaming
Yellow and orange pigments, called ___ are found in These pigments are very stable. They are little affected by acids or alkalis. Long cooking can dull the color, however. Short cooking not only prevents dulling of the color but also preserves vitamins and flavors.
Carotenoids
Carrots, rutabaga, , winter squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes Corn red peppers.
They are an important part of our diet because they supply a wide variety of essential nutrients. They are our major sources of vitamins A and C and are rich in many other vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, many of these nutrients are easily lost.
Vegetables
Six factors are responsible for most nutrient loss:
Long cooking. High temperature. Alkalis (baking soda, hard water). Leaching (dissolving out). Oxygen Plant enzymes (which are active at warm temperatures but destroyed by high heat).
Standards of quality in cooked vegetables:
Color Appearance on plate Texture Flavoring Seasoning Sauces Vegetable combinations
