Food Preparation Skills Flashcards
claw + bridge - explain how to do each of them
What are the two different types of knife holds?
Claw Grip
* To use the claw grip, shape your hand into a claw shape, tucking the thumb inside the fingers - the knuckle to fingertips part of the hand acts as a barrier against the knife blade when being held in the claw grip shape. It is safer to use a large knife with a flat-sided blade than a smaller one for this reason.
* Place the item you want to cut flat side down on a chopping board and rest the claw on the item to be sliced.
Hold the knife in the other hand. Use the knife point as a pivot (it should not leave the board). As you slice, the food moves towards the knife; this reduces the health and safety risk.
Bridge Hold
* To use the bridge hold, first place the flat surface of the item on a chopping board.
Now form a bridge with the thumb and index finger of one hand and hold the item on the chopping board.
Hold a knife in the other hand and position the blade under the bridge formed with your hand. Firmly cut downwards.
What are some knife safety rules?
- The correct knife should be used for the appropriate job.
- Knives must be kept sharp and clean; a blunt knife is more likely to cause a cut because more pressure needs to be applied to use it to cut.
- Knife handles must be grease-free.
- The point must always be downwards when carrying a knife.
- Knives should not be put in the washing-up bowl.
- A knife must not be left on the edge of a table or chopping board.
What are the classic cuts for vegetables?
Jardiniére - baton -shaped lengths
Julienne - Matchstick - sized strips
Macédoine - medium - sized dice
Batonnet - square - shaped lengths
Chiffonade - fine shreds of leafy green vegetables
Turning - Barrel - shaped vegetables
What are the seven types of knives?
- Cook’s knife: Comes in different sizes. Strong, ridged blade is suitable for a range of tasks. Uses: Dicing, chopping and trimming vegetables, meat, poultry and fresh herbs.
- Paring knife: A small knife with a thin and slightly flexible blade.
Uses: Fruit and Vegetable preparation. - Boning Knife: A very string blade that will not bend or break easily.May have a straight or curved blade.
Uses: Removing bones from meat joints and poultry. - Filleting knife: Thin - bladed, flexible, very sharp knife.
Uses: filleting fish - Carving knife: Long blade with a serrated or plain edge. Can be rounded or pointed.
Uses: Carving met joints or cooked ham. - Bread knife: Long serrated knife.
Uses! Slicing loaves and other bread products. - Palette knife: Flexible blade, which is rounded at the top
Uses: Icing cakes, turning food during cooking, moulding and smoothing food.
What is the classification of fish?
There are three main classifications of fish:
- White fish has flesh that is white in colour and contains less fat.
- White fish can be round or flat, e.g. cod, haddock. Flat fish - examples include plaice, sole and halibut.
- Oily fish has flesh that is coloured and contains more fat than white fish but this is healthy fat with fish oils. Examples include salmon, sardines, mackerel and tuna.
There are two main classifications of shellfish:
* Crustaceans - crabs, lobsters, prawns, crayfish, shrimp and squid (this has a hard backbone that must be removed during preparation).
* Molluscs - oysters, mussels, scallops, winkles and cockles.
What are the nutrients found in fish?
Nutrients in fish include:
* Protein - for growth and repair.
* Minerals - iron, zinc and iodine - for red blood cells, metabolism and to regulate blood sugar.
* Vitamins A and D - for vision, body linings, the immune system, bone health, and to help with mineral absorption.
* Oily fish contains Omega 3 fatty acids for brain development, healthy bones and joints.
How to ensure you are buying good quality fish?
To ensure you are buying quality fish, you need to make sure that:
* eyes are bright, not dull
* scales are in place
* gills are bright red
* it has a slightly salty, fresh smell of the sea (fish smells bad as it deteriorates)
* it has a thin layer of slime; the flesh is firm.
Shellfish must be prepared and eaten within two days of purchase.
How to preserve fish?
There are a number of ways of preserving fish.
- Canning - cans are heated to 121 °C to kill bacteria; this heating creates a vacuum inside the can. Any blown or dented cans can cause food poisoning as the vacuum is broken and clostridium.
- Freezing - sea fish are frozen within 90 minutes of capture to a minimum temperature of -18 °C. This stops food poisoning bacteria from reproducing and forces the bacteria to become dormant - it does not kill the bacteria.
- Smoking - to 76 °C or above removes moisture from the fish and gives a distinctive flavour, e.g. smoked salmon.
- Salting - salt is added to fish to remove its moisture. Food poisoning bacteria cannot survive without moisture. 36 botulinum food poisoning can occur.
How to prepare and cook raw fish?
To Prepare:
* Use a blue chopping board (sanitized). Use a filleting knife (sharp and sanitized).
* Check for freshness.
To Cook:
* Fish cooks quickly because the muscle is short and the connective tissue is thin. The connective tissue is made up of collagen and will change into gelatine and coagulate at 75 °C..
* Fish can be grilled, baked or fried. Often fish is enrobed in breadcrumbs/batter to protect it when using high heat.
* Fish can also be cooked gently by steaming or poaching without coating the flesh.
How to fillet fish (flat and round)?
Filleting a Flat Fish:
1. Use a filleting knife to descale and remove the fins.
2. . Cut off the head just behind the gills. Cut from head to tail down to the bone, to one side of the centre line.
3. Turn the knife almost parallel to the table.
4. Make a long, smooth cut.
5. Cut horizontally against the backbone towards the outer edge.
6. Separate the fillet from the bone and remove it.
Filleting a Round Fish:
1. Descale and remove the fins.
2. Cut into the top of the fish on one side of the tail; detach the backbone from head to tail.
3. Cut under the flesh towards the tail and detach the cut piece.
4. Cut along the curved rib bones and finish detaching the fillet at the head.
5. Turn the fish over and repeat to remove the second fillet.
What is the nutritional content of meat?
- Protein, including collagen, elastin and myoglobin, which makes the meat red in colour.
- Fat (saturated) - provides warmth and protection of the animal’s internal organs.
- Minerals, e.g. iron, calcium and phosphorus - needed to form red blood cells, bones and teeth, and for energy metabolism.
- Vitamins B6 and B12 - needed to release energy from foods.
- Cholesterol.
What is the structure of meat?
- Meat is a muscle made of cells which consist of fibres held to together by connective tissue.
- Long fibres are associated with tough meat - the older an animal is, the tougher the meat.
- Muscles that work a lot, such as the thighs and shoulders of animals, give tough meat, e.g. shin beef, brisket.
- Small fibres are associated with tender cuts.
What is the classification of meat?
- Meat is classified as the muscle tissue of dead animals and birds.
There are four main meat sources:
- Animals:
-pork, (pigs), beef (cattle), lamb (sheep). - Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, goose.
-Game: feathered or furred; venison, rabbit, pheasant
-Offal: liver, tongue, tripe, kidney, heart, brain, trotters.
What are the different types of cuts?
- Cuts of meat from muscle areas that do a lot of work will need longer, slower cooking methods in wet heat, e.g. stewing, braising, pot roasting and casseroling.
- Meat from tougher cuts can be ground or minced to break up the connective tissues so that it cooks more quickly.
- Cuts of meat from muscle areas not so heavily used by the animal, e.g. the back and the rump, can be cooked much more quickly in dry heat, e.g. grilling, stir-frying.
How to cook meat?
Marinating and Tenderising
* Marinades are added to meat before cooking to add flavour and the acid content (e.g. lemon juice, yoghurt, wine) breaks down the protein.
* Meat is tenderised by: using a marinade; mincing; or using a steak hammer.
**The Effects of Cooking Meat: **
* The browning of meat is caused by a reaction with natural sugars and proteins to produce a dark colour.
* This is called Maillard reaction or non - enzymic browning.
* As meat cooks, the proteins coagulate due to heat.
* Collagen breaks down into gelatine, making the meat tender.
Checking for Readiness:
* You should know the safety rules for cooking different meat.
* Meat joints can be tested using a meat probe or temperature probe.
* To determine if a steak is a rare, medium or well done the ‘poke’ test can be learned and used.
* The following foods should not be eaten if undercooked: chicken (80 °C), pork (75 °C), offal and game, burgers, sausages, kebabs.
