Starting to cook - cooking methods and accompaniments

Question 0

Dry methods of cooking.

Answer 0

Baking and grilling.

Question 1

Moist methods of cooking

Answer 1

Boiling, poaching, stewing, steaming and pressure cooking.

Question 2

Using fat methods of cooking

Answer 2

Roasting, frying and microwave cooking.

Question 3

What is an accompaniment?

Answer 3

An accompaniment is a food that is served with a dish. An example is a sauce.

Question 4

Reasons for serving accompaniments.

Answer 4

To improve appearance
To improve flavour
To provide a variety of textures
To reduce richness, eg apple sauce reduces the richness of roast pork.
Some accompaniments are traditional, eg stuffing and gravy with roast turkey.

Question 5

Boiling - what is means, suitable foods, what is simmering, advantages and disadvantages

Answer 5

What it means: Cooking food in rapidly bubbling water in a saucepan.

Suitable foods: Rice, pasta, meat and vegetables.

Once the liquid starts to bubble rapidly, reduce the temperature so that the liquid is barely bubbling. This is called simmering.

Advantages:
Low-fat method of cooking.
Tougher cuts of meat can be boiled or stewed.
Economical.

Disadvantages:
Vitamins and minerals dissolve in the cooking liquid.

Question 6

Poaching - what it means, suitable foods, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 6

What it means: Cooking food in water that is barely bubbling.

Suitable foods: Fish, eggs, fruit.

Advantages:
Low fat method of cooking.
Suitable for foods that need gentle handling.
Foods absorb flavours from the liquid, for example plums or pears poached in flavoured syrup.

Disadvantages:
Foods may break up

Question 7

Stewing - what is means, suitable foods, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 7

What it means: Cooking food slowly in a little liquid in a covered container.

Suitable foods: Meat, fish, vegetables.

Advantages:
Tough pieces of meat can be cooked.
Low-fat methods of cooking.
A whole meal can be cooked in one pot. (Saves energy)
Nutrients which dissolve in the cooking liquid are served with the dish.

Disadvantages:
Slow method of cooking.

Question 8

Steaming - What is means, suitable foods, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 8

What it means: Cooking food in steam rising from boiling water.

Suitable foods: fish, vegetables.

Advantages:
Vegetables are not immersed in water and therefore there is less loss of water-soluble vitamins and minerals compared to boiling.
Healthy because no fat is added during cooking.

Disadvantages:
Flavour mag be bland.

Question 9

Pressure cooking - what it means, suitable foods, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 9

What it means: cooking food under pressure in a heavy saucepan with a special lid.

Suitable foods: meat, vegetables, pudding.

Advantages:
Quick method of cooking and therefore saves energy.

Disadvantages:
Food can easily be overcooked
Skill is needed as it can be dangerous.

Question 10

Baking - what it means, suitable foods, guidelines, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 10

What it means: cooking food in dry, hot air in an oven.

Suitable foods: breads, cakes, fish, vegetables, meat.

Guidelines for baking:
Avoid opening the oven door unnecessarily during cooking.
Batch-bake, or cook, as many dishes as possible at the same time.

Advantages:
The crips brown appearance of baked foods looks attractive.
Little loss of nutrients.

Disadvantages:
Can waste energy if oven is used for only one dish.

Question 11

Grilling - what it means, suitable foods, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 11

What it means: Cooking food by rays of heat in a hot grill.

Suitable foods: tender pieces of meat.

Advantages:
Low-fat method of cooking.
Crispy texture.
Quick.

Disadvantages:
Grilling is not suitable for tough cuts of meat.
Food may become dry.

Question 12

Roasting - what it means, suitable foods, guidelines, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 12

What it means: Cooking food in an oven using very hot fat or oil.

Suitable foods: vegetables, poultry, meat.

Guidelines:
The food should be coated in hot fat to prevent it drying out. This is called basting.
Food should be uncovered before the end of cooking to improve the colour and flavour.

Advantages:
Excellent flavour and texture.

Disadvantages:
High in fat.
Food dries out if it is not basted.

Question 13

What is basting?

Answer 13

Basting is coating food in hot fat to prevent it drying out.

Question 14

What is simmering?

Answer 14

Simmering is reducing the temperature so that the liquid is barely bubbling once the liquid starts to bubble rapidly.

Question 15

Frying - what it means, suitable foods, guidelines, advantages, disadvantages.

Answer 15

What it means: Cooking food
in hot fat in a frying pan (shallow frying)
in a deep fat frier (deep frying)
or by stir-frying in a wok.

Suitable foods: Tender cuts of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, chips.

Guidelines:
Use only tender cuts of meat.
Do not leave the pan unattended.
Shallow frying: Use oil instead of saturated fats.
Deep frying: Ensure that the oil is the correct temperature before adding food.
Stir frying: Cut foods into equal-sized pieces.

Advantages:
Excellent flavour and texture.
Quick.

Disadvantages:
High in fat.
Fried food must be served immediately.
Can be dangerous.

Question 16

Reasons for coating food before cooking.

Answer 16

To protect it from the hot fat during frying.
To improve the texture, eg to make it crisp.
To improve the flavour.
To prevent food breaking up, eg fish coated in batter.

Question 17

What does it mean to sauté?

Answer 17

To sauté means to toss food lightly in hot oil, for example sautéed onion.

Question 18

Microwave cooking - what it means, suitable foods, guidelines.

Answer 18

What it means: microwaves cause the particles if food to vibrate. This causes heat to build up inside the food. The heat then travels through the food by conduction.

Suitable foods: most foods can be cooked, thawed or reheated.

Guidelines:
Prick any food which bas a skin, such as potatoes or sausages, to prevent them from bursting.
Allow standing time. This is the part of the cooking process where the food continues to cook outside the microwave. Follow instructions on food labels for standing time.