Topic 1: Food Science Flashcards
why do we cook food?
- destroy harmful bacteria
- make food less bulky
- improve the keeping quality
- easier to eat and digest
- flavour is improved
- destroy natural poisons in food
- hot food in cold weather
- attractive and colourful
- adds variety to diet
- aroma released
how does cooking food make it less bulky?
volume is reduced
how does cooking food improve the keeping quality?
preserved to last longer
how does cooking food make it easier to digest?
changes its structure, soften
how does cooking food improve its flavour?
flavours develop as ingredients cook together
how does cooking food make it more colourful and attractive?
changes colour, method of cooking affects the colour of the food
how does cooking food provide variety to the diet?
cook foods in different ways
how does cooking food release aroma?
gets digestive juices working
what are the three basic methods of transferring heat?
conduction, convection and radiation
what methods of cooking use conduction?
boiling, simmering, blanching, poaching, baking, frying, microwaving, roasting, braising casserole
how is heat transferred in conduction?
contact with heat
what methods of cooking use radiation?
barbequing, grilling, microwaving, chargrilling
how is heat transferred in radiation?
direct rays pass from the heat source to the food
what methods of cooking use convection?
baking, boiling, simmering, blanching, poaching, frying, roasting, steaming, braising, casserole
how is heat transferred in convection?
heat moves through convection currents, hot air rises and cool air falls
what factors influence the cooking method used?
type of food, facilities available, time, needs of individual, skills of cook, consumer choice
what are examples of moist-heat cooking methods?
boiling, simmering, poaching and steaming
what are examples of dry-heat cooking methods?
roasting, frying, stir-frying
what is boiling?
uses large amounts of rapid bubbling liquid to cook food, conduction and convection, suitable for rice, pasta, potatoes and vegetables
what is simmering?
cooked in a hot liquid (85-99ºC) but require a gentler treatment than boiling, to prevent fish or meat from toughening and vegetables disintegrating
what is poaching?
temperature of the liquid should be just below simmering (85ºC) and foods do not need a long cooking time, suitable for eggs, fruit and fish
what is blanching?
cooked and then cooled very quickly to stop the cooking process, put food in iced water. Blanched before frozen to stop enzymatic reaction, does not decay while frozen
what is steaming?
food does not come in contact with boiling water, but cooked with the steam rising from it. Convection currents used, suitable for puddings, fish and vegetables
what is baking?
temp used depends on the food being cooked. Moisture can be added to develop certain textures in the food, top is hottest in gas ovens as warm air rises by convection
what is roasting?
small amount of fat used to prevent the food from drying out and to develop the flavours, heat transferred through conduction as well as convection in oven, vegetables and meat