food and prodution note

The cooking of food involves heating it in a variety of ways to  make it more palatable. The heat to cook the food comes from a  variety of sources, including electric elements or hotplates; gas flame  from a stove or barbecue; the heat from a conventional oven; and  heat generated by a microwave oven.  Heat is transferred to the food and cooking medium (the fat,  water, stock or milk) by means of convection, conduction and  radiation. It must be remembered that most foods are cooked by a  combination of at least two of the processes of transferring heat, not  just one. For example, a baked butter cake will be cooked by heat  directly reflecting from the oven walls (radiation), heat circulating in  the air of the oven (convection), and heat transferred from the cake  pan to the cake mixture (conduction). The three methods of heat transference are: Convection: When food is cooked through the convention process,...

Preparation of ingredients is popularly termed as Mise-enplace. Mise-en-place (pronounced mizãplas , i s literally "set in place"), it is a French phrase defined by the Culinary Institute of America as "everything in place". It is used in kitchens to refer to the ingredients, such as cuts of meat, relishes, sauces, par-cooked items, spices, freshly chopped vegetables and other components that a cook requires for the menu items that they expect to prepare. Recipes are reviewed, to check for necessary ingredients and equipment. Ingredients are measured out, washed, chopped and placed in individual bowls. Preparing the mise en place ahead of time allows the chef to cook without having to stop and assemble items, which is desirable in recipes with time constraints. Solid foods which are to be mixed have to be reduced into sizes which will allow them to combine readily. A certain amount of preparation is thus mandatory. Washing: Washin...

Thickening agents, or thickeners, are substances which, when added to an aqueous mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties, such as taste. They provide body, increase stability, and improve suspending action. They also improve the nutritive value. Thickening agents are often food additives. Food thickeners are frequently based on polysaccharides (starches or vegetable gums) or proteins (egg yolks, demi-glaces, or collagen). Common examples are agar, arrowroot, coconut, tamarind, curd, poppy seeds, onion taste, coriander powder, gelatin, katakuri, pectin, rehan, roux, tapioca, guar gum, locust bean gum, and xanthan gum. Flour is often used for thickening gravies, gumbos and stews. It must be cooked in thoroughly to avoid the taint of uncooked flour. Cereal grains (oatmeal, couscous, farina, etc.) are used to thicken soups. Some of the thickening agents are discussed below: Roux Roux ( pronunced ROO) is a thi...