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Learners Guide

Produce vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes SITHCCC204

2013 Edition didasko.com

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Copyright 2013

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Contents

TEXT

Overview ........................................................................................................ 3

Select ingredients .......................................................................................... 3

Select, prepare and use equipment ............................................................. 33

Portion and prepare ingredients .................................................................. 41

Cook vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes ...................................... 51

Present and store vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes .................. 85

Glossary .............................................................................................................. 93

Please note the following condition:

The Didasko learning resource provided here should be used as a training tool for students and trainers. While the information contained within addresses the elements, performance criteria, required skills and knowledge of individual competencies it remains the responsibility of the training organisation to ensure it meets training framework requirements and to provide additional documentation where necessary.

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SITHCCC204 Produce vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes

didasko.com 2013 Edition 3

Overview

Vegetables, fruits, eggs and farinaceous foods are integral to almost every dish served on a menu. Regardless of where you’re dining, you’re likely to find at least one of these foods on your plate. You’ll find them in snacks, entrees, mains and desserts, and in all establishments from take-away noodle bars to fine-dining restaurants.

They’re versatile, nutritious and tasty and can be used in cooking a range of international cuisine. Italian pasta, Asian noodles, Mexican rice, German apple strudel and French croquettes are just some of the many gourmet delights you’ll find in restaurants around the world.

Your ability to correctly select, cook and prepare these foods is vital to your overall success and reputation in the kitchen.

Let’s look at what you will learn on completion of this unit.

Section 1: Select ingredients

Section 2: Select, prepare and use equipment

Section 3: Portion and prepare ingredients

Section 4: Cook vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes

Section 5: Present and store vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes

Select ingredients

Let’s look at what you will learn on completion of this section.

Confirm food production requirements from food preparation lists and standard recipes.

Calculate ingredient amounts according to requirements. Identify and select ingredients for vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes from

stores according to recipe, quality, freshness and stock rotation requirements.

A systematic approach to cooking

Commercial kitchens are busy and demanding. To deal with the pressure of work and kitchen conditions, you must take a logical and systematic approach.

In this unit you’ll learn the six stages of preparing and cooking dishes using a systematic approach.

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What are the six stages of preparing and cooking?

Stage 1

Confirm food production requirements. Know what you have to do from start to finish and make adjustments as required.

Stage 2

Select the ingredients.

Stage 3

Get the equipment ready. Make sure it’s clean and safely assembled. Set or preheat ovens, deep-fryers, steamers, etc.

Stage 4

Prepare the ingredients. Refer to the recipe for specific instructions: chop onions, blanch vegetables, poach eggs, etc.

Stage 5

Cook the dish.

Stage 6

Present the dish.

We will look at each of these stages in detail throughout this unit.

Getting started

Tania is running in circles trying to complete a dish. Her work station is in a mess and she is wasting time jumping back and forth between cooking and preparation tasks. Now she needs cooled, cooked rice, but the rice is still on the stove!

Tania never knows where to begin and wastes a lot of time because of her poor organisational skills.

What’s the first thing Tania should do before cooking any dish?

You have 15 seconds to think of the answer.

Click start to begin.

What’s the first thing Tania should do before cooking any dish? Type in your answer.

If you answered confirm all food production requirements, you’re correct! Click to the next screen to find out more.



STAGE 1: CONFIRM FOOD PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS

Food production requirements tell you how to produce a dish according to your organisation’s standards. You find this information from food preparation lists and standard recipes.

Click on the icons to see the information you need to confirm.

Deadlines

How long does it take to prepare, cook or complete?

Portion control

What size servings are required for breakfast, lunch, dinner?

Quantities to be produced

How much does the recipe yield? How much do your customers need?

Special customer requests

What does the customer want, for example, steamed, not fried, sauce on the side, etc.

Are there any restrictions due to health or lifestyle, for example, no salt, gluten-free bread, vegetarian.

Ingredients and equipment

What do you need? How much of each ingredient? Do you have everything?

Step by step procedures/methods

How exactly do you make it? What preparation and cooking methods do you use?

Presentation standards and techniques

How do you plate it up?

You’ll find the answers to all of these questions in the establishment’s standard recipes or by listening to the customer’s request.

What’s a standard recipe?

A recipe lists the equipment, procedures and ingredient quantities you need to prepare and cook a dish. It tells you everything you need to do and prepare from start to finish.

A standard recipe is much the same as a normal recipe with a few extra details that allow management to calculate portion costs and the total cost of ingredients to make the recipe.

Let’s look at an example on the next screen.


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Hot tip

Read the recipe to make sure you have everything ready. You don’t want to be halfway through preparing a dish and discover something you need is unavailable. Be time efficient. Plan and organise food preparation tasks.

Standard recipe example

Click on the tabs to identify the information contained in a standard recipe.

Recipe number

Photograph or detailed diagram of the finished product

Dish menu position (entrée, dessert, etc.)

Portion cost

Cost of each ingredient

Date it was last tested and costed

Selling price

Plating and garnishing instructions

Production method



What if you need to increase or decrease the portion?

Standard recipes aren’t always written for the exact number of portions you need. If you require fewer or more portions, you can adjust the recipe by multiplying or dividing all the ingredients accordingly.

Click on the tabs to see how it’s done.

Determine the desired yield

The desired yield is how much you want to make.

Number of servings x portion size = desired yield.

Let’s say you need 100 servings of a 250 ml vegetable bean soup entree.

100 x 250 ml = 25 000 ml (25 L)

Your desired yield is 25 L of vegetable bean soup.

Determine the conversion factor

The conversion factor is the desired yield divided by the existing yield.

Desired yield existing yield = conversion factor

You want 25 L of vegetable soup. This is the desired yield.

Your recipe yields 2 L of vegetable soup. This is the existing yield.

25 2 = 12.5

The conversion factor is 12.5.

You multiply all the ingredients by 12.5 to get the desired amount.

500 g diced pumpkin x 12.5 = 6 250 g (6.25 kg) pumpkin

1.5 L stock x 12.5 = 18.75 L

Etc…

Reducing

Let’s say your desired yield is only 1 L of vegetable soup.

The existing yield of the recipe is 2 L.

1 2 = .5

500 g diced pumpkin x .5 = 250 g pumpkin

1.5 L stock x .5 = .75 L (750 ml)


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STAGE 2: SELECT THE INGREDIENTS

Before preparing ingredients, get everything you need from the storage areas so it’s ready for use in your work area. Refer to your recipe for a complete list of the ingredients you need.

Choose fresh, high quality ingredients to ensure your dish is tasty and meets food safety requirements. To do this, you need to know the characteristics of different food types and the quality indicators to look for. You’ll learn what these are over the next few screens.

Note...

Follow stock rotation requirements when it comes to selecting ingredients. FIFO is a good guide (First In, First Out). Always check use-by or best-before dates. Never use any product which is past this date.

How are vegetables categorised?

Click on the tabs to identify the different types of vegetables.

Root vegetables

Definition Examples Root vegetables grow under the soil. The root

is the edible part of the plant. You usually throw away the stalks that grow above the ground.

Start root vegetables in cold water when cooking.

Their texture is firm or hard.

Carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede, beetroot, radish, celeriac, salsify

Bulbs

Definition Examples Bulbs grow under the ground but their stalks

grow above the ground. Unlike root vegetables, retain the stalks of

some bulbs, such as spring onions and chives.

Onion, leek, garlic, shallot, spring onion, chives

Tubers

Definition Examples Tubers grow under the ground. Discard the

stems which grow above the ground. Start tubers in cold water when boiling.

Potato, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke

You'll look at the different potato varieties on the next screen.



Flowers

Definition Examples Flower vegetables grow above ground and

are edible. Broccoli, cauliflower, broccoflower, globe artichoke

Vegetable fruits

Definition Examples Sweet vegetables are more commonly known

as fruits. Fruits and squashes are the parts of plants

that consist of a ripened seed surrounded by edible, pulpy, juicy tissue.

Pumpkin, eggplant, tomato, capsicum, cucumber, zucchini, avocado, marrow

Fungi

Definition Examples Mushroom is the most common type of fungi. Some fungi varieties are poisonous to eat.

Mushrooms: button, cepes, field, shitake, oyster

Leaves

Definition Examples Leaf vegetables are the leaves of certain

vegetable plants. Cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, spinach, silverbeet, brussel sprouts, chard, chicory

Seeds and pods

Definition Examples Seeds and pods grow above the ground. Some seeds, such as peas, are grown in the

pods of plants, but you remove them from the pods before cooking.

Others, such as runner beans, are prepared and cooked with the seeds still contained within the pod.

Sweet corn is different again. The seed of sweet corn is called a kernel and is contained within a husk rather than a pod. Although you can cook the sweet corn within the husk, you do not eat it.

Corn, peas (green, snow), beans (broad, green, runner), chickpeas

Stems

Definition Examples Stems grow above the ground. Asparagus is classed as a stem, but some

refer to it as a flower depending on whether or not the whole vegetable is to be used for the dish or just the flower head.

Celery, asparagus, rhubarb, fennel, bamboo shoots


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Potato varieties

There are many varieties of potatoes. Their suitability for use in different recipes is based on the method of cookery and amount of starch they contain. Some varieties have low starch content and are best used for boiling and mashing. Others have high starch levels, making them suited to baking, roasting, or deep-frying.

Click on the icon to check out the potato varieties and their uses.

Potato varieties and their uses

Variety Skin colour

Flesh colour

Boil/ salad

Boil/ mash

Bake Roast Fry

Sebago White White Good Excellent Good Good Fair

Kennebec White White Good Good Good Excellent

Russet Burbank

White White Excellent Good Excellent

Pontiac Red White Good Excellent Good Good

Toolangi Delight

Purple White Good Excellent Good Good Fair

Patrones Cream Yellow Excellent Good Fair Fair Fair

Bintje Cream Yellow Excellent Good Fair Fair Good

Kipfler Yellow Yellow Excellent Fair Fair Good

Exton White White Good Good Good Good

Healthy eating

Vegetables offer exceptional nutritional value due to their dietary fibre, mineral elements, vitamins and essential oils.

Click on the vegetables to read some examples of their benefits.

Brussel sprouts

Despite their reputation at the dinner table, brussel sprouts are very high in fibre, vitamin C, A and E. They are also believed to assist in the prevention of some cancers.

Carrots

Carrots contain beta carotene which our bodies convert to vitamin A. Vitamin A is important to maintain healthy eyesight and is great for the skin and immune system.



Broccoli

Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins C, E, K, folate and dietary fibre. It also contains B vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc. Broccoli, (and cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and kale), all contain properties that help reduce the risk of cancer.

Celery

Celery is extremely low in kilojoules and an excellent source of vitamins B6, K, fibre and folate. It can help decrease stress hormones, improve blood flow and regulate blood pressure.

Mushroom

A 100 g serve of mushrooms can provide more than 20% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamin B. They are the only non-animal food containing natural vitamin D.

Red capsicum

Most people relate vitamin C to oranges, but this super food contains three times the amount of vitamin C! It is more nutritious than green capsicum and contains excellent anti-cancer properties.

Spinach

Spinach is very high in vitamin K and an excellent source of vitamins A, C and folate.

Selecting quality vegetables

Each type of vegetable is prone to distinct quality issues.

Click on the pictures to see the quality standards for each type.

Root vegetables Have uniformity in size and colour. Are not oversized for the variety, as they tend to be tough and woody. No visual signs of bruising, insect infestation or decay.

Bulbs and tubers Firm and free from bruising, insects, discolouration, and decay. No sign of sprouting or greening on the surface. Poorly stored potatoes have a green pigment on the surface: a toxin called solanine that is poisonous if eaten. Never use these potatoes.

Flower Are crisp and firm in texture and appearance, are bright in colour, compact, fine grained, and with tightly closed buds.

Vegetable fruits Have a shiny bright smooth skin and are firm, with no soft spots, bruising, or shrivelling.

Fungi Firm dry caps and stems with no signs of moulding, stickiness, or dark spots. The caps should be closed at the stem. The stems should not be overly long.


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Leafy vegetables Free from signs of snails, slugs, and insects. Should be bright, crisp and have a strong colouration according to variety. Tight compact leaves for headed varieties such as cabbage, short stems for open leaf varieties. No sign of wilting or discolouration around the edges of leaves or on the stem.

Seeds and pods Fresh, strong, even-colour pods with no blemishes. Tender and crisp enough to break when bent. Pods that require cleaning, such as peas and broad beans, should be moderately filled out and plump. Those eaten with the pod, such as sugar snaps, snow peas, and green beans, should not contain bulging seeds, as this indicates over-maturity.

Stems Should be crisp and firm in texture and snap easily when bent. They should not be tough, excessively stringy, or withered.

Note...

All vegetables should be free from freezer burn where frozen.

How are fruits categorised?

Click on the tabs to learn about the different fruit categories and their health benefits.

Berries

Definition Examples Health benefits Berries are small, round or semi-oblong, sweet or sometimes sour fruits which are juicy and brightly coloured. Colours range from pale, red, bright red, deep purple, black and blue.

Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, loganberries, gooseberries, red and black currants, cranberries, boysenberries, mulberries

Blueberries and blackberries: Contain vitamin E, are a high source of antioxidants, can reduce cell damage and can improve memory, eyesight and lower cholesterol. Strawberries: Vitamin C, folate, fibre, reduce risk of heart disease, improve memory, kidney and bladder health.



Vine

Definition Examples Health benefits Vine fruits grow on vines, which are climbing or trailing plants that flower.

Red and white grapes, passionfruit, kiwifruit, tamarillos

Grapes: Low GI, good for hydrating due to water content, can prevent heart disease, contain Vitamin B6 which is vital for a healthy nervous system.

Pomes

Definition Examples Health benefits Pomes are a class of fleshy fruits which contain a core and seeds and an outer skin.

All varieties of apples, pears, quinces, loquats

Apples: Reduce risk of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma. High in Vitamins C, A, E, B, potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium. Pears: High in vitamin C and fibre. Help boost metabolism and contain excellent cleansing and detoxing properties.

Citrus

Definition Examples Health benefits Citrus fruits are those with a thick rind or outer casing enclosing a juicy pulp that can generally be segmented.

Lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins, tangerines, tangelos, kumquats, grapefruit, limequats, pummelo

Oranges: High in vitamin C, folic acid and fibre. Excellent for boosting immune system. Mandarins: Contain antioxidants, are high in vitamin C, potassium, folate and fibre. Contain anti-inflammatory properties and help protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Stone

Definition Examples Health benefits Botanically, stone fruit is usually referred to as drupe fruit. These are flowering plants where the ovaries grow into fleshy fruits containing one large hard woody stone or pit, which contains a seed inside.

Apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, mangoes, dates

Peaches: Low in calories, good source of vitamin A, phytochemicals, fibre and anti-aging properties. Helps boost immune system. Plums: Contain vitamin C and fibre.


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Exotic/tropical

Definition Examples Health benefits Exotic fruit, also known as tropical fruit, grow in the equatorial regions of the world (close to the equator) between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Rather than the distinct four seasons, the tropics experience both a wet and a dry season.

Bananas, pineapple, breadfruit, carambola (starfruit), custard apple, durian, guava, eggfruit, jackfruit, rambutan, papaya, mangosteen, lychee, pomegranate, pitaya (red and yellow dragon fruit), prickly pear

Pineapple: Excellent source of vitamin C, fibre, antioxidants and manganese, which is good for energy, bones, joints and the brain. Excellent anti-inflammatory and de-toxing properties Papaya: High in fibre, folate, vitamins A, C and E.

Melon

Definition Examples Health benefits The melon family are fleshy fruits grown on tendrilled vines from the cucurbitaceae family. Pumpkin, zucchini and cucumber are vegetable members of the same family.

Watermelon, cantaloupe (rockmelon), honeydew, champagne melon, sugar melon, horned melon, tiger melon, Japanese melon

Watermelon: High in vitamin A and C and lycopene which has powerful antioxidant properties that assist with metabolism and the prevention of cancer. Excellent for the immune system. Cantaloupe: High in fibre, vitamins B and C, potassium and folic acid. Contains anti-oxidants that help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Hard shell

Definition Examples Health benefits Hard shelled fruits consist of a wide range of nuts. In the botanical sense nuts are simply dry fruit with one dry, oily seed that becomes hard and woody on the surface at maturity. All nuts are seeds, but not all seeds are nuts.

Almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, candlenuts, coconuts, macadamia, pine nuts

Most nuts are high in protein and monounsaturated fats (good fats) which help regulate blood cholesterol. They're also a good source of fibre and other essential nutrients.

Cross categories

The categories we’ve looked at vary somewhat as the lines between the culinary and botanical sense are often blurred. Coconut, for example, may be classified as a nut, a tropical fruit or as a dry fibrous stone fruit (droup). The categories are only important in the culinary sense because they help you to assess the quality of each fruit type and assist in identifying the best methods to clean, cut, use and store them.



Selecting quality fruits

Click the dot points for some useful tips to consider when selecting fruit.

Fruit should look fresh and appetising.

The smell is often a good indication of ripeness. It should have a pronounced fruity fragrance (particular to the variety) when you smell them from close up.

Test the freshness by gently applying pressure. If the fruit is ripe, there should be some give. If there is excessive give under gentle pressure, it may be an indication of over-ripeness.

Select fruit that is plump, firm, heavy for its size and unwrinkled. These are all signs that the fruit is full of moisture and has not dried out or dehydrated from long storage periods.

Soft fruits, such as berries and kiwifruit, should look dry and full, without any signs of wetness or mould.

Make sure the skin isn’t bruised, split or broken.

Fruit should be free of insect damage and decay.

Preserved fruits and vegetables

If the fresh vegetable or fruit is out of season, you can use varieties which have been commercially preserved by freezing, pickling, canning, bottling or drying.

Click on the pictures to see some examples.

Frozen

Frozen fruits and vegetables offer an all-year-round alternative to fresh fruits and vegetables. However, freezing can change the texture and flavour, so always make sure the frozen product is a viable alternative to fresh.

Asparagus Beans Carrots Cauliflower Corn Peas Blueberries Blackberries Rhubarb Apricot halves

Canned/bottled

Bottling and canning combines sterilisation by heat and a sealing process that eliminates oxygen. The fruit or vegetable is vacuum-sealed in a sterile airtight container to prevent the re-entry of micro-organisms after processing.


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Canned or bottled fruits and vegetables can help a busy kitchen to save time.

Artichoke Asparagus Beans, lentils and chickpeas Beetroots Carrots Corn Cucumbers (gherkin or dill) Mushrooms

Olives Peas Pineapples Apples Peaches Pears Cherries Lychees

Pickled

Pickled or marinated vegetables can add colour, flavour and variety as either an ingredient or a garnish.

Pickled cauliflower, gherkin, onions, chargrilled vegetables, cucumber. Marinated mushrooms, eggplant, sun-dried tomato, artichoke, olives.

Dried

Dried ingredients must be reconstituted with a liquid before they can be used. Always allow time for this in your preparation tasks.

Beans and lentils Mushrooms Peas Chickpeas Pears Apricots Pineapple Grapes (sultanas) Banana Figs Coconut Plums (prunes)

What are the different types of eggs?

Many varieties of eggs can be used as meals or ingredients. However, most eggs used in catering are derived from birds. The most popular and widely used egg is the chicken egg.

Click on the birds to learn about other types of eggs which are available.

Duck

Quail

Goose



Are these the only available eggs?

Other types of eggs are commercially available. However, they are less widely used in catering establishments.

Fish eggs such as salmon roe and caviar are also used in catering but not in the same way as eggs from birds. To avoid any confusion, the information in this resource relates to eggs obtained from hens.

What is an egg composed of?

Knowing the different parts of an egg helps you understand the relationship between the different components and how they affect your cooking methods. This knowledge also helps you assess the freshness of the egg.

Click on the icon to reveal the different parts.


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Chalazae

Elastic strands that hold the egg yolk in place in the centre of the egg.

Shell membrane

A thin film of membrane that lines the interior of the egg. This membrane can be seen clearly at the blunt end of the shell where it forms an air cell.

Yolk membrane

An ultra-fine film sack that contains the yolk.

The yolk

The yolk is high in protein and fat and contains iron and vitamins A and D. The colour of the yolk can range from light to dark yellow, depending on the diet of the chicken. The colour does not have a bearing on the nutritional value of the egg. The yolk accounts for about 30% of the total weight of the egg. Egg yolks are often used on their own in cookery because of their enriching, binding, thickening, and emulsifying (glossary) properties.

The white

The white of the egg is made from albumen protein, which is clear and water-soluble when raw, and becomes white and firm when coagulated (glossary). The white is made up of two parts: a thick white that surrounds the yolk and a more liquid, thinner white surrounding this. Egg whites account for about 60% of the total weight. They are often used in cookery for their aerating, binding, and clarifying properties.

The air cell

The air cell is found at the blunt end of the egg between the white and the shell. It is formed when the air is trapped between the shell membrane and the shell. As the egg gets older, the air cell becomes larger as the egg loses moisture through its porous shell. The size of the air sac can be used as a quality indicator: the smaller the air cell, the fresher the egg. Placing the egg in water can test this. If it floats in the water then the egg is not fresh, as the air cell has increased in sufficient size to give it extra buoyancy.

The shell

The shell accounts for about 11% of the total weight of the egg. The calcium shell is fragile and very porous, allowing odours to be absorbed by the egg and moisture to be lost. The colour of the shell may vary from white to mid-brown, depending on the breed and feed given to the hen. The colour of the shell does not affect the composition and structure of the egg inside.

Does size matter?

Using eggs in recipes would be very simple if all hens laid eggs of exactly the same size. Since this is not the case, eggs are graded and sold according to the minimum size and weight of each egg.

Click on the eggs to see the main grades.

Jumbo: 67 to 71.7 grams

Extra large: 59 to 66.9 grams



Large: 50 to 58.9 grams

Medium: 42 to 49.9 grams

Small: up to 42 grams

How do you know which size to use?

Some recipes state the number of eggs needed for a given number of serves, for example, two eggs per serve for scrambled eggs (recipe 228), four eggs for a quiche lorraine, (recipe 148) which serves six.

Some recipes that require large quantities of eggs often refer to either the total weight or the liquid measurements of eggs. Recipes for making sponges or clarifying consommé are examples of this. The recipe may state 500 g of whole, beaten eggs or 250 ml of raw egg whites.

Remember that a 55 gram egg does not yield 55 grams of usable egg. The shell makes up part of the overall weight.

What are the different forms of egg?

Most people buy their eggs fresh, still in their shell and packaged in an egg carton. They can be purchased in supermarkets and local stores in varying quantities.

Click on the icons to find out the other forms you can use.

Dried or powdered

Whole eggs, egg whites or yolks can be dried and packaged. They have a relatively long shelf life and can be reconstituted as required. Powdered eggs tend to be used more in manufacturing situations than in commercial hospitality kitchens.

Frozen

Whole eggs, egg whites or yolks are flash frozen, then packaged in pouches, cartons, containers or pails. Frozen eggs can be stored for years if held at -15 °C or below. Defrosted eggs should be used immediately and cannot be refrozen.

Liquid

Liquid eggs can be sold as whole eggs, or separated into egg whites or yolks. The liquid is filtered and usually pasteurised (glossary). Liquid eggs must be kept refrigerated and have a shorter shelf life of two to six days.

Egg mixes

Dried and frozen eggs may have salt, sugar, anti-caking or whipping agents, or other chemicals added to the mix to help stabilise them or enhance a particular quality.

Liquid and frozen eggs can also be bought pre-mixed for specific uses such as scrambled egg or omelette mixes. Alternatively, the eggs can be pre-cooked and packaged for immediate use. Scrambled eggs, omelettes (recipe 229) and hard-boiled eggs (recipe 19) are common examples, with fried and poached eggs (recipe 26) also available.


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Selecting quality eggs

Eggs are a perishable item and subject to deterioration, so it’s important to choose fresh, top quality eggs for your recipes.

Click on the pictures to learn what quality indicators to look for.

Best-before date

The ‘best-before’ date cannot exceed 28 days after the egg was laid and eggs should not be used past this date.

Always check the ‘best-before’ date when purchasing or accepting a delivery of eggs.

The egg’s shell

The egg shell should be clean and undamaged. If the shell is dirty, wash it gently just before you use it. If the shell is cracked, do not use the egg. It may have become contaminated and the

whole egg should be disposed of immediately.

The egg cracked open

The yolk should be small and rounded, sitting in the centre of the egg white. As an egg ages, the yolk starts to look thin, flat and runny, and will break more easily.

The egg white should be thick and compact around the egg yolk. It should look and feel like a gel. As the egg ages, the white becomes runny and spreads out over a larger surface area. A very fresh egg white can be slightly cloudy.

Old eggs have a stale smell. Fresh eggs don’t have a distinct odour.

Rising or floating

If you are in any doubt about an egg’s freshness, you can conduct a simple test before you crack it open. Place the egg in a deep bowl filled with cold water. As an egg gets older, the air cell becomes larger as moisture evaporates through the permeable shell. The size of the air cell will determine if the egg sinks, rises slightly or floats to the surface.

As a general guide, if the egg:

sinks to the bottom and stays there, it’s about three to six days old sinks, but floats at an angle, it’s more than a week old sinks, but then stands on end, it’s about two weeks old floats to the surface, it’s too old and should be discarded.

Candling

Another test you can use to check freshness is called candling. Hold the egg up to a strong light or in front of a candle. You will be able to see the mass of the egg through its thin shell.

The egg is not very fresh if:

the air cell at the blunt end of the egg is large (6 mm or more) the egg yolk is no longer in the centre of the egg.

Spots in the yolk or white

A spot on the yolk or white of an egg does not normally indicate lack of freshness. These are called blood spots (on the yolk) or meat spots (on the white) and are the result of other factors such as the breed of hen, its feed and amount of activity during laying.



Old eggs

You can use old eggs that haven’t exceeded the ‘best-before’ date for omelettes, in sauces, cakes and dishes where presentation is not as important.

It’s best to use fresher eggs for frying and poaching. They look more appealing as the yolk is centred in the middle of the egg and the egg has a better shape.

In a nutshell

The freshness of an egg can determine what cooking method or other uses it is suitable for. We will discuss this later when we look at the different methods of cookery.

What are farinaceous goods?

The word farinaceous comes from the Latin term ‘farina’, meaning flour. This original meaning has been extended to cover food items that consist mainly of flour such as bread, dumplings, pasta and noodles.

It’s also used as the generic name for a wide range of other culinary products that have a high starch content including rice, potatoes, polenta, pulses, lentils, and couscous.

Click on the pictures to learn about the different varieties.

Rice: long grain, short grain, brown, wild, glutinous, Italian round (Arborio), ground rice, rice flour, rice noodles.

Wheat: flour, germ, semolina, couscous, bulgur, flaked, cracked and pasta made from durum wheat.

Maize (corn): cornflour, cornmeal, popping corn and polenta.

Other: rye, barley, oats, potatoes, lentils and pulses.

Let’s look at the most common varieties in more detail on the next few screens.


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Rice

Rice is the seed taken from a rice plant. The seed is divided into three main parts.

Click on the labels to learn more about each part.

The husk The husk is a hard inedible layer that protects the grain.

The bran and germ The bran and germ form a layer of skin over the endosperm.

Endosperm The white starchy centre of the grain.

All rice seeds can be dissected in the same way, but not all rice seeds are the same. Continue to the next screen to learn more about the types of rice.

Different forms of rice

There are two main forms of rice used in commercial cookery: long grain rice and short grain rice. You can purchase both in polished form (white rice) or with the outer layer of bran still intact (brown rice).

Click on the tabs to learn more.

Long grain rice

Long grain rices are typically four to five times longer than they are wide. They have a lower starch level and firmer structure than short grain rices. For this reason they are better suited to dishes that require the rice grains to remain separate, light, and fluffy. These characteristics are desirable for plain boiled or steamed rice and rice pilaff/pilau (recipe 40) (glossary) when used as accompaniments.



You can also use long grain rice as a soup or salad ingredient or cook it as a dish in its own right, such as nasi goreng (glossary) and paella (recipe 234) (glossary).

Short grain rice

Short grain rice has plumper, almost rounded grains that become tender, moist, and sticky when cooked. Because the grains are softer, each can absorb up to five times its bulk in liquid. Short grain rice is best suited to dishes that require the grains to stick together such as risotto (glossary), (recipe 36) arancini (recipe 235) (glossary), croquettes and sushi (glossary).

Round grain rice (also known as pearl rice) is one form of short grain rice suited to sweet rice dishes such as rice pudding.

Healthy eating consideration

Rice is an inexpensive, readily available and nutritious ingredient containing fibre, vitamins and minerals. Brown rice is more nutritious and flavoursome than white rice. However, it requires a longer cooking time because the cooking liquid must penetrate the outer bran layer.

Types of long and short grain rice

Click on the pictures for an overview of some varieties of long and short grain rice.

Brown rice

Category Uses Short grain rice Brown rice is a healthier choice, but it is an acquired taste. Its

nutty flavour makes it suitable for hot or cold savoury dishes.

Basmati

Category Uses Long grain rice Basmati rice is an aromatic rice with a low glycemic index (GI)

(glossary). When cooked, basmati rice has a drier texture than many other long grain rices. This means it complements moist savoury dishes such as curries.

Japonica

Category Uses Long grain rice Technically, japonica is a medium grain rice. This variety is low in

starch, which means it has more in common with long grain than short grain varieties. Japonica is often used for Japanese dishes such as hand rolls and other sushi rolls.


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Jasmine

Category Uses Long grain rice Jasmine, like basmati, is an aromatic rice. Jasmine rice can be

used in place of basmati rice. However, cooked jasmine rice has a fluffier texture than basmati rice.

Carolina

Category Uses Long grain rice Carolina is a fluffy long grain rice. Like other long grain rices, it can

be eaten in hot or cold savoury dishes.

Arborio

Category Uses Short grain rice This variety is high in starch. It soaks up moisture making it an

ideal choice for dishes such as risotto. With its high starch content, it is also suitable for sticky rice desserts.

Vialone nana

Category Uses Short grain rice This variety has slightly less starch than arborio rice. It can also be

used in risottos.

Selecting quality rice

Click on the tabs to see the quality points for uncooked and cooked rice.

Uncooked rice

Freshness: All rice should be used in advance of the ‘best-before date’(glossary).

Hygiene: Check for rodents, insects, dirt and debris that can potentially contaminate the rice and make your customers sick.

Cooked rice

The quality points for cooked rice are temperature, aroma, consistency (glossary), and flavor.

Temperature is the most important quality point. Make sure cooked rice is kept at a high heat, above 63°C, or is refrigerated at below 8°C. Food that stays within the danger zone for too long must not be used.

Wheat

Wheat comes in many different forms.

Click on the tabs to learn about the different varieties.



Flour

Flour is made from some or all parts of a wheat grain. The parts used affect the type of flour (white, wholemeal) and its strength (weak to strong).

Flour is also graded from weak to strong, depending on the amount of protein in it. The more protein there is, the greater the amount of gluten (glossary) that develops when mixed with liquid. The amount of gluten directly affects the strength/structure of the dough and final product.

Wheat germ

Wheat germ is the edible part of the wheat kernel that is removed during general wheat processing. It is an excellent source of potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron and contains 28% protein. This is higher than the levels found in most meat products.

Bulgur

Bulgur is made from whole wheat that's been soaked and baked to speed up the cooking time. It is most commonly used to make pilafs and tabouli. You can purchase bulgur whole or cracked into fine, medium or coarse grains.

Bulgur is high in fibre, manganese and vitamin B.

Wheat flakes

Wheat flakes are made be steaming, rolling and flaking whole wheat. They are commonly used for making hot cereals or granola mixes.

Cracked wheat

Cracked whole wheat kernels do not cook as fast as bulgur but can be used for the same purposes.

Couscous is derived from cracked semolina wheat. The wheat grains are milled into coarse granule approximately 1 mm in diameter.

Durum Semolina

Durum semolina is obtained by milling the centre of durum wheat (a golden, amber-coloured, hard-grained wheat), into a fine powder. When liquid is added to durum semolina, the protein ‘gluten’ is formed, giving the dough elasticity and strength.

Durum semolina is used to make pasta. Let's look at pasta in more detail next.

Pasta

There are four different kinds of pasta available on the market.

Click on the pictures to find out what they are.

Dry pasta

Dry pasta is commercially prepared using durum semolina (glossary), salt, and water. It’s sold dried and packaged and needs to be fully cooked in boiling water prior to serving.


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Fresh pasta

Fresh pasta (recipe 237) has not been dried. It has the same ingredients as dry pasta, but is made fresh on the premises or bought in from a specialist supplier. It requires minimal cooking.

Chilled pasta

Chilled pasta is dry or fresh pasta which has already been cooked and chilled. It requires only re-heating prior to serving.

Egg pasta

This pasta (recipe 236) is made from a combination of eggs, flour (semolina) (glossary), salt, water, and usually a little oil. It is available fresh or dried and is more expensive than dry pasta.


To provide your customers with pasta containing the full spectrum of nutrients and fibre, consider using 100% whole grain durum wheat rather than durum semolina. It may be darker in colour, but it is packed with nutritional value and is less processed than its lighter-coloured counterpart.

Pasta shapes and sizes

Pasta dough is formed into over 350 recognised shapes for different dishes and uses.

Click on the tabs to learn about some of the popular types.

Sheets

Cannelloni Large reeds: rectangular pasta sheets wrapped around a filling

Lasagne Flat sheets of pasta used to make layered pasta dishes

Long, thin strings or ribbons

Spaghetti Little strings: long thin and round ‘wires’

Vermicelli Little worms: very fine long noodles

Fettuccini Little ribbons: flat long ribbons, used for many pan pasta dishes

Tagliatelle Cut ribbons: flat long ribbons cut wider than that of fettuccini

Linguine Little tongues: used with oil-based sauces such as pesto

Shapes

Risoni Rice: mimics rice grains in shape and size

Funghetti Little mushrooms: usually used in soups

Rotelle Wheels: shaped like the spoked wheels of a cart



Farfalle Butterflies: served with a sauce or used for salads

Fusilli Corkscrews: suitable for salads

Penne Quills or pens: short hollow pointed tubes, often used with vegetable and/ or tomato sauces

Conchiglie Shell: resemble conch shells and hold sauce well in pan dishes

Filled pasta

Tortellini Little pies: small navel-shaped pillows filled with meat

Ravioli To wrap: little rectangle pillow filled with meat, cheese or spinach

Agnolotti Priest’s hat: small round or square flattened pasta folded over a filling of meat, vegetable or cheese and sealed on the open edge to form a half circle or rectangle

Selecting quality pasta

Click on the tabs to learn how to select the best quality pasta.

Texture

Texture is how the pasta feels. Good quality dry and fresh pasta feels smooth to touch, so examine pasta for lumps and bumps before purchasing or cooking.

When pasta is properly cooked, it is tender, yet still firm.

Appearance

Good quality dry or fresh pasta appears smooth. It should be uniform in colour so that when you hold it up to the light you can’t see any black, brown or white spots.

Pasta is usually a clear, amber colour without any bubbles or shades of grey. Colour may vary depending on whether there have been ingredients such as spinach or tomato added to the dough.

Cooked pasta should appear neat and shiny, rather than broken and dull.

Consistency

Good quality dry pasta isn’t rubbery. It is hard, but not too brittle and should break cleanly with a crisp sound when you bend it. When cooked, pasta swells to almost twice its size. It retains its shape, remains firm and only slightly clouds the cooking water.

Noodles

The word ‘noodle’ is a generic term for strips of unleavened dough that may be cut into a vast selection of lengths, widths and shapes.

What are some other facts about noodles?

The dough usually consists of a finely ground starch product, eggs and water. The starch content in the dough may come from many sources, including millet, wheat flour, rice flour, corn flour, mung bean, soy flour, potato flour, buckwheat and seaweed.


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In the true sense of the word, all Italian forms and varieties of pasta are a form of noodles. In Australia, the term usually signifies those of Asian origin. Even Chinese shiu mai (little wontons/dim sim) are fairly closely related to Italian ravioli. Mein is the collective Chinese word for all noodles.

Over the centuries, the eating of noodles spread from China throughout all of Asia. As it did so, the diversity of noodle varieties increased. Let’s look at some common types on the next screen.


Noodles provide a reliable source of vitamins and minerals to the diet, including thiamine, riboflavin, iron and niacin.

Types of noodles

Click on the pictures to learn about the different types of noodles and their country of origin.

Cellophane

Also known as glass noodles. These are very fine translucent threads made from rice, mung beans, seaweed or potato starch. They are usually served in soups and hot-pots or cold in rice paper rolls or salads. Cellophane noodles are used extensively in Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Thai, Malay and Vietnamese cookery.

Ragi sevai

Indian noodle made from finger millet flour.

Udon

Japanese thick wheat noodle, usually served hot in soups or with other ingredients as a complete meal.

Soba

Japanese thin buckwheat noodle with a slightly greenish colour, served cold with a dipping sauce or hot. They are a popular inexpensive fast food item in Japan.

Phaluda

Indian noodle made from cornflour, usually served cold as a part of a dessert.

Naengmyeon

Popular Korean noodle made from a combination of buckwheat and sweet potato starch which makes them more chewy than the Japanese soba noodles.

Hokkien

Generic term for fried noodles. However, they are usually wheat-based thick round egg noodles.



Singapore

Generic term for thin fried noodles served with a curry-based sauce.

Lamian

Hand pulled Chinese noodles, usually made from wheat flour. They may range in thickness from several millimetres thick to tiny threads, depending on the use.

Mee pok

Flat Chinese wheat-based egg noodles similar to the Italian linguini.

Char kway teow

Malaysian flat wheat or rice noodle used in fried noodle dishes.

Couscous

Couscous is derived from cracked semolina wheat. The wheat grains are milled into coarse granule approximately 1 mm in diameter.

The most common type of couscous available in Australia is the instant variety. This means the granules have been cooked to gelatinise the starch and then dried. All it requires is liquid to swell the grains and is then ready to eat.

You’ll learn how to cook couscous in section 4 of this unit.

Polenta – Cornmeal (maize)

Polenta (recipe 240) is an Italian-style porridge made from white or yellow cornmeal (maize). The cornmeal may be ground fine or coarse depending on where it was produced and the texture required.

What is the most common polenta used in Australia?

The most common version used in Australia is a finely ground instant meal, meaning it can be prepared in minutes rather than hours.

Once prepared, polenta can be eaten hot with a little butter added (usually for breakfast) or allowed to cool until it becomes firm. At this stage it’s cut into shapes, shallow fried or grilled and served with grated parmesan or gorgonzola and/or a tomato-based sauce.

Note...

Polenta is known by many names around the world. These include corn or hominy grits (southern states of the USA), pura (Bosnia), palenta (Croatia), angu (Brazil), mealie pap (South Africa), ugali (East Africa) and cou-cou (Barbados).


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Gnocchi

While gnocchi (pronounced Nyoh-kee) is often included in the pasta section of menus and is served in a similar style, its ingredients are quite different. Gnocchi describes a range of small dumplings prepared using a starch base of flour, potatoes, semolina, or cornmeal.

You’ll learn how to cook gnocchi later in this unit.

Pulses

Pulses are the edible dry seeds grown within pods of certain plants from the legume family and include varieties such as lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas. They can vary greatly in size, shape and colour, depending on the species of plant from which they are obtained.

Click on the pictures to find out more.

Cannellini/ white kidney beans

Red kidney beans

Flageolet/green haricot beans

Red, yellow and green lentils

Mung beans

Soya beans

Black-eyed beans/black-eyed peas

Pinto beans

Faba beans

Black beans

Pigeon peas

Chickpeas

Navy beans

Split peas

Note...

Selecting quality pulses

Pulses should not be shrivelled. Any unusual dark spots are a sign of poor quality (except in the case of black-eyed peas which contain a prominent black spot).

Nutritional quality of pulses

Pulses are one of the first crops cultivated by humans and have many nutritional benefits, including a high protein content (as much as 25% by weight, which is double that of wheat and triple that of rice), and a good source of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and antioxidants. They also contain no cholesterol and virtually no fat, making them a popular food source for vegetarians.



The importance of correct stock rotation

There are certain stock rotation procedures you must comply with when selecting ingredients from stores.

These procedures exist to minimise stock loss by ensuring that old stock is used before new stock. They also ensure that the stock you select is of good quality and safe for consumption.

Click on the icon to find out why this is important.

When you receive new supplies of stock, place them at the rear of the shelf, behind any existing stock. If you place new stock in front of existing stock, the old stock may never get used. Instead, it’ll slowly deteriorate or expire and eventually need to be thrown out: a waste of resources and money!

When unpackaged food and leftovers are stored, kitchen staff must label or code them with the food type and storage date. This ensures that all goods are not stored longer than is recommended for quality and safety reasons.

When you select ingredients, choose the oldest stock first. Remember to check stock date codes (glossary), rotation labels, use-by and best-before dates to ensure the stock is safe to use.

End of section

You have reached the end of section 1.

Click to the next section to continue.



Select, prepare and use equipment


Select equipment of correct type and size. Safely assemble and ensure cleanliness of equipment before use. Use equipment safely and hygienically according to manufacturer instructions.

A tool for every job

Looking around a commercial kitchen for the first time can be somewhat overwhelming. There are pots and pans of all shapes and sizes, and all sorts of large fixed equipment: ovens, deep fryers, stockpots, steamers and grills, just to name a few.

Then there’s the vast array of knives, tools and utensils cooks handle as they flip, blend, shape, roll, peel, wash, and chop different foods.

So, how do you know which ones to use? How do you know how to use them without injuring yourself or making your customers sick?

What are the different types of tools and equipment?

Click on the icon to find out the answer.

Commercial kitchen equipment includes a wide range of tools, utensils and appliances which help you clean, prepare, process, cook and store food. This equipment is just as important as the ingredients and recipes.

Your success depends on your ability to select the right type and size of equipment for a specific task as well as assemble and operate it correctly.

With advances in technology, the range of tools and equipment is constantly expanding. Some items may be complex to use while others take little technical knowledge.

It’s your responsibility to ensure that your technological skills are up-to-date so you can use the food preparation equipment in your workplace safely and efficiently. Ask your supervisor for the training you need.

List the equipment

There’s an extensive range of tools and equipment used to prepare vegetables, fruit, eggs and farinaceous dishes. How many can you think of? You have 30 seconds to list as many as you can.


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What tools and equipment are used to prepare vegetables, fruit, eggs and farinaceous dishes? See if you can list twenty items.

How many did you think of? Find out which ones you might have missed on the next few screens.

STAGE 3: SELECT THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

There are various types of tools and equipment you might use to prepare and cook each food type.

Click on the pictures to see some examples.

Vegetables

Basic tools Utensils Mechanical Large fixed equipment

Cookware and service

equipment

Knives Pastry brushes Channelling knives Parisienne cutters Peelers Knife sharpening tools

Kitchen spoons Ladles Spatulas Tongs Graters Mandolins Chinois Mouli Chopping boards Scales Thermometers

Food processors Blenders Vitamisers Juice extractors Chip cutters

All types of ovens Stove tops/hobs (glossary) Flat and bar grills Salamanders Pressure and atmospheric steamers Deep fryers Bratt pans Bain-maries Microwave Steam kettle stockpots Potato rumblers

Bowls Plates Cutlery Pots and pans Ceramic and cast iron cookware Baking trays Baking dishes Roasting dishesPlatters

Fruit



equipment

Knives Pastry brushes Channelling knifes Parisienne cutters Peelers Knife sharpening tools

Kitchen spoons Ladles Spatulas Tongs Graters Zesters Juicers Chopping boards Scales Thermometers

Food processors Blenders Vitamisers Juice extractors

All types of ovens Hobs Pressure and atmospheric steamers Deep fryers Bratt pans Bain-maries Microwaves

Bowls Plates Cutlery Pots and pans Baking trays Baking dishes Platters



Eggs



equipment

Whisks Knives Spatulas Forks

Chopping boards Egg slices Slotted spoons Toasters

Mixers Microwaves

All types of ovens Steamers Stove tops/hobs Salamanders Griddles Bain-maries

Bowls Plates Egg cups Ramekins (glossary) Cutlery Pots and pans Fry pans Baking dishes

Farinaceous



equipment

Knives Pastry brushes Sharpening stones Kitchen scissors Honing steels Protective gloves

Scales Chopping boards Cheese graters Rolling pins Pepper mills Measuring cups Kitchen spoons Flour scoops Spatulas Perforated spoons Colanders Ladles Thermometers

Food processors Mincers Blenders Industrial cheese gratersPasta machines Pasta cutters Mixers with dough hook attachment Rice cookers Rice washers (glossary) Microwaves

All types of ovens Stove top/hobs Flat and bar grills Salamanders Pressure and atmospheric steamers Bratt pans Steam kettles Bain-maries Stockpots Freezers

Bowls Plates Ramekins Cutlery Baking trays Saucepans Sauté pans Ovenproof dishes Frying pans China or cast iron serving dishes

Refer to the unit Use food preparation equipment if you need to revise what they’re used for.

Danger!

Most of us go to work every day and never realise just how often we place ourselves and others in danger through unsafe or unhygienic work practices.

How can you minimise the likelihood of accidents and cross-contamination occurring at your workplace?

? Assemble equipment safely

? Clean equipment hygienically

? Use equipment safely and hygienically


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Let’s learn more about these over the next few screens.

How do you assemble equipment safely?

Click on the tabs to learn about equipment safety and cleanliness.

Safely assemble and disassemble

Before using food processors (or any other electrical /mechanical equipment) assemble them correctly according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t understand these instructions, ask someone experienced to demonstrate how to do so.

After you’ve finished using the equipment, turn it off and unplug it before disassembling and washing. Again, do this according to manufacturer’s instructions or under an experienced colleague’s guidance.

While assembling and disassembling equipment, check for cracks, frayed cords, faults, and incorrectly fitted blades or components which might make it unsafe. If something doesn’t look right, ask someone to check it for you.

Don’t take any risks. Always put safety guards in place.

Update technology skills and get training

Some tools and equipment are more complicated to assemble, use and disassemble than others. Before using any equipment, make sure you have the skills and training to put it together and operate it safely.

Here are some tips on how to develop the technology skills you need to safely operate equipment with advanced or pre-programmed settings and functions.

Read manufacturer’s instructions and product manuals. Ask your colleagues or supervisor for guidance, support, feedback and advice. Attend workshops or training sessions. Ask a more experienced person to demonstrate. Practise!

Ensure cleanliness before use

Ensure that all tools and equipment are clean before you use them. Why?

Pieces of packaging, sponges, or chemical residue cause cross-contamination. Leftover food particles harbour bacteria and are unhygienic. If you use unclean equipment, you risk cross-contamination and possible food poisoning outbreaks.

Be on the lookout for these visible signs of uncleanliness when assembling equipment.



How do you clean tools and equipment hygienically?

Checking for visible signs of uncleanliness is a good habit. But you can’t see germs, can you?!

Keep nasty bacteria at bay! Clean and sanitise your tools and equipment according to workplace and manufacturer’s instructions between preparation tasks as well as after use.

What are some hygiene tips for handling food and using equipment?

When transferring food between pots, equipment and surfaces, use tongs, forks or serving trays (not your hands!).

If you have to use your hands, wear disposable gloves. When handling food, avoid cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods at all

stages of food preparation. Make sure that drips from thawed meat and poultry don’t come in contact with surfaces, equipment and cooked or high-risk foods.

Practise good personal hygiene and wear protective clothing when handling food and using equipment.

Food processor safety

Although we’re looking specifically at food processors, take similar precautions when operating any electrical appliances such as mixers, vitamisers, blenders, juicers, etc.

Click on the checkboxes for some important safety tips.

Set equipment and blades up correctly according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Check for any damage such as frayed cords, cracks, damaged or loose components.

Put the cover securely in place before you switch the appliance on.

Do not operate the appliance near the edge of the bench. Vibration during operation could cause it to move and fall.

Never use near water or on a sink.

Avoid contact with any moving parts. This includes your fingers, hands, knives and other utensils.

Never feed food into the processor by hand. Use the food pusher provided.

Never leave unattended.

Switch off and unplug before removing bowl and contents.

In a nutshell

Remember to operate all electrical equipment according to manufacturer’s instructions and your workplace procedures to avoid injury.


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Hot pot safety

Don’t burn yourself with ingredients, boiling water, steam, hot pots or stovetops!

Click on the dot points for safety tips to remember and apply.

Keep your work area clear. This prevents pots and saucepans from tipping over and gives you space to set hot equipment down.

Face all long handles inwards. This prevents people from knocking the hot pot and its contents from the stove top.

Wear your uniform. It’s designed to provide some protection.

Use cloth gloves/mitts or dry tea towels when touching hot tools and equipment.

Don’t use wet cloths or rubber/latex gloves to touch hot tools and equipment. These conduct the heat and cause nasty burns.

Use tongs to add ingredients so you avoid burns from splashes or steam.

If dealing with large quantities of hot liquid, leave the pot on the stove top. Remove it only when it has cooled.

Use a ladle to remove liquids from the pot rather than pouring directly from the pot.

Always allow the steam to escape away from you rather than towards you.

Switch off hot equipment when not in use.

Use tongs and gloves when removing trays from bain-maries and always allow the steam to escape away from you rather than towards you.

Knife safety

What are some general knife safety tips?

Do’s

Sharpen your knife! Sharp knives require less pressure and are less likely to slip. Select the right knife! Each knife is designed to perform a specific task. Use them

accordingly. Chop on a chopping board, not in your hand (except when doing decorative or

detailed work such as turning potatoes). Hold your chopping board firmly in place by placing a damp cloth or non-slip mat

under it. Cut away from yourself and your fingers. Pay attention to where the sharp edge of

your blade is pointing. Curl your fingers under when cutting. Carry your knife with the point towards the ground and the blade close to your body

to avoid injuring others. Always clean and dry your knife if the handle becomes greasy or slippery. A slippery

handle is dangerous, as you can lose control of the blade.

Don’ts

Never try to catch a falling knife. Let it fall! (And get your feet out of the way!) Never run your finger down the edge of a blade to check for sharpness. Never leave your knife facing up. Always put the blade down flat.



Don’t put your knife near the edge of the bench, where someone could easily bump or knock it off.

Never soak your knives in a sink of water. This isn’t good for the blade. It’s also very dangerous for any unsuspecting person who puts their hands into the water!

Deep fryer safety

Deep frying is potentially the most dangerous method of cookery. Always check manufacturer’s instructions so you know how to use deep fryers safely.

Click on the dot points to find out how to reduce injury.

Place food in the deep fryer carefully and away from your body to avoid splashing. Remember that the fat is at 190 °C. Water boils at 100 °C.

Keep your sleeves rolled down. This prevents skin burns from splashes and splatters.

If anyone accidentally spills oil or fat on the floor, clean it up immediately. You don’t want to slip and put your arm in the hot fryer.

Don’t put your arms and face directly over the fryer. The fryer’s steam will penetrate straight through the pores in your skin and cause nasty burns.

Always allow the fat to cool to room temperature before straining the fat in the deep fryer.

In case of fire, place a fitted lid or fire blanket on top. This cuts off the fire’s oxygen supply and smothers the flame.

End of section





Portion and prepare ingredients


Sort and assemble ingredients according to food production sequencing. Weigh and measure ingredients and create portions according to recipe. Minimise waste and store reusable by-products.

STAGE 4: PREPARE THE INGREDIENTS

With your ingredients, tools and equipment assembled and ready for use, you’re now ready to portion and prepare the ingredients.

In commercial cookery, the preparation tasks you complete prior to cooking are known as mise en place (glossary) (pronounced ‘miz-on-plus’). Examples include preparing garnishes, warming plates, weighing ingredients and heating equipment.

Click on the tabs to see more examples of mise en place tasks specific to each food type.

Vegetables Fruits Eggs Farinaceous Washing Peeling Dicing Grating Slicing Blanching

Washing Peeling Segmenting Juicing Zesting Slicing Soaking Carving

Boiling Whisking Separating Slicing

Boiling Kneading Sifting Rolling Shaping Cutting Rinsing Soaking

Get organised!

How many times has a dish not turned out how you expected it to? Do you know why?

Ask yourself these questions ....Did you follow the recipe? Did you weigh or measure your ingredients accurately? Did you follow the step-by-step method in the correct sequence?

A common cause of failure is not reading and following the recipe.

Over the next few screens, you’ll learn how to look at a recipe and correctly sequence food production tasks.

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2013 Edition 42

What are we going to make?

Let’s make risotto (recipe 36). Begin by reading the list of ingredients and method of preparation for the recipe.

Now, look at the list of ingredients you need.

From the refrigerator From the dry store butter onion

chicken stock Italian round arborio rice

parmesan

Sequencing preparation tasks

Now it’s time to sequence the preparation tasks.

Click on the numbers to see a basic preparation sequence.

1. Assemble ingredients.

2. Complete basic pre-preparation tasks: peel and dice the onion, grate parmesan cheese.

3. Weigh or measure ingredients as specified in the standard recipe.

4. Portion ingredients if necessary: for example, you need to portion 80 g of butter into three portions, one portion for the start of the preparation sequence and the other two portions towards the end.

5. Sort ingredients into the sequence you’ll need them or group together if needed at the same time.

The importance of self-management skills

Effective and efficient cooks complete tasks to a high standard with the least amount of time, effort and energy. Conserve your energy. Don’t waste it! Organise your tasks to minimise work and maximise productivity.

Click on the checkboxes to see a systematic approach to self-management.

Read the recipe closely.

Make a list of tasks you need to complete (including cleaning up as you go).

Prioritise and schedule your tasks.

Do other tasks while items are baking, resting or boiling.

Avoid distraction. Concentrate on the job at hand.

Ask for help if you’re struggling to meet deadlines.

Observe other experienced cooks in action and ask for advice to identify more efficient ways of working.



Are all preparation tasks listed on the recipe?

Some recipes detail every preparation task while others assume some basic tasks have already been completed. Incorporate these tasks into your preparation sequence. One of the first and simplest preparation tasks is washing your ingredients.

Click on the icon to find out more about washing fruits and vegetables.

All vegetables and some fruits need washing before preparation to remove soil and chemicals from the skins, insects and snails from the leaves, and residue from pickers, packers, transporters and other handlers.

If you’re using vegetables that have grown below the ground and are not peeled, such as potatoes, thoroughly scrub them in water using a stiff vegetable brush and rinse thoroughly.

Wash loose leafy green vegetables like baby spinach leaves and pre-prepared salad mixes in at least three changes of cold water to remove fine sand and insects.

Note...

Some nasty food poisoning bacteria are found in soil. Examples are clostridium perfringens and bacillus cereus (glossary), so it’s important to wash fruits and vegetables carefully regardless of whether they are grown above or below the ground.

Preparing dried beans and pulses

Many recipes require dried beans and pulses to be soaked well in advance of cooking.

The soaking process rehydrates the pulses by softening the outer layer and allowing boiling liquid to penetrate during the cooking process.

Click on the pictures to learn how to prepare dried beans and pulses.

Rinse

Rinse in cold water to wash off any loose, floury matter before soaking. Pick out any foreign matter, discoloured or shrivelled beans.

Slow soak

Cover dried beans with water.

Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours or overnight (approximately 500 g dried beans per 10 cups water).

Do not soak for longer than 12 hours. This can cause the beans to go soggy, lose their flavour and texture.


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Hot soak

Boil water in stockpot.

Add dried beans or pulses and return to boil (approximately 500 g of dried beans per 10 cups water).

Remove from heat, cover and leave to sit at room temperature for approximately 2 to 3 hours.

This method allows the seeds to absorb water and rehydrate quicker than using cold water.

Quick soak


Add dried beans or pulses and return to boil.

Leave on stove to boil for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover and leave to sit at room temperature for approximately 1 hour.

Gas-free soak


Add dried beans or pulses and return to boil.

Leave on stove to boil for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover and leave overnight. During this stage, approximately 80% of the indigestible carbohydrates that cause flatulence will have dissolved into the soaking water.

Final rinse

Discard the soaking water and rinse beans in a strainer or sieve with cold water.

Hot tip

Never add salt during the soaking process; salt acts as a hardening agent. Soaking also improves the nutritive value and vitamin A and C content, helps to get rid of any impurities that make them difficult to digest or which form a frothy scum layer during cooking.

How do you measure and weigh ingredients?

Every recipe lists exactly how much you need of each ingredient. This amount may be given in weight, volume or quantity depending on the ingredient type.

Click on the tabs for some useful measuring tips.



Weight

Use measuring spoons and scales to weigh and measure dry ingredients such as rice and couscous and semi-liquid ingredients such as eggs and sour cream. Remember to account for the weight of any containers you use in the weighing process (measuring jugs, bowls, etc.).

Volume

Use measuring jugs to measure liquid ingredients such as milk and water.

Quantity

If a recipe requires a certain number of ingredients (such as eight button mushrooms or twelve cherry tomatoes), take the time to count these out correctly rather than just estimating that it’s ‘about a handful’.

Weighing and portioning

Organisations develop standard recipes to make sure the end products look, weigh and taste the same every time. They accurately cost these recipes to determine the exact cost to produce each portion.

Why is accuracy so important?

Make sure you count and measure all ingredients carefully.

Altering quantities or making errors impacts on the quality of your final dish and may even require the dish to be re-made because it didn’t work out.

This wastes food and money for additional labour costs.

How can I minimise waste?

There are always off-cuts, peelings, stems and other items (by-products) left over from your preparation tasks. What can you do with them? Do they all have to be thrown out in the rubbish?

Click on the tabs for some options.

Re-use

Can you re-use any of the food in other dishes or preparation tasks? For example, can vegetable or herb off-cuts be used when making stock? Can they be chopped up for a mirepoix (glossary) for a soup or stew?

If leftover ingredients are not going to be used elsewhere immediately, cover and refrigerate until needed. Make sure you label the container appropriately.

Recycle

Can any of the packaging be recycled? Most food off-cuts cannot be recycled unless your workplace has a composting system. It must be disposed of in the waste.


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Minimising waste

Minimising waste helps keep your workplace’s expenses down and reduces your environmental impact.

Only prepare enough for each service period and use as much of the ingredient as you can.

Note...

Use your enterprise skills and get motivated to reduce waste. How?

Follow correct storage procedures.

Follow correct stock rotation procedures.

You’ll learn how to do this over the next few screens.

How do you store products to ensure food is kept safe?

Perishable foods have a relatively short shelf-life. They spoil, decay or lose quality quickly, especially if you don’t store them properly.

Knowing where, how, how long and at what temperatures to store fresh and left-over items minimises waste and maximises profitability.

By following certain procedures you’ll optimise shelf-life and ensure food safety.

How can I store different products?

Dairy

This includes milk, cream, yoghurt, butter, and cheese.

Refrigerate at 3 to 4 °C. Keep cheese sealed to avoid it drying out or absorbing odours from other foods.

Fruits and vegetables

Store most fruits and vegetables at 6 to 10 °C. Store beans at 7 °C. Store broccoli at 1 °C (usually packed on ice). Store bananas and other tropical fruits at 18 °C (storing below 13 °C turns the fruit

black). Store root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, etc.) in a dark, cool, dry, well-

ventilated room.

Eggs

Store eggs in their shell in a cool, dry area or in a refrigerator. Eggs lose their freshness and quality at a faster rate at room temperature, whereas refrigeration helps maintain quality for longer.



Fresh, unbroken eggs keep in good condition for about four weeks if held at a constant 2 to 4 °C with a relative humidity of 85%.

Storing in their cartons or boxes helps prevent fragile egg shells from being accidently cracked or broken. This also reduces moisture loss from the egg, which helps to maintain quality and slows down the absorption of any strong odours.

Never wash an egg which is to be stored. This removes a natural protective ‘bloom’ coating the shell. Eggs should only be washed, if necessary, immediately before use.

Immediately use eggs which have been removed from their shell, whether whole or separated into egg whites and yolks, or store in an airtight, non-porous, sealed container in the refrigerator for a maximum of two days.

Fresh pasta

Fresh pasta has a much shorter shelf life than dried pasta does. You can store it under refrigeration at 4 °C or below for 36 hours if you apply these guidelines.

Store fresh purchased pasta unopened in the original packaging until ready to use. Place fresh homemade pasta in airtight containers, wrapped in plastic film, or on a flat

tray covered with plastic film to stop moisture absorption. Store stuffed pasta such as tortellini, agnolotti, and ravioli, either flat or in a single

layer on a clean tray covered with plastic wrap.

Frozen goods

Store frozen goods in the freezer at -18 °C or below. Wrap and store food in sealed containers to prevent damage and freezer burn. You can freeze eggs which have been removed from their shell. Freezing does not

adversely affect egg whites. However, egg yolks become gummy and lose stability. This may make them unsuitable for some cooking tasks or recipes.

Pasta dough or cut and shaped products store well in the freezer for up to three months. Wrap well to prevent freezer burn and drying.

Dry goods

Dry goods include food items in cans, jars, bottles and sealed packaging as well as semi-perishable foods such as dried pasta, couscous, rice and flour.

Store dry goods in a cool, dry, well-ventilated storage area. Transfer dry goods into clean containers with tightly fitted lids to protect from vermin

like rodents (rats and mice), weevils, flies and ants. Place open bags of flour and other dry goods in bins suitable for food storage. Remove canned fruits and vegetables from packaging and place in clean, dry, airtight,

food grade containers in the refrigerator. For longer shelf life, store wholemeal flour under refrigeration to prevent the oil from

the wheat germ going rancid. Pasta made with wholemeal flour has a reduced shelf life because the fat contained in

the germ tends to become rancid. Refrigerate this kind of pasta to extend storage.

Hot tip

Keep plastic wrap, packaging and other materials used for food storage in clean, dry, pest- and contamination-free stores to prevent cross-contamination.


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What are correct stock rotation procedures?

Remember FIFO? It’s the most common method of stock rotation First In, First Out.

When you’re storing products or deliveries, check their expiration dates (glossary) and compare them to those already in storage.

Put items with an expiration date closest to the current date at the front and those with a later date behind them. That way, you always use products with earlier expiration dates first.

This process should be used for all food and beverage supplies held in storage areas and front of house display equipment, including the dry store. While stock in the dry store may have a longer expiration date, rotating it means you’ll use it while it’s still in peak condition.

What information do labels contain?

Suppliers usually label or stamp perishable supplies. They print the use-by and best-before dates on packaging or stickers.

Click on the tabs to find out more.

Use-by date

A ‘use-by’ date indicates when the customer must consume the product by, or risk potential illness. After this date, the item may no longer be safe. You’re not allowed to sell it and must discard it.

Best-before date

A ‘best-before’ date is an indication of quality rather than a food safety standard. If you properly store items, they’ll remain fresh and of good quality right up to (and sometimes beyond) their ‘best-before’ date.

The potential for spoilage increases beyond the best-before date.

Storage conditions

Both these dates assume intact packaging and correct storage according to manufacturer’s stated conditions. Once you open it, the product may no longer retain optimum quality until the stated date.

For example, let’s say the best-before date is 12 months away, but the label says ‘Refrigerate and use within two weeks of opening’. Once you open it, the product will spoil within two weeks.

Click to the next screen to find out how to correctly label and store these types of products.



What is internal date coding?

Internal date coding helps you control the movement of stock through your storage areas. This maximises use and minimises waste. Sometimes, you might need to date code and label the contents of an item before storing it.

Click on the tabs to find out when and how you might do this.

Bulk buying

Some establishments order supplies in bulk and repackage them into smaller portions after delivery. Individually mark the smaller, repackaged items with the date you removed it from its original packaging.

If you’re freezing the repackaged item, record the contents, its weight and how many portions it contains, on the label. This helps identify it faster, later.

Cooked foods

If you’re placing pre-prepared cooked fillings, pasta, fruits or vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer for later use, date and code them. State the date cooked and any other relevant details for easier identification.

Opened packaging

Once you open a sealed item (especially vacuum-packed foods) the use-by date no longer applies. Date code the leftover food with the date you opened the packaging.

End of section





Cook vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes


Select and use relevant cookery methods for vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous foods.

Prepare eggs for different culinary uses. Prepare fresh pasta. Select and use accompaniments suited to the dish. Follow standard recipes and make food quality adjustments within scope of

responsibility.

Correct cookery methods

So far you have learned to confirm food production requirements, select the right ingredients, tools and equipment and prepare the ingredients for cooking.

To ensure your dish turns out correctly, you now need to apply the right cookery method and techniques. You learned about the different methods of cookery in the unit Basic methods of cookery. How many can you think of that relate to vegetables, fruits, eggs and farinaceous foods? You have 30 seconds to list them.


How many cookery methods can you think of that relate to vegetables, fruits, eggs and farinaceous foods?

How many different cooking methods did you think of? Compare them to this list.

Boiling Sweating Blanching Braising Grilling Steaming Frying Poaching Roasting Scrambling Stewing

4.0


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STAGE 5: COOK THE DISH

Throughout this section, we’ll be selecting and using various cooking methods to prepare vegetables, fruits, eggs and farinaceous foods.

Click on the tabs to learn about the different foods suitable for each cookery method.

Vegetables

Cookery method Examples of suitable vegetables Boiling Green leaf vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, bean

sprouts, peas, mange tout, kale, kohlrabi, corn on the cob, spinach, cabbage. Root vegetables: carrot, potato. Dehydrated vegetables: dried peas, mushroom, onion, carrot.

Blanching Broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, potato, pumpkin

Steaming Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, asparagus, squash, zucchini, swiss chard, peas, string beans, mange tout, corn on the cob, turnip, spinach, cabbage, beetroot, onion, potato, mustard greens

Braising Red and white cabbage, celery, fennel, leek, witlof, onion, pumpkin, lentils

Deep-frying Potato, eggplant, zucchini flower, onion, cauliflower, mushrooms

Shallow frying Mushroom, onion, spinach, potato, beans, broccoli, snow peas, carrot

Poaching Mushroom, globe artichoke

Roasting Potato, pumpkin, parsnip, carrot, capsicum, garlic

Stewing Tomato, zucchini, eggplant, onion, leek, mushroom, capsicum

Grilling Capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, mushroom, tomato, onion, globe artichoke

Fruits

Cookery method Examples of suitable vegetables Blanching Peaches, apricots, tamarillo, grapes

Deep-frying Pineapple, apple, banana (in a wet or dry coating)

Shallow frying Sliced pineapple, grapes, bananas, citrus fruit slices or segments, berries and poached apricots, pears, peaches and apples

Poaching Pears, apples, apricots (fresh and dried), peaches, plums, tamarillo, quince, figs (fresh and dried)

Stewing Apple, rhubarb, pear, pineapple, cherries, plum, apricot, nectarine, quince



Eggs

Cookery method Examples of suitable vegetables Boiling Whole eggs

Shallow frying Whole eggs, beaten eggs (omelettes, scrambled)

Poaching Whole eggs

Baking Beaten eggs (crème caramel and crème brûlée)

Farinaceous foods

Cookery method Examples of suitable vegetables Boiling Rice, pasta, pulses, polenta, gnocchi, noodles, bulgur

Stewing Rice, pulses

Steaming Rice, couscous

Shallow frying Rice, polenta, gnocchi, noodles, pulses

Baking Rice, pulses

Braising Rice, pulses, bulgur

Let’s cook vegies!

You’ve learned how to use the various methods of cookery in the unit Use basic methods of cookery. Let’s briefly revise what you learned and how they relate specifically to fruit and vegetables.

Boiling vegetables

There are a few basic principles you should follow to obtain the best results when boiling.

Click on the dot points to find out what they are.

To boil most vegetables, including all green and leaf vegetables, place into rapidly boiling liquid. Then, to retain maximum flavour and nutrients and to prevent the loss of colour, bring the liquid back to the boil as quickly as possible.

Keep the vegetables completely covered with the boiling liquid throughout the cooking process.

Place root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and turnips in cold salted water then bring to the boil. This helps draw out the acrid soil taste and improves the flavour.

Skim off any scum or froth that rises to the surface during the cooking process as soon as possible. This prevents it from boiling back into the liquid and spoiling the quality and clouding the liquid.

Simmering is a form of gentle boiling at a temperature of 95 to 98 °C.


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Note...

Boiling is too severe for most fruits. However, some fruits are suitable for blanching. Let’s look at this next.

Blanching fruit and vegetables

Blanching is a very useful application of boiling. Many vegetables are partially cooked prior to the crucial service time to help with speed and coordination. Some foods are blanched before they are cooked using another method. Others, like tomatoes, require blanching to peel them.

Click on the checkboxes to revise the principles of blanching.

The aim of blanching is to partially cook the food in a very short time. It is then refreshed in cold or ice water to stop the cooking process.

To quickly regain boiling temperature, use a ratio of ten parts boiling liquid to one part food (10:1).

Cold water pushes cells in the food open. This allows salt, strong flavours and impurities to dissolve.

As the liquid gets hot, the cells close, preventing colour and flavour loss.

Start the blanching process in cold water when preparing strong flavoured vegetables, such as fennel and leek, for braising.

Blanch green vegetables with boiling water. This closes food cells, setting the colour, flavours and natural juices and destroys harmful enzymes in vegetables.

Blanch fruit to kill enzymes before freezing or to loosen and remove skins from varieties such as peaches, apricots, tamarillo, grapes and tomato.


Did you know that blanching green vegetables helps them to retain vitamin C? This is another great reason for choosing the boiling method as a healthy cooking alternative.

Steaming vegetables

Steaming is a commonly used method of cookery for many vegetables. The gentle heat of steam helps vegetables keep more of their nutrients and flavour.

Click on the icon to learn about the principles of steaming vegetables.

Enclose all food in the steaming vessel.

Pay close attention to cooking times. Steam is hotter than water and the vapour particles penetrate quickly into the pores of the food.



Place food on perforated trays to allow condensed steam to run off.

Steam food in the oven by sealing it in a container with a liquid. This method is called en papillote (glossary).


Steaming is the healthiest cooking method because no fats or oils are used in the cooking process and nutrients are not lost in boiling liquid.

Braising vegetables

Braising is the slow transfer of moist heat to food that is half covered with an appropriate liquid and enclosed in a tightly lidded container in the oven.

Click on the pictures to revise braising.

Root vegetables are used when braising to enhance the flavour of the liquid.

Vegetable braises are not used for sauces because they are too strong in flavour.

Braising is best done in the oven as it gives a more even heat transfer. However, you can braise on top of the stove as an alternative.

The braising temperature for vegetables it is 140 to 160 °C.

You can reduce the liquid by adding a thickening agent if it is too thin or adding more stock if too thick.

Stewing fruits and vegetables

Stewing is the slow transfer of moist heat to food cut into bite-sized pieces (3 cm cubes or smaller).

Click on the icon to revise how to stew fruits and vegetables.

Simmer the food in just enough liquid or sauce to cover and combine all ingredients.

Serve the food and liquid together as a complete dish. The exception is bouquet garni or herb sachet as they can be removed in one piece.

Flavour intensifies with cooking, so only add salt later in the cooking process if required.

Stewing is a slow moist method of cookery.

Place delicate fruit varieties such as strawberries into the cooking liquid and bring to a slow simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow fruit to cool in the stewing liquid. This prevents them turning mushy from overcooking.


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Poaching fruit

Many fruits can be poached with delicious results.

Click on the icon to learn how.

Ensure the fruit is weighted so it’s completely covered by the poaching liquid.

To do this, lay a paper cartouche over the fruit and place a heavy ceramic plate on top of the floating fruit. This will keep the fruit submerged. Make sure the fruit is in a single layer so the heat can reach all the pieces evenly.

What liquid should you use?

While you can poach fruit in plain water, the flavour is enhanced by using various ingredients in the cooking liquid. Common poaching liquids for fruit include sugar syrups flavoured with cinnamon, cloves, tea, star anise, orange zest, fruit juice, red or white wine, port or any combination of these.

How do I obtain the best result when deep frying?

Deep frying isn’t simply a case of sticking food into the hot oil or fat. In fact, it is easy to mess up the process.

This is what you’ll need to ensure you get the best out of deep frying.

Clean fat or oil. Quality breadcrumbs, batter or other coating. Minimum fat absorption. A crisp surface or coating. An attractive golden colour. Minimum moisture loss. Oil at the correct cooking temperature.

Protect the fruit from direct contact with the cooking medium by either a wet or dry coating. Fruit fritters, including pineapple, apple and banana fritters (recipe 227) cooked in yeast batter and fruit turnovers cooked in pastry are popular examples of deep-fried fruit.


Deep-fried foods are the least healthy option on the menu. Saturated fats are known to increase cholesterol in the blood and increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Use heart-friendly vegetable oils like canola oil. Palm oil and coconut oil are high in saturated fats, in other words, bad cholesterol, and just like animal fats, should be avoided.



Shallow frying fruits and vegetables

Shallow frying is a quick method of cooking food in a small amount of hot fat or oil in a pan.

There are five types of shallow frying techniques you can use with fruits and vegetables. Do you remember what they are?

You have 30 seconds to think of the answer.


List the five types of shallow frying techniques.

Did you remember all five?

Sautéing Stir-frying Sweating Pan-frying Flambéing

Let’s learn how to use these methods next.

Shallow frying fruits and vegetables

Stir-frying is a healthy and nutritious cooking style as it instantly seals nutrients and requires only a small quantity of fat or oil.

Click on the tabs to learn about the five shallow frying techniques.

Sautéing

The French word ‘sauté’ means ‘to jump’. It refers to tossing small pieces of food over and over in a frying pan, to seal or brown all sides of the food. Usually a small amount of butter, oil or a combination of the two is used.

When sautéing, the pan and cooking medium must be hot enough to prevent the vegetables from simmering in their own juices.

Never overload the pan because too much heat will be lost. Sautéing is usually only part of the preparation of a dish before further cooking by

other methods. High heat and speed are essential when sautéing.

Pan-frying

Pan-frying is similar to sautéing except the temperature is significantly lower, so more fat is used in a longer cooking time. Unlike sautéing, where the food is continually turned over, pan-frying involves cooking on one side and then turning it over to finish.

Pan-frying is often used as a complete cooking process, rather than in preparation for a further cooking method.

Pan-fry the best side of the food item in the oil first. Quartered banana and sliced pineapple coated in breadcrumbs or desiccated coconut

is just one example of a shallow-fried fruit accompaniment.


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Sweating

Use sweating to cook vegetables such as onions, shallots or garlic in a shallow pan over low heat, ensuring they don’t take on any colour.

Vegetables prepared for a blanquette or diced onions used in rissoles are often sweated prior to further cooking.

The purpose of sweating foods is to partially cook them and drive out some of the moisture.

Use a moderate amount of fat and gentle heat. Stir the food constantly to prevent browning.

Stir-frying

Originating in Asia, stir-frying is a form of shallow frying carried out in a rounded-based pan called a wok.

Maintain a high heat to seal and cook the food in a short amount of time. Cut vegetables into small and uniform size to ensure even cooking. Use only a small amount of cooking oil. Cook in small batches to retain high temperatures in the wok and stir continuously.

Keep the vegetables bright in colour and crunchy.

Flambéing

Cut or slice fruit to be flambéed into even sized and shaped pieces. Place fruit in a hot pan with melted butter to cook or warm the fruit through to provide

colour and intensify the flavour. Add liqueur such as Cointreau or spirits such as brandy to the pan and set alight. As well as being visually impressive, this technique intensifies the flavour of the

cooking liquids, caramelises the sugars and cooks the flavour into the fruit. Suitable fruits for flambéing include sliced pineapple, grapes, bananas, citrus fruit

slices or segments, berries, and poached apricots, pears, peaches, plums and apples.

Hot tip

Get the temperature right.

Too hot and the exterior will over-colour before the item is appropriately cooked in the centre.

Not hot enough, and the oil will absorb into the food leaving it pale, washed out and soggy.

Roasting vegetables

First, season vegetables with pepper, salt, herbs and spices.

Seal vegetables in hot fat prior to placing in the oven and remember not to crowd the roasting dish. Good spacing allows the hot air to circulate, which enables even cooking and colouring.

Then, roast vegetables uncovered to prevent them steaming.

Finally, baste throughout the roasting process by periodically pouring the pan juices back over the vegetables. This keeps them moist and assists with the browning process.



Let’s cook eggs!

Egg dishes are commonly served as a breakfast food. However, there is no reason why they cannot be served at other meal times throughout the day. Varieties of omelettes such as the Spanish omelette and frittata (glossary) are popular on lunch and dinner menus.

Click on the pictures to see some of the ways eggs appear on menus.

Breakfast

Eggs may be served on their own, with other items, or as part of a dish. When served on their own, allow two eggs per person. Here are some examples of popular, egg-based breakfast dishes.

Soft and hard-boiled eggs (recipe 19)

Poached eggs (recipe 26)

Fried or griddled eggs

Scrambled eggs (recipe 228)

Omelettes (recipe 229)

Eggs Benedict (recipe 230): poached eggs on a muffin with ham and hollandaise

Eggs Florentine: poached eggs on a bed of sautéed spinach and coated with mornay or hollandaise sauce

Bacon and egg butty: fried bacon and eggs served in a bread roll, sandwich or muffin

Kippers and eggs

Throughout the day

Egg dishes can also be offered at other times throughout the day, such as snacks, brunch, supper, and sweets. Eggs may be the principal ingredient of the dish or an important component of a recipe.

Omelettes (glossary) (recipe 229): plain, cheese, Spanish, jam, soufflé, pizza

Eggs in cocotte: eggs baked in an earthenware dish

Eggs Benedict (recipe 230) or Florentine or variations including smoked salmon or kippers, asparagus or mushrooms

Frittata (glossary): added ingredients can include cheese, ham, bacon, chicken, potato, tomato, spinach, mushroom and pasta

Quiche (recipe 148): savoury egg custard with a pastry

Scotch egg: a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage meat and crumbed


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Baked egg custard (recipe 64), crème caramel, crème brûlée

Meringues (recipe 231)

Pavlova: baked egg meringue cake

The basics of cooking eggs

Before we look at the different methods of cooking eggs, it’s important to discuss some of the basic principles. This will help you understand why certain cooking methods are appropriate, or inappropriate, for cooking eggs, and explain why sometimes recipes don’t quite turn out how they should.

Click on the tabs to learn about cooking eggs.

Cause and effect

Cooking eggs involves applying heat to the protein present within the egg, causing it to coagulate and thicken. If too much heat is applied, or the heat is applied for too long, the protein will toughen in the same way as overcooked meat. Egg whites shrink and become leathery, the yolks become dry and chalky, and whole beaten eggs toughen and shrink. The end result is a rubbery, unpalatable and unappealing egg: almost guaranteed to lead to customer complaints.

Temperature control

Understanding the temperature range needed will help you control the cooking process.

60 to 65 °C for egg whites

64 to 70 °C for egg yolks

67 to 68 °C for whole beaten eggs

When the core temperature of the egg reaches 70 °C or above, the quality of the egg starts to deteriorate rapidly. Carefully monitor the cooking temperature and adjust the heat source when necessary to prevent losing quality and overcooking the eggs.

Room temperature

The properties of eggs are enhanced and are more stable when used at room temperature. For this reason, store eggs in the refrigerator for the long term, but remove them several hours before you need them, giving the eggs time to reach room temperature. This is especially important when using them to make meringue, cakes, pastries and emulsified sauces.

Why are eggs so indispensable in the kitchen?

The various properties of eggs make them extremely useful for a wide variety of culinary applications.

Click on the tabs to find out how they can help you in the kitchen.



Aerating

When you whisk whole eggs vigorously, they’re able to trap and hold air. With continued whisking, the egg mixture greatly increases in volume as the thin elastic protein strands stretch to trap more and more air. This light, frothy mixture doesn’t remain intact for very long before it reverts back to its liquid form again, so it must be used quickly after beating.

The time can be extended if you whisk the egg mixture over a bain-marie (glossary) (water bath) at approximately 43 °C and then continuously whisk until the mixture has totally cooled. This process creates egg foams that are used for making light sponges and some soufflés.

As well as whole eggs, you can apply the aeration process to egg yolks and whites separately.

Foaming egg yolks

You can whisk egg yolks alone into a foam, usually over a bain-marie. For example, eggs yolks are whisked when making the base for a hollandaise or béarnaise sauce. However, in these examples the whisking action is performed more to stretch and temper the strands of protein in preparation for the addition of other ingredients rather than to aerate the mixture. Egg yolk foams are used as an aerated base in some mousse recipes and when making zabaglione (frothy sweet egg sabayon (glossary) with sugar and marsala (glossary), served warm as a dessert).

Foaming egg whites

Whisking egg whites vigorously results in a light foam called meringue (recipe 231). Continued whisking greatly increases the volume, as air is trapped and held. Thin elastic strands of protein contained in egg albumen are stretched by the whisking action, surrounding and trapping air bubbles. As whisking continues, the bubbles become smaller and the foam stiffens and becomes more stable.

The slower the foam formation, the smaller the air bubbles, the more stable the foam, and the more volume given. Once the foam is formed, it should be used immediately.

A dessert that uses foamed egg whites as its centrepiece is known as ‘snow eggs’, or ‘Oeufs à la neige’.

What else can eggs be used for?

Click on the tabs to learn other culinary uses for eggs.

Binding

Eggs are excellent at binding other ingredients together to form a cohesive mass. When heat is applied, the coagulation properties of eggs hold the food ingredients together and retain the desired shape. Examples of eggs used as a binding agent can be seen in rissoles, meat loaf, croquette potatoes, terrines (glossary), and choux pastry.


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Setting

When you mix eggs in the appropriate ratio with liquids such as milk or cream and then cook in the oven, the eggs have the ability to set the liquid as they coagulate. Because the eggs have been diluted, higher temperatures are needed: around 80 °C, for the coagulation to take place. The lower the egg concentration in the mixture, the higher the temperature needed to set the liquid.

As a guide, it takes between six to nine eggs to set a litre of liquid, depending on the texture required. Examples of mixtures set with eggs are crème caramel and baked egg custard (recipe 64).

Coating

Use eggs to coat foods prior to shallow or deep-frying, such as fish, veal, or rissoles. Dust foods to be coated with batter, or some form of dry coating, with flour before dipping them in the egg mixture. The egg combines with the starch and coagulates almost immediately on contact with heat, creating a firm textured coating with good colour and improved flavour.

Use coatings to protect the food from the intense heat of the fat or oil and prevent the cooking medium penetrating the food.

Enriching

Use eggs to enrich the flavour and provide moisture to cakes, puddings, and egg pasta (recipe 236) and egg noodles. Egg yolks are often combined with cream to form a mixture called a liaison. You can add this to velouté (glossary) soups and a wide array of sauces to thicken the liquid slightly and provide a richer flavour.

Add the liaison to the slightly cooled soup or sauce, raise the temperature to 80 to 85 °C, and then serve immediately. The addition of cream raises the curdling temperature of the egg yolks.

Emulsifying

An emulsion is a uniform mixture of two liquids that would normally not mix together, such as water and oil/fat. Egg yolks have emulsification properties, due to the presence of the fat-like substance, lecithin, which is a natural emulsifying agent.

When you agitate eggs (for example, whisking) the lecithin enables one liquid to become evenly dispersed and suspended in another liquid. The lecithin coats the oil droplets with a film that prevents separation into oil and water layers. This creates an emulsion.

Mayonnaise and hollandaise (recipe 76) are examples in which egg yolks are used to combine oil/fat with vinegar to make a sauce.

Glazing

Use whole beaten eggs (yolks or whites) to glaze food before placing it in the oven or under the salamander. The glaze helps to seal the foods. It imparts flavour and colour, changes the texture, and improves the appearance of cooked food. Most pastries, pies, meat loaves, breads, and strudels are egg-glazed before cooking to give a golden-brown colour. Duchesse potatoes (recipe 224) are also egg-washed to help seal the potato mixture and to provide colour.



Clarifying

Clarifying involves adding egg whites, minced lean meat and cut vegetables to a cold liquid, stock or soup, and then gently bringing it to the boil. The egg whites and meat coagulate and trap any particles in the liquid, giving it perfect clarity.

Thickening

Use egg yolks to enrich and slightly thicken velouté soups and some sauces (liaison). You can also add beaten egg yolks in higher proportions to milk and cream to make crème anglaise (English custard) (recipe 82). When you gently apply heat of 70 to 85 °C, the egg yolks coagulate and hold the liquid in a suspension, thickening the milk to a sauce consistency.

Garnishing

Eggs are often used as a garnish for a wide variety of foods.

Here are some popular examples.

Hard-boiled quail or chicken eggs in a salad Poached egg as a garnish to gravlax (sugar, dill and salt-cured salmon) Stuffed eggs as an accompaniment to a cold meat plate or terrine Coddled eggs in salads, such as caesar salad (recipe 105) Savoury baked egg custard to garnish a clear soup (consommé) Fried egg on top of crumbed escallop of veal or gammon steaks

Boiling eggs

Click on the steps to see how to prepare boiled eggs (recipe 19).

Step 1

Make sure the pot is large enough and holds sufficient water for the number of eggs you’re cooking. The water must cover all eggs by at least three centimetres.

Step 2

Adding vinegar to the water can make peeling the egg shell easier and stop the white leaking if the shell is cracked.

Step 3

Use room temperature eggs. This reduces the possibility of the egg shell cracking due to the sudden change in temperature as it is added to the boiling water.

Step 4

Watch the video.

Use a slotted spoon to gently lower eggs into the water. This reduces temperature shock and the risk of cracking. Start timing once the water returns to the boil.

Step 5

Cook for 5 to 6 minutes for soft-boiled eggs. The white is set but the yolk is still runny.

Cook for 8 to 10 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Both the yolk and white are set firm. Overcooking hard-boiled eggs can result in an unappealing dark ring around the yolk.


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Step 6

If you’re cooking hard-boiled for later use, plunge the eggs into cold water to stop the cooking process. You can store hard-boiled eggs in their shell in the refrigerator for up to one week.

You can also halve, quarter, slice, dice or mash for use in salads, sandwiches, Indian egg curry, as a hors d’oeuvre (glossary) (devilled eggs) or leave whole in the centre for a traditional Scotch egg.

Hot tip

As an alternative method to the one you’ve just seen, eggs can be started in cold water and the temperature raised to boiling point. Reduce the cooking time from when the water starts to boil to three minutes for soft boiled and six minutes for hard boiled.

Poaching eggs

A good tip is to use room temperature eggs to ensure even cooking.

Click on the steps to learn how to make perfect poached eggs (recipe 26).

Step 1

Bring water with a splash of vinegar to the boil, and then reduce the temperature until there is no movement.

Don’t add salt to the poaching water. This has the opposite effect to vinegar, thinning the egg white, creating loose tendrils rather than a compact shape.

Step 2

Watch the video.

Crack the egg into a saucer or small cup and gently lower it into the water, allowing the egg to slide into the hot water. You can crack the egg directly into the water but you must release from the shell directly above the water level. Care must be taken to not drop it into the water as this will cause the egg to spread out.

Step 3

Poach the egg for three to four minutes. Poached eggs are usually served with the white set and the yolk still runny.

Step 4

Gently remove the egg from the water using a slotted spoon and drain excess water on kitchen paper before placing on a plate, toast or other food.

If cooking a number of poached eggs, hold cooked eggs in warm (not hot) water until all eggs are ready for use, then drain and serve as required.



Step 5

Poached eggs can be chilled for reheating later. Place the egg in cold water to stop the cooking process, drain and refrigerate until required. Reheat the egg by placing in hot (not boiling) water. Heat for one to two minutes, then turn it over to warm the other side. Drain and serve.

Shallow frying eggs

Fried eggs are commonly eaten at breakfast, either on their own, or in a bacon and egg sandwich or roll. They can also be offered as a snack at other meal times or as part of dish such as added to hamburgers, on top of nasi goreng (glossary) or accompanying gammon steaks.

Click on the steps to learn how to cook sizzling-good fried eggs!

Step 1

Heat the pan on the stove top until medium-hot and add approximately one teaspoon of oil per egg.

Use a light vegetable oil. The flavour of the oil doesn’t mask the flavour of the egg.

Step 2

Watch the video.

Crack the egg gently into the pan. Make sure the egg is close to the surface of the pan when you release it. The egg is more likely to spread out, or the yolk break, if dropped from a height.

Step 3

Cook for one to two minutes until the egg whites become white and firm. The yolk should still be soft and runny. How you finish them, depends on the customer’s preference.

Sunny side up: cook the egg in the pan until the whites are set and the yolk is runny.

Easy over: towards the end of the cooking process, gently flip the egg over to cook the surface of the yolk. This is a relatively fast process as the egg is served with the yolk still runny.

Well done: cook the egg white and yolk all the way through until both are firm and set.

Step 4

Watch the video.

Remove the egg from the pan using an egg slice and drain excess oil on kitchen paper.


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What is griddling?

Griddling is a form of frying where the eggs are cooked on a flat griddle plate rather than in a pan.

Many commercial kitchens cook eggs on the griddle as it allows them to fry multiple eggs at the same time. This is an important consideration in a busy kitchen!

The procedure to cook an egg on the griddle is the same as for frying.

Scrambling eggs

Scrambling is a style of cooking eggs in a frying pan. It’s a very popular menu option for breakfast, often served with cheese, bacon, smoked salmon, mushrooms, spinach or tomatoes.

Click on the steps to see how to scramble eggs (recipe 228).

Watch the video.

Step 1

Break two eggs per serve into a bowl, add milk or cream and seasonings to taste. The milk gives the finished dish a lighter, fluffier texture. Combining with cream gives a rich, creamy result.

Step 2

Beat with a fork or whisk until the ingredients are just combined.

Step 3

Heat a pan on the stove top until medium-hot. You should have approximately one teaspoon of fat per egg.

Step 4

Add the egg mixture and gently stir, moving the egg mixture from the edges of the pan to the middle, until nearly completely set.

Step 5

Once the eggs are set, remove from the pan and serve. Be careful to not overcook the eggs. This makes the proteins in the eggs tighten, squeezing liquid out of the mix. The result is hard, rubbery scrambled eggs sitting in a pale, golden, watery looking liquid. This is very unappetising!

Hot tip

For extra flavour, consider topping with cheese, fresh herbs or salmon. You can also add Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce to the egg mixture before cooking.



Cooking omelettes

Click on the tabs to learn how to cook omelettes.

Cooking omelettes

Omelettes (recipe 229) are cooked in the pan using the same mix and method as scrambled eggs. The basic difference is the mixture is not stirred continuously while it’s cooking. Soon after the egg mixture is added to the pan, the cooked mixture is gently moved from the edges of the pan to the centre. Uncooked mixture runs into the gap and is allowed to set. This creates a flatter, only slightly scrambled appearance.

Use a spatula or egg slice to release the edges of the omelette, add any fillings and then lift one side to fold the omelette in half, enclosing the filling.

Gently lift the omelette onto the serving plate, garnish and serve immediately.

Spanish omelettes

Spanish omelettes are not folded in half but left open and flat. Fillings are sprinkled on top and often placed under a griller to heat and melt any cheeses.

Frittatas

Frittatas are an Italian style omelette. Add ingredients such as cooked onion, mushrooms or capsicum, tomato, bacon, ham, and cheese to the egg mixture and cook slowly in a heavy-based pan over a low heat. Don’t stir the mixture. Once the egg mixture is nearly completely set, place the frittata under a salamander and grill to finish cooking the top.

Handle frittatas carefully as the weight of the ingredients can cause them to break. Use a slope-sided pan so you can slide the cooked frittata onto the plate rather than lift it.

Frittatas can also be baked in the oven. However, take care not to overcook or have the oven too hot, as this will burn and dry out the delicate egg mixture.

Fillings

Common fillings include cheese, mushrooms, spinach, tomato, capsicum, onion, potato, fresh herbs, roasted vegetables, smoked salmon, bacon, salami and ham. Pre-cook any ingredients (for example, mushrooms, onions, potato) prior to making the omelette.

Omelettes are not restricted to savoury fillings. You can also serve them as a dessert with a sweet filling. Examples include most types of fruit-flavoured jams, and fruits such as cooked apple, rhubarb or pineapple.

Baking eggs

Baked eggs are usually cooked and served in individual ramekins, a cocotte dish, small soufflé bowl or oven-proof dish. They can be baked on their own or with other ingredients added to complement and enhance the egg.

Click on the tabs to learn how to bake eggs.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200 °C and grease the ramekin with a little butter.


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Step 2

Add any other ingredients and make a small indentation or hollow for the raw egg to sit in. Crack the egg into the hollow, season and place on a baking tray if making multiple portions.

Make sure any added ingredients are warm when placed in the ramekin. This will ensure more even cooking of the egg and the overall dish.

Step 3

For a gentler cooking process, which reduces the potential for the egg to burn, become overcooked, or stick in the ramekin, use a water bath (bain-marie). Place individual ramekins in a baking tin and fill with enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the ramekins.

Step 4

Bake in the oven until the whites are set and firm and the yolk still runny.

You can add a sauce such as mornay sauce, grated cheese or a dollop of cream to coat the top of the egg once the white has started to set. This adds extra flavour while keeping the top of the egg moist.

Allow a little extra cooking time if using a bain-marie.

Baked egg dishes

Click on the icons to look at the variety of delicious dishes you can create with baked eggs.

Quiche lorraine

Quiche lorraine (recipe 148) is an egg-based, cheese and bacon flan. Eggs are used to set milk or cream and other ingredients into a firm, savoury baked custard on a pastry base.

Baked egg custard

In a baked egg custard (recipe 64), eggs are used to set a sweet liquid mixture. You can cook it on its own in individual ramekins or in a larger dish, or in a sweet pastry case to make a custard tart.

Crème caramel

Crème caramel is a baked custard with soft caramel added to the base of individual moulds before the custard mix is added. Once cooked, it is turned upside down on a plate or bowl so the caramel runs over the custard.

Crème brûlée

This is a variant of crème caramel which has a hard caramel on top of the baked custard instead of underneath. The caramel is usually formed by sprinkling sugar on top of the cooked custard and then caramelising under a salamander or by using a small butane torch.



Meringue

Meringue (recipe 231) is egg whites which have been whipped to trap air, creating a dense white foam. Older eggs are better for making meringues as the thinner white whips more easily.

Other meringue uses include a topping for meringue pie, pavlova, baked Alaska, incorporated into mousses and Eton mess.

Soufflé

Soufflés are very light-baked cakes. Egg yolks are used to help enrich the base mixture, while stiffly-beaten egg whites aerate and give it its light and fluffy texture.

They can be sweet or savoury. Savoury examples include different types of cheeses, spinach, courgette, or fish. Sweet variations offered on a menu as a dessert could be citrus, chocolate, raspberry, coffee or banana.

Let’s cook pasta!

Packed with protein and carbohydrates and shaped into over 350 delicious varieties, pasta is one of the most nutritious and versatile foods in the world.

Click on the steps to learn how to make fresh pasta (recipe 237).

Watch the video.

Step 1: Mixing/blending the ingredients

Measure ingredients accurately and mix them together to form a stiff dough, with approximately 25 to 30% moisture from the water or egg. If using vegetable purées, reduce the other wet ingredients to compensate.

Step 2: Kneading

Knead the dough vigorously with the heel of the hand for at least 15 minutes or use a mixer with a dough hook attachment to obtain a smooth, elastic, silky consistency (like putty).

When you have achieved this, cover and rest the dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to three hours.

Step 3: Rolling and extruding

Roll the rested dough using a hand-cranked pasta machine or place it into a machine to be extruded.

Extruding is the process of pushing pasta dough under pressure through a disk or die (glossary) with shaped holes. It is similar to pressing a whole piece of garlic through a garlic press, except the holes are larger and the die gives each type of pasta its characteristic shape. The pasta is cut to the desired length as it is pushed through.


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Step 4: Cutting

Once you’ve rolled the pasta, you’re ready to cut it. Attach the cutting implement to the pasta machine and feed the rolled pasta through it. It’s a good idea to sprinkle the rolled pasta with a little flour before feeding it though the machine, as this prevents the pasta from sticking and tearing.

Step 5: Drying

Hang the cut and shaped pasta or place on trays to air-dry. Sprinkle durum semolina on the tray and over the pasta to stop sticking and to help absorb moisture.

Boiling pasta

Boiling is the most common method of cooking pasta.

Click on the pictures to see how to get the best results.

Step 1

Place pasta into rapidly boiling water. Use 4 L of water for every 500 g of pasta.

Bring the liquid back to the boil as quickly as possible.

Keep the pasta completely covered with the liquid throughout the cooking process.

Step 2

Start timing as soon as the water returns to a boil. The amount of cooking time required depends on the pasta you are using.

Fresh pasta: Approximately 3 to 8 minutes.

Dried pasta: Approximately 8 to 12 minutes.

Note: Allow a couple of extra minutes for filled pasta.

Step 3

Skim off any scum or froth that rises to the surface during the cooking process as soon as possible. This prevents it from boiling back into the liquid and spoiling the quality and clouding the liquid.

Step 4

Thicker pasta sauces and soups containing pasta can stick to the bottom of the pot if they are boiled rapidly. Some pasta with fillings may also break up into tiny pieces during the boiling process.

To avoid these problems, simmering is the preferred alternative.

Step 5

To test if pasta is cooked ‘al dente’, bite a piece in half and taste it. You should also look for a tiny tell-tale white dot in the centre of the pasta.



This indicates that the very centre of the pasta is still a little firm and will offer resistance to the bite. Use this visual indicator in conjunction with the ‘bite’ method.

Step 6

Drain the pasta taking care to avoid steam burns.

Place your colander in a sink in a secure position and put on protective gloves. Grab the pot firmly with two hands, slowly and carefully pour first the water and then

the pasta into the colander away from your body. Keep the pot steady as you pour. This helps avoid splashing. Shake the colander to drain the pasta thoroughly. Rest the pot on a nearby trivet or the stove top/hob. Place the colander on top of the pot so that hot water doesn’t drip onto you or onto

the floor when you move it.

Step 7

Depending on the dish you’re cooking, you may need to refresh pasta after draining. Refreshing is the process of cooling food down after boiling it by plunging the food into cold water.

This stops the pasta from continuing to cook after you’ve drained it.

Lightly tossing the pasta in oil helps to stop it from sticking together.

How many pasta shapes can you remember?

Test what you remember from section 1 of this unit. You have 15 seconds to list as many different pasta shapes you can think of.


List the different pasta shapes you can think of.

How did you go? Compare your answers to these.

Sheets Long, thin strings or ribbons

Shapes Filled pasta

Cannelloni Lasagne

Spaghetti Vermicelli Fettuccini Tagliatelle Linguine

Risoni Funghetti Rotelle Farfalle Fusilli Penne Conchiglie

Tortellini Ravioli Agnolotti


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Let’s cook rice!

There are various ways to cook rice.

Boiling Absorption method using a rice cooker Absorption method using a saucepan Stewing Steaming Shallow frying Baking Braising

Let’s look at each method in more detail over the next few screens.

Boiling rice

Use the boiling method to create rice for an accompaniment to stews or curries and stir-fries or to prepare rice for fried rice (recipe 233) or kedgeree (glossary).

Click on the steps to learn how to boil rice.

Watch the video.

Step 1

Rinse the rice at least twice in a colander or sieve.

Step 2

Place the water in the saucepan. Use at least a litre of liquid for every cup of rice. Depending on the dish you are preparing the rice for, you may also add a pinch of salt.

Step 3

Bring the water to a boil and add the rice.

Allow the rice to boil for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked.

Step 4

Strain the rice using a colander.

Step 5

Rinse the rice with clean running water.



Absorption method: rice cooker

Use the absorption method to cook rice for similar dishes to that of boiling rice, as well as to create paellas (recipe 234) and risottos (recipe 36).

Click on the icons to learn how to use the absorption method.

Step 1

Rinse the rice and place rice and liquid in the cooker using a 1 to 1.5 ratio.

Step 2

Place the lid on the rice cooker and set it to ‘cook’.

Step 3

Wait for the switch to automatically move from ‘cook’ to ‘warm’.

Step 4

Use a plastic rice paddle to remove the rice.

Hot tip

Never use a metal spoon to remove rice from a rice cooker. You risk scratching the non-stick surface.

Absorption method: saucepan

Click on the steps to see how to use the absorption method.

Watch the video.

Step 1

Rinse rice and place rice and liquid in the saucepan using a 1 to 1.5 ratio.

Step 2

Bring the rice to the boil and then reduce heat.

Step 3

Place a lid on the rice and allow it to simmer for the designated time without removing the lid.

Step 4

Remove the saucepan from the heat source. Allow the rice to ‘stand’ to absorb the remaining liquid.

Step 5

Fluff the rice with a fork prior to serving, to prevent sticking and to evenly distribute the heat.


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Hot tip

Getting the ratio of water to rice just right is essential. The right ratio helps you create rice that is light and fluffy. Too little water leaves you with rice that is dry and unpalatable. Too much water results in rice that is gluggy.

Stewing rice

Stewing is used for dishes such as risotto where the rice is simmered in just enough liquid or sauce to cover the food. When stewing, the rice and liquid are served together as a complete dish.

Absorption is a variation of stewing. For more information about processes involved, review the previous screens on absorption.

Steaming rice

Steam rice (recipe 232) to make sticky rice for sushi and other Asian dishes.

Click on the steps to learn how.

Watch the video.

Step 1


Step 2

Place a small amount of water into a wok or saucepan and bring to the boil.

Step 3

Place the rice onto a steaming cloth or mesh colander into the steam basket and cover the steam basket.

Step 4

Insert the bamboo basket into the wok (glossary) or saucepan. The level of water should be no higher than a half-inch on the outside of the bamboo steamer.

Step 5

Allow the rice to cook checking on a regular basis to ensure it does not become too dry.

Step 6

Remove from heat when cooked and fluff with a fork.



Hot tip

As the water in the wok evaporates during the steaming process, additional water should be added to maintain the required level.

Shallow frying rice

Shallow frying is used to cook many variations of fried rice including special fried rice (recipe 233), combination fried rice, morisqueta tostada (a fried rice dish from the Phillipines) and nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice).

Click on the steps to see how to shallow-fry rice.

Watch the video.

Step1

Cook rice using either absorption or boiling methods, then set the rice aside to cool completely.

Step 2

Place the wok or pan on a stove top/hob set to a low heat. Place sufficient oil in the wok or pan to coat the surface.

Step 3

Add ingredients once oil is hot. Stir until all ingredients are cooked or heated through.

Hot tip

Choose peanut, sesame or bran oil. These oils can be heated to a high heat without burning. When used in Asian cuisine, peanut and sesame oils add an authentic flavour.

Baking rice

Baking is used to create sweet dishes, such as traditional rice puddings.

Click on the steps to learn how to bake rice.

Step 1

Preheat the oven.

Step 2

Heat the milk in a pot on the hob/stove top to boiling point and then slowly add rice.


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Step 3

Reduce the heat and then add any other ingredients.

Step 4

Pour the combined ingredients into a baking dish.

Step 5

Place the baking dish into the oven and cook until the mixture is tender. When cooked, remove the dish from the oven and allow to stand for ten minutes.

Braising rice

Braise rice to create pilaff/pilau (recipe 40) or to prepare risottos (recipe 36) and paellas (recipe 234).

Click on the steps to learn how.

Watch the video.

Step 1

Preheat the oven.

Step 2

Bring the stock to the boil on the hob/stove top, and then reduce the heat bringing it back to a simmer.

Step 3


Step 4

Heat oil or butter in another saucepan and add the rice. Sweat (glossary) the rice and continue stirring until the rice becomes translucent.

Step 5

Use a ladle to slowly add the simmering stock to the rice, stirring continuously.

Step 6

Cover the saucepan with a cartouche (glossary) and place it into the preheated oven.

When the rice is tender, remove the saucepan from the oven. Allow the saucepan to stand to absorb the remaining liquid.

Hot tip

If your saucepan is not suitable for the oven, transfer the ingredients into a braisière and then place the braisière into the oven.



Let’s cook couscous!

The traditional way of cooking couscous is to steam it over stock or spicy stews so that it absorbs the flavours. You then heap it into a bowl, mix through a little butter and olive oil and serve as an accompaniment to spicy or fiery hot stews.

Click on the icon to find out more.

A simple method for preparing modern instant couscous is to place it in a bowl, cover it with boiling salted water or stock and cover the bowl for 5 to 8 minutes.

During this time, the grains absorb the water, swell and become soft and fluffy. Mix with a little butter or olive oil to provide flavour and keep the granules separated.

Try adding spices such as cinnamon, cloves, paprika, cumin, turmeric, chilli, coriander and other additions such as garlic, lemon juice, orange zest, raisins, cashews and tomato concassé to the boiling stock to give it a more authentic North African flavour.

Let's cook bulgur!

The method of cooking bulgur wheat is very similar to couscous.

Bring water to boil. Use 2:1, water to bulgur ratio.

Remove from heat and stir in uncooked bulgur wheat and a pinch of salt.

Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

Drain off any excess liquid, fluff and serve. The bulgur should be soft.

Note...

The cooking time and water quantity required will vary depending on the courseness of the grain.

Let’s cook polenta!

Polenta is known by many names around the world. These include corn or hominy grits (southern states of the USA), pura (Bosnia), palenta (Croatia), angu (Brazil), mealie pap (South Africa), ugali (East Africa) and cou-cou (Barbados).

The most common version used in Australia is a finely-ground instant meal, meaning it can be prepared in minutes rather than hours.

Click on the icon to learn how to prepare polenta (recipe 240).


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Mix the ground yellow meal with water (or milk), salt, nutmeg, and other seasoning in a pot. Cook on the stove while stirring constantly, until it forms a stiff porridge. You know it’s cooked once the mixture starts to come away from the side of the pan in a solid mass.

This takes between 30 to 40 minutes if using traditional cornmeal, or 5 to 10 minutes if using the instant variety.

According to modern practice, it’s common to add eggs, grated cheese, and butter to the golden porridge before it’s poured onto a greased tray to set.

When the mixture has become firm, cut it into square, round, triangle, crescent or finger shapes ready for grilling, shallow or deep frying.

The most common topping for gratinated polenta is fresh tomato-based sauce. Polenta prepared this way can be used as an entree, as a substitute for potatoes with a main meal, or even as a hot canapé base.

Hot tip

Grilled polenta topped with roasted red capsicum, wilted spinach and lightly sautéed fetta and Napoli sauce is a simple, healthy yet hearty dish suitable for vegetarians.

Let’s cook gnocchi!

Click on the pictures to learn about the different types of gnocchi dishes and how to make them.

Gnocchi parisienne

This is a Paris-style gnocchi made from a base of choux pastry (glossary) and grated cheese.

Gently pipe the dumplings into salted water in even bite-sized pieces and poach for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, place in an oven-proof dish, cover with sauce (usually cream-based), and bake in the oven.

When heated through, sprinkle grated cheese on top before gratinating under the salamander.

Gnocchi romaine

This is a Roman-style gnocchi made from a base of semolina, milk, eggs, nutmeg and cheese.

Cook the mixture to a porridge and then pour onto a tray. Flatten smooth, and allowed to set firm.

When firm, cut 5 cm round discs and arrange in a buttered oven-proof dish. Coat the gnocchi with melted butter and sprinkle with grated cheese. Brown in a hot oven and serve with a tomato-based sauce.



Gnocchi italienne/piémontaise

Gnocchi italienne/piémontaise (recipe 239) (glossary) is easy to make with starchy potatoes.

Form the dumplings into bite-sized cork or oval shapes.

Roll dumplings over the back of a fork or against a ribbed gnocchi board to create grooves on the surface.

Cook the dumplings in boiling salted water until they rise and float on the surface, and then drain. To serve, cover with a cream sauce, sprinkle with cheese and gratinate in a hot oven, or toss in a pan with butter and then mix or top with a suitable pasta sauce.

Hot tip

You can serve each of these common gnocchi types as a hot appetiser or entree, as a side dish to accompany meats and poultry, as a replacement for potatoes on a main course or as a main course in its own right.

Let’s cook noodles!

The most common method to cook noodles is to boil them in salted water.

Once boiled, drain and refresh. You can then serve them cold as part of a salad or use them for other cooking methods such as a stir-fry in a wok.

Noodles can also be deep-fried. This gives them a crispy texture and is ideal for use as a base, an ingredient in salads, or as a garnish.

What are accompaniments?

Accompaniments are additions to the main ingredients used to make up the dish. You use them to either enhance the flavour of the dish, add moisture, provide variety or add interest to the plate.

Click on the food types to see their common accompaniments.

Vegetables

Side of rice or noodles with vegetable curries, stir-fries, casseroles Polenta base for stack of roasted vegetables Fresh salad with vegetable bakes and frittatas Parsnip with tomato and onion concassé Sour cream and chives with baked potato Sautéed onion and bacon with brussel sprouts

Fruit

Natural or flavoured yoghurt with fresh pieces of fruit or fruit salads Muesli Ice-cream, cream or custard with baked, flambéed and poached fruit desserts


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Crackers, nuts and cheese with dried or fresh fruits

Eggs

Eggs taste delicious eaten on their own or served as an accompaniment with many other foods. Here are some common examples.

Meats Fish Vegetables Grilled bacon Sausages Lamb chops & cutlets Ham Steak Black pudding

Grilled fillet, such as whiting

Smoked salmon Smoked cod or haddock Kippers Fresh and tinned tuna

Grilled or baked tomato Asparagus Spinach Mushrooms Onion French fries

Rice

When served as the main dish, suitable accompaniments can include any of the following.

Crusty bread, herb or garlic bread with risottos or rice casseroles Tacos or toasted tortillas with Mexican-style rice Egg rolls or spring rolls with fried rice Lettuce leaves and cucumber or other garden salad ingredients with fried or baked

rice dishes

Often it’s the rice that’s the accompaniment. Here are some common examples.

Steamed rice with stir-fries, braised dishes and curries Rice salad with poultry, fish and meat dishes Mexican-style rice with burritos and enchiladas Fried or steamed rice with Asian dishes Seasoned rice with baked potato

Pasta

Garlic bread might be the first option that comes to mind, but it’s not the only option available. Here are some other accompaniments well suited to pasta dishes.

Crusty bread Steamed vegetables Fresh salads Baked potatoes Sautéed vegetables such as mushroom or spinach

Noodles

Like rice, noodles can be served as the accompaniment or as a main with an accompaniment. Here are some common examples.

Crusty bread, garlic or herb rolls when served as a soup Fresh salad or side of vegetables As a base to Asian stir-fries As an accompaniment to main poultry, seafood and meat dishes and stir-fries



Note...

You've looked at preparation and cooking methods for bulgar, couscous, polenta and pulses. These foods are commonly prepared and served as an accompaniment and are not usually considered the main ingredient in a dish.

What are quality requirements?

Follow standard recipes to ensure your dish meets quality standards.

Click on the tabs to see what these are.

Taste

How the ingredients taste once they are combined together is important. Which of your five basic tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami) (glossary) respond to the flavours in the dish? Is it a positive, satisfying experience? Is it lacking in flavour or overpowering one of the senses (too salty, too bitter)?

Does the flavour of one ingredient dominate the others? If you’ve made the dish before, does it taste the same?

Texture

What taste sensations are you trying to create? They could be clean, creamy, crispy, crunchy, fibrous, moist, light and fluffy (a mousse), rich, slippery, smooth or velvety.

A garden salad, for example, should have crisp and crunchy fresh ingredients. However, a potato salad is moist with a smooth, velvety dressing.

Some dishes, have a combination of textures. Arancini (deep-fried rice balls), (recipe 235) for example, have a crisp, crunchy exterior, but a moist and creamy rice filling.

Appearance

You should have already checked the appearance of your ingredients when completing quality checks at the start of preparation. Now you need to check how the ingredients look when combined together. Do the colours combine well and look fresh and vibrant? Is there enough sauce, dressing or garnish?

We’ll look at presentation in more detail in the next section.

Temperature

Serve the dish at the right temperature. No one wants to eat a cold lentil curry or bite into a room-temperature garden salad. The temperature should be appropriate for the dish you’re serving.


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Hot tip

Don’t forget your basic food, health and safety principles! Always use clean cutlery when tasting your dishes, handle hot food and equipment carefully, and keep cold food refrigerated until it is needed for service.

What quality adjustments might I need to make?

Sometimes, even if you follow the standard recipe, your dish doesn’t turn out the way it’s supposed to. You can’t fix every problem, but you can resolve some by making small, simple adjustments.

Click on the pictures to see some simple adjustments.

Vegetables and fruits

Common problems Adjustment Salad ingredients are soft and soggy when they should be crunchy.

Soft soggy ingredients can’t be resolved. Make sure you choose high quality ingredients to begin with and add dressings just prior to service. Dispose of it.

Soup is too thin. Reduce and add thickening agent.

Soup is too thick. Add stock, milk or water depending on type of soup.

Blanched vegetables are soft or soggy. You’ve overcooked them! Shorten the cooking time and refresh in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Boiled vegetables have lost colour. They’ve been in the cooking liquid too long. Most vegetables should be added to boiling water. Don’t cover.

Root vegetables taste bitter after cooking. Start root vegetables in cold salted water to improve flavour.

Vegetables break up when boiling. Reduce temperature to simmer (95 to 98 °C). Don’t boil.

Vegetables are over-softened in stew. They’ve been overcooked. Don’t add all types of vegetables at the same time. Add at various times throughout cooking depending on the vegetable type.



Eggs

Common problems Adjustment Egg white doesn’t coagulate when shell cracks during the cooking process.

Add vinegar, not salt, to the boiling liquid.

Hard boiled eggs for salads have a runny yolk.

Increase the boiling time.

Scrambled eggs are dry and rubbery. Decrease the cooking time. Beading (the formation of water droplets) occurs on cooked meringue.

You’ve overcooked the meringue. Use a higher temperature with a shorter baking time.

Egg mixture has curdled. Use a lower temperature, stir and cool quickly by setting pan in a bowl of ice or cold water.

Farinaceous

Common problems Adjustment Rice or pasta sticks together. It’s likely there wasn’t enough liquid in the

pot. Check food to liquid ratio and occasionally stir ingredients.

Rice or pasta is wrong texture. It’s either too soft or too firm.

Check cooking times. There’s no solution for fixing overcooked pasta or rice. Dispose of it.

Rice is starchy. Rinse rice to remove excess starch prior to cooking.

Filled pasta (such as ravioli) is not sealed properly.

Don’t overfill freshly made pasta. Too much moisture in the filling can also cause pasta to become soggy and break apart. Press out all air pockets and seal with egg.

Bulgur, couscous is hard/crunchy Soak or cook for longer.

Other

Common problems Adjustment Sauce is stodgy. You’ve left the sauce too long before serving.

Thin tomato-based sauces using water, tomato juice or wine, but be careful not to compromise the flavour.

Food quality looks poor. Liquid is cloudy (soups, boiled vegetables).

Skim off any scum or froth that rises to the surface during the cooking process.

Sauce in dish is not rich enough. Enrich with cream, butter or liaison or add herbs, cream, milk or spices to create a richer more complex flavour.

Food has taken on a metallic taste. Use a wooden spoon to stop food from discolouring and taking on a metallic taste.

Outside of deep-fried food has a burnt taste or has burnt particles from other fried foods.

Keep the fat clean by straining it regularly to remove crumbs and food particles.

Deep or shallow-fried food is soggy or oily.

Temperature of fat isn’t hot enough. It should be between 175 and 195 °C.

Deep or shallow-fried food is not cooked through.

Blanch some foods prior to frying.

Outside of food is cooked but the inside is not.

Reduce the cooking temperature.


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Note...

If the dish requires more than a simple adjustment, refer the matter to your supervisor. Any changes must be made within the requirements of the establishment and your scope of responsibility.

End of section





Present and store vegetable, fruit, egg and farinaceous dishes


Present dishes attractively on appropriate serviceware. Add dips, sauces and garnishes according to standard recipes. Visually evaluate dish and adjust presentation. Store dishes in appropriate environmental conditions.

STAGE 6: PRESENT THE DISH

You’ve made your dish and it tastes fantastic. Now it’s time to present it attractively on appropriate serviceware. If you don’t, even the most carefully prepared dish will leave a negative impression on your customers.

Click on the tabs to see what you need to do.

Choose the right serviceware

The serviceware varies greatly depending on how, when and where the dish is served.

When serving individual portions, make sure the bowl or plate is an appropriate size. If it’s too big, the portion looks meagre. If it’s too small, it might not hold the correct portion.

Portion correctly

Portion the ingredients according to your organisation’s specifications. If you provide too big a portion, you may not have enough serves for all customers. Not only that, you risk increasing your organisation’s expenditure and reducing its profits!

Check serviceware for cracks and chips

Cracks and chips can harbour bacteria and allow small portions of the serviceware to fall into the dish.

Check the temperature

If hot dishes fall below 63 °C or cold dishes rise above 4 °C, you risk poisoning your customers. Don’t allow food to enter the temperature danger zone.

Of course, food served at the right temperature also enhances enjoyment! Place serviceware for hot dishes in a plate warmer. Chill serviceware for cold dishes. This helps maintain the dish at the correct temperature.

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Check for consistency

Check that the serviceware is consistent in size, shape, colour, etc. Make sure that every dish you plate meets organisational standards and recipe requirements for consistency, appearance, texture, portion size and flavour. Every dish should look and taste exactly the same from one customer to the next. Many establishments have photos of how their final products must be presented and garnished for service. Always check these if you’re unsure how your menu item should look.

Does the dish need dips or sauces?

Dips and sauces are used to enhance the flavour of the dish, add moisture, and provide variety and interest. Some dips and sauces are automatically assumed to be included with a dish. Soy sauce, for example, served with Californian rolls, or hollandaise sauce served with eggs benedict (recipe 230).

Let’s begin by looking at dips and sauces commonly served with vegetables.

Dips and sauces commonly served with vegetables

Click on the names of the dips and sauces to fill in the table and find out more.

Name of dip or sauce Description of ingredients Example Béchamel Sauce made from milk, white

roux, and onion clouté Cauliflower and white sauce

Mornay sauce Béchamel finished with cream, cheese, butter, and egg yolk

Asparagus au gratin

Concassé cuit Tomato concassé tossed in a pan with butter and finely diced onion

Parsnip concassé

Sour cream and chives Sour cream mixed with finely chopped chives

Baked potato

Almonds Flaked or slivered almonds browned in melted butter

Steamed green beans topped with almond butter

Orange sauce Orange juice and grated peel reduced and thickened with cornflour

Boiled baby beetroot tossed in orange sauce

Hollandaise Emulsified sauce made from clarified butter, egg yolks, vinegar, and lemon juice

Asparagus hollandaise

Guacamole (glossary) A thick paste of mashed avocado, often combined with citrus juice, onion, chilli, tomato and seasonings

Crudités

Hummus (glossary) A thick paste or dip made from chickpeas

Crudités

Tzatziki (glossary) A Greek dip made with yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and lemon juice

Crudités



Dips and sauces commonly served with fruit


Name of dip or sauce Description of ingredients Example Running cream Thickened cream poured

straight from the bottle to add moisture and a rich flavour to the dish

Apple pie with running cream

Whipped cream Thickened or whipping cream whipped to incorporate air, making it light and able to be piped using a piping bag

Strawberries and cream

Double cream Rich cream which is solid when cold due to the high fat content (around 48%). Double cream is normally spooned onto food in a neat egg shape (quenelle).

Cherry tart with double cream

Yoghurt Natural or flavoured yoghurts Frozen fruit terrine with passionfruit yoghurt sauce

Chocolate Chocolate sauce, grated chocolate or warm melted chocolate

Sliced tropical fruits served with a hot chocolate dipping sauce

Fruit coulis Fruit purées laced with liqueurs and sugar. Serve as a sauce with contrasting fruit varieties. Use to add colour and flavour, or to compliment similar flavoured fruits.

Coconut bavarois served with a mild chilli mango coulis

Honey Honey or sauces flavoured with honey

Apple jack pancakes flooded with warmed stringy-bark honey

Maple syrup Pure maple syrup Pecan flan with Canadian maple syrup

Sauce anglaise Slightly thickened English custard made from gently cooking milk with egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Other flavourings may also be added. May be served warm or cold.

Baked blackberry and white chocolate filo parcel on a flood of Irish cream anglaise

Custard Thickened sweet mixture made from cooking milk with custard powder and sugar. Other suitable flavourings may also be added.

Apple and rhubarb crumble with brandy custard

Sabayon Light and frothy mixture made by whipping egg yolks and sugar over a bain-marie. The sabayon is often flavoured with alcohol.

Grilled fruit skewers gratinated with a champagne sabayon


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Name of dip or sauce Description of ingredients Example Jam Commercial or fresh made jam

varieties made from boiled fruit and sugar. Common fruits used to make jam include figs, quince, berries, apricots and plum.

Steamed apple and sultana pudding with hot quince jam sauce

Flavoured topping Commercially prepared flavoured sauces. Common flavours include chocolate, strawberry, caramel, lime, pineapple, vanilla, banana, coffee and maple syrup.

Pineapple fritter with caramel topping or banana split with raspberry topping

Sauces commonly served with eggs


Savoury sauces Description of ingredients Example Béchamel Sauce made from milk, white

roux, and onion clouté Poached eggs with béchamel sauce

Mornay Béchamel finished with cream, cheese, butter, and egg yolk

Eggs mornay

Hollandaise Emulsified sauce made from clarified butter, egg yolks, vinegar, and lemon juice

Eggs benedict (recipe 230)

Tomato Fresh or bottled tomato sauce Fried eggs with fresh tomato sauce

Curry Curry powder or paste and coconut milk or coconut cream. Other spices may also be added.

Creamy egg curry

Sweet sauces Crème anglaise (recipe 82)

English custard Hot apple and rhubarb pie served with sauce anglaise

Zabaglione Frothy egg sabayon with sugar and marsala

Fresh fruit and zabaglione

Crème patisserie Pastry cream Strawberries with crème patisserie



Sauces commonly served with pasta and gnocchi


Traditional sauces Description of ingredients Example Bolognese A rich minced meat and tomato-

based sauce Spaghetti bolognese Lasagne

Marinara A mixed seafood, garlic and parsley sauce moistened with tomato purée

Spaghetti marinara

Carbonara Egg and bacon in a cream and cheese sauce

Fettuccine carbonara Gnocchi carbonara Penne carbonara

Pesto A sauce made from finely chopped basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, and oil

Penne or linguine pesto

Funghi A mushroom cream sauce Penne with chicken and funghi sauce Tagliatelle funghi Gnocchi funghi

Neapolitan A sauce made from tomato concassé flavoured with fresh herbs

Fusilli Neapolitan Ravioli Neapolitan

What are some contemporary pasta sauces?

Here are some popular contemporary pasta sauces you might like to try.

Fine strips of smoked salmon, green peppercorns, and cream sauce Broccoli florets, walnut chunks, and garlic butter sauce Avocado, prawn, and tomato concassé sauce

The options are endless!

Does the dish need a garnish?

The presentation of food has long been a form of creative expression. In the past, tradition played a big part in the way it was positioned on the plate, garnished and presented to the customer. For example, if seafood was battered and deep fried, it was presented with parsley, tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon. Each dish had a specific garnish.

Click on the pictures for some examples that add visual appeal and contrast.

Fresh herbs such as snipped chives, little bouquets of herb flowers, roughly chopped coriander and sprigged dill

Precision-cut vegetables such as brunoise of capsicum, julienne of leek or spring onion diamonds

Fine zest from citrus fruits such as lemon, lime or orange


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Finely sliced and deep fried vegetable chips such as parsnips, beetroot and kumara

Cooked puff pastry crescents called ‘fleurons’

Delicately carved fruit or vegetable

Sliced or wedged fruit or vegetable

Crushed nuts

Deep fried noodles

Note...

Consistency is the key

It’s not appropriate to experiment with new presentation styles when preparing dishes for customers or in the middle of a service period. Always present dishes according to the recipe and organisational standards.

What do you need to check?

Always conduct a visual check of your dish before it’s served to the customer.

Click on the different criteria to learn what to look for and how to adjust it.

Checks Adjustments Sauces and dips Are the correct sauces, dips and

accompaniments being served? Check the standard recipe and change if necessary.

Garnish Is it the correct garnish? Is it visually appealing? Is it the correct size? Is it fresh?

Check the standard recipe and change if necessary. Change the garnish if it’s incorrect, too big or not fresh. Relocate if the placement is inappropriate.

Drips and spills Is the presentation serviceware free of drips and spills?

Carefully wipe clean with a clean, lint-free cloth.

Visual appeal Check the colour, balance and contrast. Does one colour or ingredient dominate? Does it look fresh and inviting?

Adjust the ingredients if necessary. Add more colour if necessary with a bright garnish.

Taste Did you check the dish or sauce prior to plating? Does the dish need additional seasoning added? Did you follow the recipe to ensure correct taste and texture?

Add seasoning if required. Remake if required.

Serviceware Is the serviceware clean and the correct size? Does the item look crowded or lost on the plate?

Replate if necessary.



Checks Adjustments Service Can the waiter easily and safely carry

the serviceware and food contained on it? Is it unbalanced, too heavy, or are food, sauce containers or decorative items slipping on the plate? Is there too much food on the platter?

Reconsider how you want to present the food so it is safer and more secure for staff and customers.

Consumption Can the customer easily consume the item in that format? Is the serviceware appropriate and the food accessible?

Replate if necessary.

Correct storage and food safety procedures

If you are not serving food immediately after preparation, you must store it according to your storage and food safety procedures.

Click on the pictures to find out what you should do.

Temperature

As fruits, vegetables, eggs and farinaceous dishes all contain perishable foods, they must be refrigerated between 1 °C and 4 °C until required for service.

Cover it up

All prepared items and left over foods should be securely covered or placed in sealed containers. Food which is already plated, such as cold salads or fruit platters, should be covered with cling film to protect them from damage and contamination.

Environmental conditions

Make sure the environmental conditions are appropriate.

There must be adequate ventilation in the refrigerator to ensure even circulation of cold air.

Humidity in the refrigerator should be relatively low. Food should not be stored in bright natural sunlight or harsh artificial lighting.


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End of section


Click to the next screen to read the unit summary.

Summary

Vegetables, fruits, eggs and farinaceous foods are versatile in how they are prepared, cooked and served and offer a wide variety of tastes, textures and colours to the menu. Knowing how to select, prepare and cook them is essential knowledge for every commercial cook.

GLOSSARY


Glossary

Word Meaning

Arancini Italian rice balls filled with sticky short grain rice, cheese and herbs. They are crumbed, deep fried and served hot.

Aroma The smell of the rice.

Bacillus cereus (Pronounced bah-sil-uhs seer-ee-uhs. Soil-dwelling bacteria which causes harm and poisoning in humans. Bacillus illnesses occur when food is improperly cooked and held at temperatures which allow bacteria to multiply.

Bain-marie A container holding hot water into which a pan is placed for slow cooking or to keep food warm.

Best-before date The date at which the quality of rice or other food products may decline.

Braisière A braising pan with a lid, normally made from enamelled cast iron which retains and evenly distributes heat.

Cartouche A greased round of paper used to cover meats during the cooking process.

Choux pastry Also known as chou paste. Moist pastry made from water, butter, flour and egg, used in a piping bag to make éclairs, profiteroles and cream puffs.

Clostridium perfringens

(Pronounced klos-trid-ee-um per-fringe-enz. A type of bacteria found in soil and decaying vegetation.

Coagulate As the protein present in some foods is heated or mixed with acids, the tiny protein strands become firm and shrink. This is called coagulation.

Consistency Uniformity of taste, texture and appearance.

Croquette A savoury cake of minced food that is usually coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried.

Die A device used for cutting out, forming, or stamping material. //Fried rice//A savoury rice dish commonly eaten in many Asian cuisines.

Durum semolina Milled flour made from the yellow centre of hard durum wheat.

Emulsifying Combining of liquids that don’t normally mix easily. Ingredients such as oil or a fat such as olive oil or egg yolks are combined with another liquid such as water or broth.

En papillote Pronounced ‘ahn-pa-pee-yort’. Cooked in a sealed greaseproof paper or foil envelope.

Expiration date The use-by or best-before date of a product which is either placed on the packaging by the manufacturer or on an internal label by staff.

GLOSSARY

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Word Meaning

Frittata An open-faced Italian omelette consisting of whole beaten eggs and other ingredients such as sliced vegetables, potato and cheese. In this dish, the ingredients are combined with the eggs in layers rather than folded into the centre of the omelette. Frittatas are started on the stove, but are usually finished by baking in the oven.

Gluten Protein molecules in flour form into gluten when liquid is added. Long strands of gluten form when bread and pastry dough are kneaded, giving it a ‘stretchy’ texture.

Gnocchi piémontaise

The widest known and most popular variety, made from a base of potatoes and strong flour. It is a relatively recent addition to the Italian diet, as potatoes were not introduced into Europe until the 17th century and were not common in Italy until the early 1800s.

Hors d’oeuvre A small savoury dish, typically one served as an appetiser at the beginning of a meal.

Kedgeree A traditional British breakfast from colonial India made from rice, eggs, spices and smoky-flavoured fish.

Low glycemic index (GI)

Foods with a low GI index provide a slow release of glucose into the blood system. Low GI foods are good for physical and emotional health.

Marsala A dark, sweet, fortified dessert wine that resembles sherry.

Mirepoix Rough cut vegetables.

Mise en place (Pronounced ‘miz-on-plus’. Mise en place is a French term that translates to ‘everything in its place’. It refers to all the preparation tasks carried out before cooking begins, such as peeling, cutting, dicing, boning meat, marinating, preparing garnishes and weighing ingredients.

Nasi goreng An Indonesian fried rice dish.

Paella Traditional Spanish dish of saffron-flavoured rice cooked with peas, wine, chicken, shellfish, Spanish chorizo sausage, and many other ingredients.

Pasteurisation A partial sterilisation of foods at a temperature that destroys harmful microorganisms without major changes in the chemistry of the food.

Pilaff/pilau Braised long grain rice often with meat, shellfish or vegetables in a seasoned broth and used as an accompaniment to other foods.

Ramekin A small dish for baking and serving an individual portion of food.

Rice washer Specialised equipment that measures and washes rice.

Risotto Traditional North Italian creamy rice dish similar in consistency to that of porridge. The stickiness comes from using short grain rice which is braised then cooked in stock. Other ingredients such as mushrooms, chicken, vegetables and seafood can be added for variety.

Sabayon A dessert or sweet sauce made with egg yolks, sugar, and wine beaten together over heat till thick, can be served either hot or cold.

GLOSSARY


Word Meaning

Spanish omelette Flat, open omelette consisting of diced cooked potato, onion, and tomato concassé.

Stock date codes Stock date codes and rotation labels contain information about the food type/contents, storage date, best-before or use-by dates, storage conditions, date package was opened, date food was cooked, weight and number of portions.

Stove tops/hobs This includes electric, gas and induction stove tops.

Sushi Japanese preparation requiring the cooking of short grain rice with sugar, rice vinegar and other flavourings. The prepared rice forms the base for Japanese rice salad, sushi nori maki (Californian rolls and other appetiser and main course varieties. The rice is often rolled around ingredients such as pickled vegetables, sliced raw fish and wasabi (green Japanese horseradish – very hot.

Sweating Sweating is where the ingredients are heated with oil or fat using a low heat.

Terrine A meat, fish, or vegetable mixture that has been cooked or otherwise prepared in advance and allowed to cool or set in its container, typically served in slices. Named after the earthenware container it is cooked in.

Umami A Japanese word which means ‘pleasant savoury taste’. The taste of umami itself is subtle. It blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavours, making them ‘yummier’. It plays an important role in making food taste delicious and is often noticed more when absent in a dish. Foods high in umami include fish, shell fish, cured meats, vegetables such as mushrooms, ripe tomatoes and spinach, and fermented or aged products such as soy sauce and cheeses.

Velouté A rich white sauce made from veal, chicken, or fish stock thickened with flour and butter.

Wok A deep bowl-shaped cooking vessel.

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