jimtrue.com : school : CUL104 : Over Thanksgiving break; go into

Posted by Jim True on November 23, 2009 10:55 AM. Last Updated November 23, 2009 10:55 AM

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Over Thanksgiving break; go into

Over Thanksgiving break; go into Powerpoint on Meat Composition, (Potatoes, Starches & Vegetables) Week 4, 5 & Week 6 Terms

Vegetables

• Above ground vegetables should always be started in boiling water
• Below ground vegetables should be started in cold water (except for carrots, as carrots are not a root vegetable, member of parsley family; horse carrots should be started in cold water)
• Why root vegetables in cold water? Density of them requires them to be warmed up when the water heats up.
• What goes into the boiling water, we will discuss (some don't like acids, some don't like alkalis, depends on the pigments)
• When put in boiling water, the pores open up and the pigments come to the surface, remove it from heat and put in ice color to lock the colors at the surface; heat opens the pores, cold closes them.
• Best way to cook a vegetable: Blanch, Shock, Reheat (Reheat: reserve the cooking liquid (plain water), season the cooking liquid (herbs, butter or oil). Steam table with seasoned cooking liquid, fat coats the vegetable with the herbs and aromatics.
• Acid or Alkali doesn't affect the cooking of carrots; hot water opens the pores of carrots and causes the carotene to come to the surface
• Understanding the pigments is the key to understanding how you cook them (ie which acids or alkali to use)
• Acid will turn green vegetables gray, alkali will make it green but leech the nutrients. Cook in water only. If want to use acids, only toss the reheated vegetable in the sauce with the acids prior to serving, don't cook in them.
• Cauliflower works well with Cream of Tartar in the cooking liquid; won't take the black spots out (those will need to be removed with paring knife); will make the Cauliflower brighter.
• Carotinoids, yellow squash, tomatoes, carrots, etc. They cook fine in either acid or alkali
• Anthocyanin: red pigment in beets, red cabbage, etc.; hates Alkali
• Red Cabbage: cook in plain water with some kind of seasoning, right before it's finished cooking, add wine right at the end to keep it a purplish red.
• Don't boil your vegetables, use just enough water for what you need to serve with the vegetables. Put the lid on to steam; little amount of water. Best cooked in only the amount of water you're going to serve them with; if you're going to do that, must steam.

Cooking Methods

• Steam
• Boil
• Broil
• Bake
• Grill: denser vegetables need to be parboiled first
• Roast: little olive oil, salt and pepper, toss the vegetables to coat, and roast on 375 F
• Very little carryover cooking; denser vegetables have some carryover
• Reheating in a steam table (about 160 F)

Microwaving Vegetables

• Can microwave most any vegetable, just cook with a little water

Fibers in Vegetables

• Vegetable Fibers are Cellulose: acid toughens cellulose
• Fruit Fibers are Pectin: sugar toughens pectin
• Have to keep in mind the fiber in vegetables; have to skin asparagus unless they are very thin. Cut broccoli in quarters or sections to expose the fibers so they cook at the same rate as the buds

Rice

• 3 TYPES of rice: short grain, medium grain and long grain
• Wild rice is not a rice, it's a grain
• 3 Ways to Cook Rice: pilaf method (rissole the rice to coat grains in fat and separate and then add moisture and cook in the oven, 2 parts water to 1 part rice for long grain), pasta method (bring water to a boil, add rice, boil and drain it); Risotto method

Potatoes

• When potatoes are green, discard, as it's caused from being stored in the light to long and creates a poisonous substance called "solanine".
• Stored in cool, dry, dark place; not in the refrigerator as it will convert the starch to sugar

Cooking Potatoes

• boiling
• Simmering
• Baking
• Frying
• Sauteing
• Potato Puree/Mashed Potatoes: Use Starchy potatoes. After simmering/steaming, drain colander, then place on sheet pan and dry the potatoes in the oven

Uses for Potato Puree

• Mashed Potatoes
• Duchesse Potatoes:
• Croquettes: shaped, breaded and fried
• Marquis: add tomato conassee
• Berny: truffles, coated with almonds, fried
• Dauphine: add pate a choux
• Lorette: Dauphine and parmesan, fried

Baking Potatoes

• Scrub well, pierece with folk
• Use regularly-shaped starchy potatoes
• For crisp skins, rub lightly with oil; for tender, leave dry
• Bake on rack at 400 F for about an hour or until tender
• Hold hot and uncovered for no more than an hour

Perfect French Fries

• Deep frying starchy potatoes is a two step process
• Blanche in 250 F oil

Past

• Pasta has two basic ingredients: Water/Flour or semolina (the milled endosperm of durum wheat)
• Egg noodles, of course, contain either whole eggs or egg yolks for flavor and color
• Fresh pasta often contains a small amount of oil
• Can also use olive oil, egg and flour

Cooking Pasta

• Drop into plenty of rapidly boiling, salted water
• Boil until "al dente"
• Strain in a colander
• Serve immediately, or cool quickly by immersing in ice water or rinsing in cool, running water
• If pasta is to be stored and re-heated later, toss with a small amount of oil to prevent sticking
• 1 # dried pasta -> 3 # pounds cooked pasta
• 1 # fresh pasta -> 2 - 2 1/2 pounds cooked pasta

Polenta

• Italian corn-meal mush
• Made by simmering coarsely ground corn meal in water or milk, or a mixture of the two
• Usually finished with the addition of cheese and butter
• Can be served soft, or allowed to harden then cut into shapes and sauteed

Disclaimer: These are MY notes taken from classroom lectures while I'm in the classroom. While I'm perfectly happy to share my notes with my classmates and I know I take very good notes, you should still make every effort to attend the class and TAKE YOUR OWN NOTES. I will not transcribe everything the instructor says in the classroom, and I will NEVER post pre-exam reviews. My notes will not replace the value of actually attending class and taking your own class notes.I also cannot attest to their accuracy, other than they are what was provided in the lecture; you should not reference my notes as "expert opionion" by any means, and if you notice an error or omission, please do me the favor of e-mailing me with the correction and I will re-post my notes. End of Disclaimer.