Professional Cooking I

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Professional Cooking I

• Vegetable Starch Cookery

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Factors

• Nutrients
• Texture Shape
• Flavor
• Color

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Nutrients

• One of the major challenges of cooking
  vegetables is the preservation of the nutrients
  they contain. Most vegetables are sources of
  vitamin A and C, as well as rich in other
  vitamins and minerals. Many of these nutrients
  are destroyed when the vegetable is cooked.

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Nutrients

• Six Major Causes of Nutrient Lose
• High cooking temperatures
• Long exposure of nutrients to heat or sunlight
• Leaching, being dissolved in water during
  cooking
  
• Alkali
• Plant enzymes that are active in warm
  temperatures, but killed by high heat
  
• Exposure to oxygen

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Nutrients

• Steps for Preservation of Nutrients in
  Vegetables
  
• Little water
• Minimize time in water or liquid
• Prep vegetables just before cooking
• Cook with steam - reduces leaching present in
  boiling / simmering.
  
• Short cooking times - high temperatures - just
  long enough to achieve an al dente texture.
  
• Batch cook to reduce hot holding times
• Avoid the use of baking soda, or other forms of
  alkali
  
• Store fresh vegetables out of direct sunlight and
  in closed containers
  
• When using canned vegetables, do not discard the
  liquor in the can - Serve it with the vegetables

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Texture Shape

• Vegetable fiber
• Cellulose
• Pectin
• Toughen and Strengthen
• Acid toughens fibers
• Sugars strengthen
• Soften
• Alkali
• Heat

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Color

• Preserving as much of the natural color as
  possible - high level of visual quality
  
• Pigment
• Affected differently by heat, acid, alkali, and
  other elements involved in cooking
  
• Flavones is the pigment in white vegetables -
  potato, onion, cauliflower
  
• pigment stays white in an acid medium and turns
  yellow in an alkaline medium.
  
• over cooking - yellow or gray.
• retain the white color
• Cook them uncovered
• Use short cooking times
• Add a small amount of lemon juice, cream of
  tartar or vinegar to the cooking liquid

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Nutrients

• Anthocyanin pigment some red vegetables - red
  cabbage, purple peppers, purple tomatillos,
  
• anthocyanin is the pigment present in most
  berries and flowers.
  
• strongly affected by acid and alkali mediums.
• alkali medium - blue or blue-green in color
• acid medium - brighter red color.
• excessive amounts of water when cooking will
  leach the color out of the vegetable.
  
• To retain the red color given by the anthocyanin
  pigment
  
• Retain color
• Cook with a small amount of acid, lemon juice,
  cream of tartar, or vinegar or sprinkle with a
  food acid at the end of the cooking process
  
• Use only as much water as necessary

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Color

• Chlorophyll - green vegetables
• Enemies are heat and acid
• Retaining color
• Cook uncovered
• Cook them quickly, until just al dente
• Cook the vegetables in small batches
• Do not hold for long periods of time
• Pre-cook, shock and then reheat them as needed
• Steam green vegetables whenever possible.
• Carotene - yellow and orange vegetables -
  carrots, corn, red peppers
  
• Most stable of the color pigments.
• Only slightly affected by acids or alkalis
• Long cooking can dull the color.
• Retain with short cooking times
• Fat-soluble and will leach out into the fat used
  to cook the item (This is where the red grease
  comes from that floats to the surface of stews
  and meat soups that contain tomato, carrot
  etcetera.)

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Flavor

• Mild Flavored
• Minimal water
• Flavor extracted by the moisture present when
  being cooked
  
• Flavor lost in evaporation
• Cook quickly
• Start them in boiling water
• Salt the water
• Strong flavored
• cook uncovered
• larger quantity of water
• Oil Soluble
• Onion
• Garlic

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Degree of Doneness

• Varies
• vegetable to vegetable
• one region of the country and world to another
• Rule of thumb - keep vegetables slightly firm to
  the bite, 'al dente'.

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Degree of Doneness

• Guidelines for Proper Doneness of Vegetables
• Do not over cook vegetables.
• Cook close to service / continue to cook when
  held in a hot table/cabinet
  
• Pre-cooking for reheating, shock
• uniform size pieces
• Vegetables with tough and tender parts need
  special attention.
  
• Peel the stems of asparagus.
• Peel and split the stems of broccoli.
• Score the base or stem end of Brussel sprouts.
• Take special care to protect the buds of broccoli
  and asparagus from extended heat.
  
• Do not mix batches of cooked vegetables.
• Goal is to enhance the fresh, crisp, flavor of
  the vegetable, not to diminish it.
  

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Preferred Techniques

• Steaming - moist
• Grilling - dry
• Sauté - dry
• Blanching, Shocking, Sauté Finish combination
• Batch cookery

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Vegetable Cookery

• Our goal is to bring about the changes we want
  with as little nutrient loss as possible.

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Root vegetables
• Matching of potato and preparation method is
  based on starch content
  
• Old potatoes, mature potatoes have more starch
• lost moisture
• absorb other flavors easily
• best used in making potato pancakes, stews,
  scalloped dishes, and potato salads
  
• Low starch potatoes have a moister, crisper
  flesh.
  
• holds its shape better in boiling and salad
  making
  
• To determine the starch content of a potato, rub
  two cut halves together. If they stick together
  the starch content is high.

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Starch content
• High starch varieties russet, burbank and Idaho
  - dry mealy quality - baked, mashed and French
  fried potatoes
  
• Medium starch varieties round white, Maine,
  katahdins - little waxier than russets - boiling,
  mashing, and roasting
  
• Low starch red rounds and new potatoes -
  steamed or boiled with the skins on sliced for
  salads - do not easily fall apart.
  
• Texture
• Mealy potatoes drier, less cohesive cells and
  generally contain more starch - mashing and
  baking
  
• Waxy potatoes have cells that are more cohesive -
  scallop dishes or chunks in salad.

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Guides to Boiling Steaming Potatoes
• Generally started in cold water - allows gradual
  heat penetration and uniform cooking
  
• Not normally cooled in cold water - makes them
  soggy and sticky, due to the starch they exude
  
• rapidly cool by placing them on sheet pans in the
  refrigerator particularly when they are cooked
  after being peeled
  
• cook in as little water as possible to prevent
  lose nutrients

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Guides to Baking Potatoes
• Scrub
• Prick a few times with a fork
• Bake (400-450 degree F)
• Foil Wrapping is not recommended

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Guides to French Frying Potatoes
• Peel or scrub well
• Soak in cold water briefly to plump the potato
• Blanch in 325 degree F oil
• At service fry in 375 degree F oil

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Deep Frying Vegetables
• Assemble all equipment and prepare vegetables.
• Preheat fryer to 325-3750F (163oC-177oC).
• Bread, dip, etc, if required.
• Place food in fryer, being careful not to
  overcrowd.
  
• Fry to desired doneness. The product should be
  cooked through and golden brown.
  
• Remove and allow to drain.
• Season away from hot fat and serve immediately.
• If it is necessary to hold the item briefly, do
  not cover or the product will become soggy.

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Vegetable Cookery - Potatoes

• Braising Vegetables
• Lightly sauté the prepared vegetables.
• Add liquid. This can be stock, sauce, water,
  wine, or other liquid.
  
• Cover and cook in a slow oven or on the range to
  the desired degree of doneness.
  
• Serve the reduced cooking liquid with the
  vegetable.

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Dry Legume Cookery

• Develop seasoning in pan
• Add water/liquid and legumes
• Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cook until
  tender adding liquid as required
  
• Use sufficient to allow beans to float free
• Begin to reduce liquid when beans are 2/3 s done

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Rice Cookery

• Long Grain v Short Grain
• Basamati
• Aborio
• Jasmine
• 1.5 2 to 1
• Avoid breaking grains

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Rice Cookery

• Pilaf method
• Risotto
• Standard
• Bring liquid to a boil w/ seasoning
• Add rice
• Return to a boil
• Cover and let stand 20 minutes
• Fluff and serve