Cooking basics...
How To Fillet a Fish
Here's How:
1. Hold the fish on the cutting board with the back of the fish toward you. Using a thin flexible knife, cut through the back of the head to the backbone and turn the blade so it's running along the backbone.
2. Hold the fish by placing your non cutting hand over the head. Push the knife along the backbone to the tail using a sawing motion.
3. Pull the fillet away from the body of the fish while making small careful cuts with the knife to retain as much flesh as possible.
4. Using small strokes of the knife, remove the fillet from the rib cage, feeling your way around the bones with the knife.
5. Turn the fish over and repeat steps 1 through 3 on the other side.
6. Using a flat bladed knife, slice a bit of the skin away from the flesh. Cut a hole in the loosened skin so you can fit your finger through it.
7. Hold the skin through the finger hole and pull the skin away from the fillet, using the knife to hold the fillet down. Hold the knife at a 45 degree angle.
8. With your fingers and a clean tweezer, feel for any pin bones and pull them out of the fillets.
Tips:
1. Make sure your knives are very sharp or you will rip and tear the flesh.
2. Go slowly at first. It takes practice to become an expert at filleting a fish.
3. Removing the fillet from the rib cage is the most difficult step. Be very careful and go slowly.
What You Need:
* whole fish
* sharp thin bladed knife
* sharp flat bladed knife
* cutting board
* tweezers
Cooking basics....
how-to-use-gelatin.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Drying
Cooking basics...
Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which prevents the growth of microorganisms and decay. Drying food using the sun and wind to prevent spoilage has been known since ancient times. Water is usually removed by evaporation (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying) but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then water is removed by sublimation.
Bacteria and micro-organisms within the food and from the air need the water in the food to grow. Drying effectively prevents them from surviving in the food. It also creates a hard outer-layer, helping to stop micro-organisms from entering the food.
Food types
Many different foods are prepared by dehydration. Good examples are meat such as prosciutto (a.k.a. Parma ham), bresaola, and beef jerky. Fruits change character completely when dried: the plum becomes a prune, the grape a raisin; figs and dates are also transformed. Drying is rarely used for vegetables as it removes the vitamins within them, however bulbs, such as garlic and onion, are often dried. Also chilis are frequently dried.
For centuries, much of the European diet depended on dried cod, known as salt cod or bacalhau (with salt) or stockfish (without). It formed the main protein source for the slaves on the West Indian plantations and was a major economic force within the triangular trade.
Dried and salted reindeer meat is a traditional Sami food. First the meat is soaked / pickled in saltwater for a couple of days to guarantee the conservation of the meat. Then the meat is dried in the sun in spring when the air temperature is below zero. The dried meat can be further processed to make soup.
Dried shark known as Hákarl is a delicacy in Iceland.
Cooking Methods
There are many different methods for drying, each with their own advantages for particular applications; these include:
* Bed dryers
* Fluidized bed dryers
* Shelf dryers
* Spray drying
* Sunlight
* Commercial food dehydrators
* Household oven
Cooking basics....hot-salt-frying
Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which prevents the growth of microorganisms and decay. Drying food using the sun and wind to prevent spoilage has been known since ancient times. Water is usually removed by evaporation (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying) but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then water is removed by sublimation.
Bacteria and micro-organisms within the food and from the air need the water in the food to grow. Drying effectively prevents them from surviving in the food. It also creates a hard outer-layer, helping to stop micro-organisms from entering the food.
Food types
Many different foods are prepared by dehydration. Good examples are meat such as prosciutto (a.k.a. Parma ham), bresaola, and beef jerky. Fruits change character completely when dried: the plum becomes a prune, the grape a raisin; figs and dates are also transformed. Drying is rarely used for vegetables as it removes the vitamins within them, however bulbs, such as garlic and onion, are often dried. Also chilis are frequently dried.
For centuries, much of the European diet depended on dried cod, known as salt cod or bacalhau (with salt) or stockfish (without). It formed the main protein source for the slaves on the West Indian plantations and was a major economic force within the triangular trade.
Dried and salted reindeer meat is a traditional Sami food. First the meat is soaked / pickled in saltwater for a couple of days to guarantee the conservation of the meat. Then the meat is dried in the sun in spring when the air temperature is below zero. The dried meat can be further processed to make soup.
Dried shark known as Hákarl is a delicacy in Iceland.
Cooking Methods
There are many different methods for drying, each with their own advantages for particular applications; these include:
* Bed dryers
* Fluidized bed dryers
* Shelf dryers
* Spray drying
* Sunlight
* Commercial food dehydrators
* Household oven
Cooking basics....hot-salt-frying
English cuisine
Cooking basics....
English cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate, its island geography and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.
As a result, traditional foods have ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish. Other customary dishes, such as fish and chips, which are eaten by tradition in newspaper with salt and malt vinegar, and bangers and mash, which are sausages with mashed potatoes, onions and gravy, are now matched in popularity by spices and curries from India and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on Chinese and Thai cooking. French cuisine and Italian cuisine, once considered alien, are also now admired and copied. Britain was also quick to adopt the innovation of fast food from the United States, and continues to absorb culinary ideas from all over the world.
These trends are exemplified by dishes such as spaghetti bolognese which has been a common family meal in Britain since at least the 1960s. More recently there has been a huge growth in the popularity of dishes influenced by the Indian Sub-Continent (a throwback to the times of British influence in the region), though modified to suit British tastes. The British curry, essentially a holdover from the days of the British Raj (and subsequently embellished by
immigrants), may be hotter and spicier than the traditional North Indian variety.
The Sunday roast is perhaps the most common feature of English cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb, or a roast chicken and assorted vegetables, themselves generally roasted or boiled and served with a gravy. Yorkshire pudding and gravy is now often served as an accompaniment to the main course, although it was originally served first as a "filler". The practice of serving a roast dinner on a Sunday is related to the elaborate preparation required, and to the housewife's practice of performing the weekly wash on a Monday, when the cold remains of the roast made an easily-assembled meal. An elaborate version of roast dinner is eaten at Christmas, with almost every detail rigidly specified by tradition. Since its widespread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey, superseding the goose of Dickens's time[1]. Game meats such as venison which were traditionally the domain of higher classes are occasionally also eaten by those wishing to experiment with a wider choice of foods, due to their promotion by celebrity chefs, such as Antony Worrall Thompson, although it is not usually eaten regularly in the average household.
Fish and chips.
England is famous for its fish and chips and has a huge number of restaurants and take-away shops that cater to it. It is possibly the most popular and identifiable English dish, and is traditionally served with a side order of mushy peas with salt and vinegar as condiments. Foods such as scampi, a deep fried breaded prawn dish, are also on offered as well as fishcakes or a number of other combinations. The advent of take-away foods during the industrial revolution led to foods such as fish and chips, mushy peas, and steak and kidney pie with mashed potato (pie and mash). These were the staples of the UK take-away business, and indeed of English diets however, like many national dishes, quality can vary drastically from the commercial or mass produced product to an authentic or homemade variety using more discerning ingredients. However, through ethnic influences, particularly those of Indian and Chinese, have given rise to the establishment and availability of ethnic take-away foods.[2] From the 1980s onwards, a new variant on curry, the balti, began to become popular in the West Midlands, and by the mid 1990s was commonplace in Indian restaurants and restaurants over the country. Kebab houses, pizza restaurants and American-style fried chicken restaurants aiming at late night snacking have also become popular in urban areas.
The full English breakfast (also known as "cooked breakfast" or "fried breakfast") also remains a culinary classic. Its contents vary, but it normally consists of a combination of :
Hash browns are sometimes added, though this is not considered traditional. In general, the domestic breakfast is less elaborate, and most "full English" breakfasts are bought in cafés since having being replaced by cereals. A young child's breakfast might include "soldiers", finger-shaped pieces of bread to be dipped in the yolk of a lightly boiled egg.
English sausages are distinctive in that they are usually made from fresh meats and rarely smoked, dried, or strongly flavoured. Following the post World War II period, sausages tended to contain low-quality meat, fat, and rusk. However, there has been a backlash in recent years, with most butchers and supermarkets now selling premium varieties. Pork and beef are by far the most common bases, although gourmet varieties may contain venison, wild boar, etc. There are particularly famous regional varieties, such as the herbal Lincolnshire, and the long, curled Cumberland with many butchers offering their own individual recipes and variations often handed down through generations, but are generally not made from cured meats such as Italian selections or available in such a variety as found in Germany. Most larger supermarkets in England will stock at least a dozen types of English sausage: not only Cumberland and Lincolnshire but often varieties such as :
There are estimated to be around 400 sausage varieties in the United Kingdom Sausages form the basis of cooking dishes such as toad in the hole where they are combined with a batter similar to a yorkshire pudding and baked in the oven, this can be served with an onion gravy made by frying sliced onions for anywhere over an hour on a low heat then mixed with a stock, wine or ale then reduced to form a sauce or gravy used in bangers and mash. A variant of the sausage is the black pudding, strongly associated with Lancashire similar to the French boudin noir or the Spanish Morcilla. It is made from pig's blood, in line with the adage that "you can eat every part of a pig except its squeal". Pig's trotters, tripe and brawn are also traditional fare in the North.
Pies, originally a way to preserve food, have long been a mainstay of English cooking. Meat pies are generally enclosed with fillings such as chicken and mushroom or steak and kidney (originally steak and oyster). Pork pies are almost always eaten cold, with the Melton Mowbray pork pie being the archetype. Open pies or flans are generally served for dessert with fillings of seasonal fruit. Quiches and savoury flans are eaten, but not considered indigenous. The Cornish pasty is a much-loved regional dish, constructed from pastry is folded into a semi-circular purse, like a calzone. Another kind of pie is topped with mashed potato—for instance, shepherd's pie, with lamb, cottage pie, with beef, or fisherman's pie. As usual, there is a vast difference in quality between mass produced and hand-made versions. Good quality pies are obtainable from some pubs, traditional pie and mash shops, or specialist bakeries.
England can claim to have given the world the word "sandwich", although the eponymous Earl was not the first to add a filling to bread. Fillings such as pickled relishes and Gentleman's Relish could also be considered distinctively British.
Northern European countries generally have a tradition of salting, smoking, pickling and otherwise preserving foods. Britons make kippers, ham, bacon and a wide variety of pickled vegetables. Scottish smoked fish—salmon and Arbroath smokies—are particularly prized. Smoked cheese is uncommon. Meats other than pork are generally not cured. The "three breakfasts a day" principle can be implemented by eating bacon sandwiches, often referred to as "bacon sarnies" or "bacon butties", at any time of the day or night. Pickles and preserves are given a twist by the influence of the British Empire. Thus, the repertoire includes chutney as well as Branston or "brown" pickle, piccalilli, pickled onions and gherkins. The Asian influence is also present in condiments such as tomato sauce (originally ketjap), Worcestershire sauce and "brown" sauce (such as HP). Because Britain is a beer-drinking nation, malt vinegar is commonly used. English mustard, associated with Colman's of Norwich, is strongly-flavoured and bright yellow.
Pickles often accompany a selection of sliced, cold cooked meats, or "cold collation". This dish can claim to have some international influence, since it is known in French as an "assiette Anglaise".
It is believed by some that the English "drop everything" for a teatime meal in the mid-afternoon. This is no longer the case in the workplace, and is rarer in the home. A formal teatime meal is now often an accompaniment to tourism, particularly in Devon and neighbouring counties, where comestibles may include scones with jam and butter or clotted cream. There are also butterfly cakes, simple small sponge cakes which can be iced or eaten plain. Nationwide, assorted biscuits and sandwiches are eaten. Generally, however, the teatime meal has been replaced by snacking, or simply ignored.
Tea itself, usually served with milk, is consumed throughout the day and is sometimes drunk with meals. In recent years herbal teas and speciality teas have also become popular. Coffee is perhaps a little less common than in continental Europe, but is still drunk by many in both its instant and percolated forms, often with milk (but rarely with cream). Italian coffee preparations such as espresso and cappuccino and modern American variants such as the frappuccino are increasingly popular, but generally purchased in restaurants or from specialist coffee shops rather than made in the home. Sugar is often added to individual cups of tea or coffee, though never to the pot.
For much of the 20th century Britain had a system whereby milk was delivered to the doorstep in reusable glass bottles in the mornings, usually by special vehicles called "milk floats". This service continues in some areas, though it has increasingly been replaced by supermarket shopping. Many Britons consider their milk superior to the heat-treated variety found in some other countries.
Cheese is generally hard, and made from cows' milk. Cheddar cheese, originally made in the town of Cheddar, is by far the most common type, with many variations. Tangy Cheshire, salty Caerphilly, Sage Derby, Red Leicester, creamy Double Gloucester and sweet Wensleydale are some traditional regional varieties. Cheddar and the rich, blue-veined Stilton have both been called the king of English cheeses. Cornish Yarg is a successful modern variety. The name 'Cheddar cheese' has become widely used internationally, and does not currently have a protected designation of origin (PDO). However, the European Union recognises West Country Farmhouse Cheddar as a PDO. To meet this standard the cheese must be made in the traditional manner using local ingredients in one of the four designated counties of South West England: Somerset, Devon, Dorset, or Cornwall. Sheep and goat cheeses are made chiefly by craft producers. Continental cheeses such as French Brie are sometimes also manufactured.
Wine can be served with meals, though for semi-formal and informal meals beer, lager or cider may also be drunk. Kedgeree, a popular breakfast dish in the Victorian era.
In the Victorian era, during the British Raj, Britain first started borrowing Indian dishes, creating Anglo-Indian cuisine, some of which is still eaten today although many once-popular Anglo-Indian dishes such as kedgeree have largely faded from the scene[citation needed].
Sweets consist of many original home-made desserts such as rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, trifle and spotted dick. The traditional accompaniment is custard, sometimes known as crème anglaise (English sauce or English cream made with eggs and milk) to the French however in Victorian times Alfred Bird, a Birmingham Chemist, operating from premises in New Street found that his wife much enjoyed custard but was allergic to eggs and so he invented a substitute made from cornflour and vanilla . The dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to generation. There is also a dried fruit based Christmas pudding, and the almond flavoured Bakewell tart.
Another formal British culinary tradition rarely observed today is the consumption of a savoury course, such as Welsh rabbit, toward the conclusion of a meal. This now though may be eaten as a snack or a light lunch or supper. Most main meals today end with a sweet dessert, although cheese and biscuits may be consumed as an alternative or as an addition. In Yorkshire, fruit cake is often served with Wensleydale cheese. Coffee can sometimes be a culminatory drink.
Cooking basics....
English cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate, its island geography and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.
As a result, traditional foods have ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish. Other customary dishes, such as fish and chips, which are eaten by tradition in newspaper with salt and malt vinegar, and bangers and mash, which are sausages with mashed potatoes, onions and gravy, are now matched in popularity by spices and curries from India and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on Chinese and Thai cooking. French cuisine and Italian cuisine, once considered alien, are also now admired and copied. Britain was also quick to adopt the innovation of fast food from the United States, and continues to absorb culinary ideas from all over the world.
These trends are exemplified by dishes such as spaghetti bolognese which has been a common family meal in Britain since at least the 1960s. More recently there has been a huge growth in the popularity of dishes influenced by the Indian Sub-Continent (a throwback to the times of British influence in the region), though modified to suit British tastes. The British curry, essentially a holdover from the days of the British Raj (and subsequently embellished by
immigrants), may be hotter and spicier than the traditional North Indian variety.
The Sunday roast is perhaps the most common feature of English cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb, or a roast chicken and assorted vegetables, themselves generally roasted or boiled and served with a gravy. Yorkshire pudding and gravy is now often served as an accompaniment to the main course, although it was originally served first as a "filler". The practice of serving a roast dinner on a Sunday is related to the elaborate preparation required, and to the housewife's practice of performing the weekly wash on a Monday, when the cold remains of the roast made an easily-assembled meal. An elaborate version of roast dinner is eaten at Christmas, with almost every detail rigidly specified by tradition. Since its widespread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey, superseding the goose of Dickens's time[1]. Game meats such as venison which were traditionally the domain of higher classes are occasionally also eaten by those wishing to experiment with a wider choice of foods, due to their promotion by celebrity chefs, such as Antony Worrall Thompson, although it is not usually eaten regularly in the average household.
Fish and chips.
England is famous for its fish and chips and has a huge number of restaurants and take-away shops that cater to it. It is possibly the most popular and identifiable English dish, and is traditionally served with a side order of mushy peas with salt and vinegar as condiments. Foods such as scampi, a deep fried breaded prawn dish, are also on offered as well as fishcakes or a number of other combinations. The advent of take-away foods during the industrial revolution led to foods such as fish and chips, mushy peas, and steak and kidney pie with mashed potato (pie and mash). These were the staples of the UK take-away business, and indeed of English diets however, like many national dishes, quality can vary drastically from the commercial or mass produced product to an authentic or homemade variety using more discerning ingredients. However, through ethnic influences, particularly those of Indian and Chinese, have given rise to the establishment and availability of ethnic take-away foods.[2] From the 1980s onwards, a new variant on curry, the balti, began to become popular in the West Midlands, and by the mid 1990s was commonplace in Indian restaurants and restaurants over the country. Kebab houses, pizza restaurants and American-style fried chicken restaurants aiming at late night snacking have also become popular in urban areas.
The full English breakfast (also known as "cooked breakfast" or "fried breakfast") also remains a culinary classic. Its contents vary, but it normally consists of a combination of :
- bacon,
- grilled tomatoes,
- fried bread,
- black pudding,
- baked beans,
- fried mushrooms,
- sausages,
- eggs (fried, scrambled or boiled) and other variations on these ingredients and others.
Hash browns are sometimes added, though this is not considered traditional. In general, the domestic breakfast is less elaborate, and most "full English" breakfasts are bought in cafés since having being replaced by cereals. A young child's breakfast might include "soldiers", finger-shaped pieces of bread to be dipped in the yolk of a lightly boiled egg.
English sausages are distinctive in that they are usually made from fresh meats and rarely smoked, dried, or strongly flavoured. Following the post World War II period, sausages tended to contain low-quality meat, fat, and rusk. However, there has been a backlash in recent years, with most butchers and supermarkets now selling premium varieties. Pork and beef are by far the most common bases, although gourmet varieties may contain venison, wild boar, etc. There are particularly famous regional varieties, such as the herbal Lincolnshire, and the long, curled Cumberland with many butchers offering their own individual recipes and variations often handed down through generations, but are generally not made from cured meats such as Italian selections or available in such a variety as found in Germany. Most larger supermarkets in England will stock at least a dozen types of English sausage: not only Cumberland and Lincolnshire but often varieties such as :
- Pork and Apple;
- Pork and Herb;
- Beef and Stilton;
- Pork and Mozarella;
- Sundried Tomatoes and so forth.
There are estimated to be around 400 sausage varieties in the United Kingdom Sausages form the basis of cooking dishes such as toad in the hole where they are combined with a batter similar to a yorkshire pudding and baked in the oven, this can be served with an onion gravy made by frying sliced onions for anywhere over an hour on a low heat then mixed with a stock, wine or ale then reduced to form a sauce or gravy used in bangers and mash. A variant of the sausage is the black pudding, strongly associated with Lancashire similar to the French boudin noir or the Spanish Morcilla. It is made from pig's blood, in line with the adage that "you can eat every part of a pig except its squeal". Pig's trotters, tripe and brawn are also traditional fare in the North.
Pies, originally a way to preserve food, have long been a mainstay of English cooking. Meat pies are generally enclosed with fillings such as chicken and mushroom or steak and kidney (originally steak and oyster). Pork pies are almost always eaten cold, with the Melton Mowbray pork pie being the archetype. Open pies or flans are generally served for dessert with fillings of seasonal fruit. Quiches and savoury flans are eaten, but not considered indigenous. The Cornish pasty is a much-loved regional dish, constructed from pastry is folded into a semi-circular purse, like a calzone. Another kind of pie is topped with mashed potato—for instance, shepherd's pie, with lamb, cottage pie, with beef, or fisherman's pie. As usual, there is a vast difference in quality between mass produced and hand-made versions. Good quality pies are obtainable from some pubs, traditional pie and mash shops, or specialist bakeries.
England can claim to have given the world the word "sandwich", although the eponymous Earl was not the first to add a filling to bread. Fillings such as pickled relishes and Gentleman's Relish could also be considered distinctively British.
Northern European countries generally have a tradition of salting, smoking, pickling and otherwise preserving foods. Britons make kippers, ham, bacon and a wide variety of pickled vegetables. Scottish smoked fish—salmon and Arbroath smokies—are particularly prized. Smoked cheese is uncommon. Meats other than pork are generally not cured. The "three breakfasts a day" principle can be implemented by eating bacon sandwiches, often referred to as "bacon sarnies" or "bacon butties", at any time of the day or night. Pickles and preserves are given a twist by the influence of the British Empire. Thus, the repertoire includes chutney as well as Branston or "brown" pickle, piccalilli, pickled onions and gherkins. The Asian influence is also present in condiments such as tomato sauce (originally ketjap), Worcestershire sauce and "brown" sauce (such as HP). Because Britain is a beer-drinking nation, malt vinegar is commonly used. English mustard, associated with Colman's of Norwich, is strongly-flavoured and bright yellow.
Pickles often accompany a selection of sliced, cold cooked meats, or "cold collation". This dish can claim to have some international influence, since it is known in French as an "assiette Anglaise".
It is believed by some that the English "drop everything" for a teatime meal in the mid-afternoon. This is no longer the case in the workplace, and is rarer in the home. A formal teatime meal is now often an accompaniment to tourism, particularly in Devon and neighbouring counties, where comestibles may include scones with jam and butter or clotted cream. There are also butterfly cakes, simple small sponge cakes which can be iced or eaten plain. Nationwide, assorted biscuits and sandwiches are eaten. Generally, however, the teatime meal has been replaced by snacking, or simply ignored.
Tea itself, usually served with milk, is consumed throughout the day and is sometimes drunk with meals. In recent years herbal teas and speciality teas have also become popular. Coffee is perhaps a little less common than in continental Europe, but is still drunk by many in both its instant and percolated forms, often with milk (but rarely with cream). Italian coffee preparations such as espresso and cappuccino and modern American variants such as the frappuccino are increasingly popular, but generally purchased in restaurants or from specialist coffee shops rather than made in the home. Sugar is often added to individual cups of tea or coffee, though never to the pot.
For much of the 20th century Britain had a system whereby milk was delivered to the doorstep in reusable glass bottles in the mornings, usually by special vehicles called "milk floats". This service continues in some areas, though it has increasingly been replaced by supermarket shopping. Many Britons consider their milk superior to the heat-treated variety found in some other countries.
Cheese is generally hard, and made from cows' milk. Cheddar cheese, originally made in the town of Cheddar, is by far the most common type, with many variations. Tangy Cheshire, salty Caerphilly, Sage Derby, Red Leicester, creamy Double Gloucester and sweet Wensleydale are some traditional regional varieties. Cheddar and the rich, blue-veined Stilton have both been called the king of English cheeses. Cornish Yarg is a successful modern variety. The name 'Cheddar cheese' has become widely used internationally, and does not currently have a protected designation of origin (PDO). However, the European Union recognises West Country Farmhouse Cheddar as a PDO. To meet this standard the cheese must be made in the traditional manner using local ingredients in one of the four designated counties of South West England: Somerset, Devon, Dorset, or Cornwall. Sheep and goat cheeses are made chiefly by craft producers. Continental cheeses such as French Brie are sometimes also manufactured.
Wine can be served with meals, though for semi-formal and informal meals beer, lager or cider may also be drunk. Kedgeree, a popular breakfast dish in the Victorian era.
In the Victorian era, during the British Raj, Britain first started borrowing Indian dishes, creating Anglo-Indian cuisine, some of which is still eaten today although many once-popular Anglo-Indian dishes such as kedgeree have largely faded from the scene[citation needed].
Sweets consist of many original home-made desserts such as rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, trifle and spotted dick. The traditional accompaniment is custard, sometimes known as crème anglaise (English sauce or English cream made with eggs and milk) to the French however in Victorian times Alfred Bird, a Birmingham Chemist, operating from premises in New Street found that his wife much enjoyed custard but was allergic to eggs and so he invented a substitute made from cornflour and vanilla . The dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to generation. There is also a dried fruit based Christmas pudding, and the almond flavoured Bakewell tart.
Another formal British culinary tradition rarely observed today is the consumption of a savoury course, such as Welsh rabbit, toward the conclusion of a meal. This now though may be eaten as a snack or a light lunch or supper. Most main meals today end with a sweet dessert, although cheese and biscuits may be consumed as an alternative or as an addition. In Yorkshire, fruit cake is often served with Wensleydale cheese. Coffee can sometimes be a culminatory drink.
Cooking basics....
Mediterranean cuisine
Cooking Basics....
Mediterranean cuisine is the food of the areas around the Mediterranean Sea.
Given the geography, these nation-states have influenced each other over time and the cooking evolved into sharing common principles. Mediterranean cuisine is characterized by its flexibility, its range of ingredients and its many regional variations. The terrain has tended to favour the raising of goats and sheep.
Mediterranian Cuisine in Dalmatia, Croatia.
Fish dishes are also common, although today much of the fish is imported since the fisheries of the Mediterranean Sea are weak.[citation needed] Seafood is still prominent in many of the
standard recipes.
Olive oil, produced from the olive trees prominent throughout Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean nations, adds to the distinctive taste of the food.
Garlic is also used throughout Mediterranean cuisine. It is widely believed that ingredients in this kind of cooking, especially olive oil, are particularly healthy; see Mediterranean diet.
Barbecue or grilled meats, pita bread, hummus, and falafel are very popular forms of the eastern type of the cuisine. (Cooking basics)
Mediterranean cuisine is the food of the areas around the Mediterranean Sea.
Given the geography, these nation-states have influenced each other over time and the cooking evolved into sharing common principles. Mediterranean cuisine is characterized by its flexibility, its range of ingredients and its many regional variations. The terrain has tended to favour the raising of goats and sheep.
Mediterranian Cuisine in Dalmatia, Croatia.
Fish dishes are also common, although today much of the fish is imported since the fisheries of the Mediterranean Sea are weak.[citation needed] Seafood is still prominent in many of the
standard recipes.
Olive oil, produced from the olive trees prominent throughout Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Italy, Spain and other Mediterranean nations, adds to the distinctive taste of the food.
Garlic is also used throughout Mediterranean cuisine. It is widely believed that ingredients in this kind of cooking, especially olive oil, are particularly healthy; see Mediterranean diet.
Barbecue or grilled meats, pita bread, hummus, and falafel are very popular forms of the eastern type of the cuisine. (Cooking basics)
HOW TO COOK PASTA
HOW TO COOK PASTA
1. Fill a large stockpot with water. The more the better - pasta only sticks when cooked in too little water.
2. Add salt. Salt makes pasta taste better, and won't increase the sodium level of your recipes. Use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.
3. Bring the water to a rolling boil. This means a boil you can't stop by stirring.
4. Measure the pasta you need. Pasta generally doubles in size when cooked, so 1 cup uncooked = 2 cups cooked. Refer to the recipe if necessary.
5. Slowly add the pasta to the boiling water. Ideally, the water shouldn't stop boiling, but if that happens, it's ok.
6. Stir and stir some more! Pasta will stick together if it isn't stirred during the crucial first moments of cooking.
7. Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Most pastas cook in 8-12 minutes. Check the package directions!
8. You can regulate the heat so the pasta/water mixture doesn't foam up and over the pot sides. Lower it the tiniest bit, and everything should be under control.
9. Really the only way to tell if the pasta is correctly cooked is to taste it. It should be 'al dente' - firm, yet tender, with a tiny core in the middle.
10. You can also cut into a piece you've fished out of the pot. There shouldn't be any solid white in the center of the pasta - just a shading to more opaque cream.
11. Now drain the pasta into a colander placed into your kitchen sink. Lift the colander and shake off excess water.
12. Don't rinse if you're serving a hot dish. That removes the starch that helps hold the sauce. If you are making a cold salad, rinse so the salad isn't sticky.
Tips:
1. By covering the pot when you bring water to a boil, you are lowering the air pressure directly over the water, making it easier to boil.
2. Never mix pasta types in one pot.
3. Watch the cooking process carefully. Pasta can overcook very quickly.
4. If the pasta is to be used in a casserole, undercook it slightly. It will finish cooking to perfection while in the oven or skillet.
What You Need:
* stock pot
* pasta
* salt
* long handled spoon
* kitchen timer
1. Fill a large stockpot with water. The more the better - pasta only sticks when cooked in too little water.
2. Add salt. Salt makes pasta taste better, and won't increase the sodium level of your recipes. Use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.
3. Bring the water to a rolling boil. This means a boil you can't stop by stirring.
4. Measure the pasta you need. Pasta generally doubles in size when cooked, so 1 cup uncooked = 2 cups cooked. Refer to the recipe if necessary.
5. Slowly add the pasta to the boiling water. Ideally, the water shouldn't stop boiling, but if that happens, it's ok.
6. Stir and stir some more! Pasta will stick together if it isn't stirred during the crucial first moments of cooking.
7. Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Most pastas cook in 8-12 minutes. Check the package directions!
8. You can regulate the heat so the pasta/water mixture doesn't foam up and over the pot sides. Lower it the tiniest bit, and everything should be under control.
9. Really the only way to tell if the pasta is correctly cooked is to taste it. It should be 'al dente' - firm, yet tender, with a tiny core in the middle.
10. You can also cut into a piece you've fished out of the pot. There shouldn't be any solid white in the center of the pasta - just a shading to more opaque cream.
11. Now drain the pasta into a colander placed into your kitchen sink. Lift the colander and shake off excess water.
12. Don't rinse if you're serving a hot dish. That removes the starch that helps hold the sauce. If you are making a cold salad, rinse so the salad isn't sticky.
Tips:
1. By covering the pot when you bring water to a boil, you are lowering the air pressure directly over the water, making it easier to boil.
2. Never mix pasta types in one pot.
3. Watch the cooking process carefully. Pasta can overcook very quickly.
4. If the pasta is to be used in a casserole, undercook it slightly. It will finish cooking to perfection while in the oven or skillet.
What You Need:
* stock pot
* pasta
* salt
* long handled spoon
* kitchen timer
How To Cook Beef
How To Cook Beef
If you're like me, you are probably intimidated by a big chunk of beef. Did you purchase the right cut? How should you cook it? What happens inside the piece of meat while it cooks? And how can you best bring out the flavor and juiciness?
Most people serve large cuts of beef only on special occasions. A standing rib roast, a beef tenderloin, or pot roast is expensive and merits a formal occasion like a holiday or birthday. Your beef entree will be a huge success once you understand a bit about meat structure and how it cooks.
3L'S : Location, Location, Location
Meat is a muscle. Whether it has a lot of fat or a little, needs wet or dry heat to cook it, and is light or dark colored depends on its location on the animal. Fat, collagen, protein, sugar, and water behave in specific ways inside the beef muscle as it is prepared and cooked.
For beef, there are eight 'primal cuts'. At the top of the animal, starting near the head and going back toward the tail, they are chuck, rib, short loin, sirloin, and round. Underneath the animal, from front to back, they are brisket, plate, and flank. The tenderness or toughness of the cut depends on how much the animal has had to use the muscle. Therefore, cuts near the shoulder or leg, which are used often for movement, are going to be tougher. The muscles that are not used as much, in the center of the animal, include the rib, plate, and loin. These cuts are cooked in different ways to maximize flavor and tenderness.
A big problem with describing cuts of meat is that many butchers and grocers have their own names. For instance, a New York strip steak can also be called a Kansas City steak, Delmonico steak, boneless club steak, and shell steak. If you're unsure about the cut of meat that you're buying, ask the butcher. He or she will be happy to tell you where the cut came from. And as long as the 'primal cut' word is in the name of the cut, you can be pretty sure you know where the meat was located on the animal.
The Components of Meat
Beef is considered 'red meat' because the animal's muscles need so much oxygen as they work keeping the cow upright and moving it around. Myoglobin is the molecule that transports oxygen around the body; it is red in color, therefore the muscles which are used a lot contain a lot of myoglobin and will be deep red.
Protein, Water, Fat, Sugar, and Collagen
* When meat is cooked, protein molecules, which are tightly wound and connected to other molecules, first unwind. This is called 'denaturing', and all it means is that the proteins are relaxing and separating. Because proteins are attracted to each other, they almost immediately pair up with other proteins, forming bundles. This is called 'coagulating' or cooking. As more heat is applied, the bundles of protein shrink. Up to 120 degrees F, the bundles shrink in width. After 120 degrees F, the bundles begin to shrink in length as well.
* Water is also present in the muscles. Some of it is bound up with the proteins, fats, and sugars, and some is 'free water'. The amount of liquid left after the beef is cooked is directly related to the juiciness of the finished dish. As the protein bundles shrink and fat melts in the muscle, water molecules are squeezed out. Not too much water is squeezed out as the protein shrinks in width. But as the temperature increases over 120 degrees F and the bundles become shorter, more and more water is squeezed out and evaporated. That's why a well done piece of beef is so dry. Cooking times and temperatures must be controlled when cooking beef.
* Fat is flavor! A good cut of meat will have specks of white fat evenly distributed through the meat. Leaner cuts of beef, such as flank and round, have less fat and can benefit from marinades and dry rubs.
* Sugar plays an important role in beef, its finished color and flavor. Sugar and protein, when heated in an acid-free environment, combine to form complex molecules in a process called the Maillard Reaction. The wonderful crisp crust with its rich caramel flavors that form on a seared piece of beef are all from the Maillard Reaction. High heat is required for this reaction to occur; grilling and broiling are the best methods. You can also brown meats before cooking to start the Maillard Reaction, and you can broil roasts at the end of cooking time to achieve the same result.
* Other substances in meat include collagen and elastin. These are present in the hard working muscles of the animal. Collagen will melt as it is heated, turning into gelatin and becoming soft and melty. Elastin can only be broken down physically, as when you pound a cube steak before cooking or grind meat for hamburger. These compounds are found in the brisket, shank, chuck, and round primal cuts; in other words, the beef we cook as pot roasts and stews and hamburger.
If you're like me, you are probably intimidated by a big chunk of beef. Did you purchase the right cut? How should you cook it? What happens inside the piece of meat while it cooks? And how can you best bring out the flavor and juiciness?
Most people serve large cuts of beef only on special occasions. A standing rib roast, a beef tenderloin, or pot roast is expensive and merits a formal occasion like a holiday or birthday. Your beef entree will be a huge success once you understand a bit about meat structure and how it cooks.
3L'S : Location, Location, Location
Meat is a muscle. Whether it has a lot of fat or a little, needs wet or dry heat to cook it, and is light or dark colored depends on its location on the animal. Fat, collagen, protein, sugar, and water behave in specific ways inside the beef muscle as it is prepared and cooked.
For beef, there are eight 'primal cuts'. At the top of the animal, starting near the head and going back toward the tail, they are chuck, rib, short loin, sirloin, and round. Underneath the animal, from front to back, they are brisket, plate, and flank. The tenderness or toughness of the cut depends on how much the animal has had to use the muscle. Therefore, cuts near the shoulder or leg, which are used often for movement, are going to be tougher. The muscles that are not used as much, in the center of the animal, include the rib, plate, and loin. These cuts are cooked in different ways to maximize flavor and tenderness.
A big problem with describing cuts of meat is that many butchers and grocers have their own names. For instance, a New York strip steak can also be called a Kansas City steak, Delmonico steak, boneless club steak, and shell steak. If you're unsure about the cut of meat that you're buying, ask the butcher. He or she will be happy to tell you where the cut came from. And as long as the 'primal cut' word is in the name of the cut, you can be pretty sure you know where the meat was located on the animal.
The Components of Meat
Beef is considered 'red meat' because the animal's muscles need so much oxygen as they work keeping the cow upright and moving it around. Myoglobin is the molecule that transports oxygen around the body; it is red in color, therefore the muscles which are used a lot contain a lot of myoglobin and will be deep red.
Protein, Water, Fat, Sugar, and Collagen
* When meat is cooked, protein molecules, which are tightly wound and connected to other molecules, first unwind. This is called 'denaturing', and all it means is that the proteins are relaxing and separating. Because proteins are attracted to each other, they almost immediately pair up with other proteins, forming bundles. This is called 'coagulating' or cooking. As more heat is applied, the bundles of protein shrink. Up to 120 degrees F, the bundles shrink in width. After 120 degrees F, the bundles begin to shrink in length as well.
* Water is also present in the muscles. Some of it is bound up with the proteins, fats, and sugars, and some is 'free water'. The amount of liquid left after the beef is cooked is directly related to the juiciness of the finished dish. As the protein bundles shrink and fat melts in the muscle, water molecules are squeezed out. Not too much water is squeezed out as the protein shrinks in width. But as the temperature increases over 120 degrees F and the bundles become shorter, more and more water is squeezed out and evaporated. That's why a well done piece of beef is so dry. Cooking times and temperatures must be controlled when cooking beef.
* Fat is flavor! A good cut of meat will have specks of white fat evenly distributed through the meat. Leaner cuts of beef, such as flank and round, have less fat and can benefit from marinades and dry rubs.
* Sugar plays an important role in beef, its finished color and flavor. Sugar and protein, when heated in an acid-free environment, combine to form complex molecules in a process called the Maillard Reaction. The wonderful crisp crust with its rich caramel flavors that form on a seared piece of beef are all from the Maillard Reaction. High heat is required for this reaction to occur; grilling and broiling are the best methods. You can also brown meats before cooking to start the Maillard Reaction, and you can broil roasts at the end of cooking time to achieve the same result.
* Other substances in meat include collagen and elastin. These are present in the hard working muscles of the animal. Collagen will melt as it is heated, turning into gelatin and becoming soft and melty. Elastin can only be broken down physically, as when you pound a cube steak before cooking or grind meat for hamburger. These compounds are found in the brisket, shank, chuck, and round primal cuts; in other words, the beef we cook as pot roasts and stews and hamburger.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Two Methods of Cooking Beef
Cooking Basics...
The Two Methods of Cooking Beef
There are two methods for cooking meat: dry heat and wet heat.
Dry heat methods including:
Wet heat includes :
Most of us cook beef by the dry heat methods, along with pot roasting, stewing, and slow cooking.
You choose the cooking method depending on where the meat was located on the animal. Steaks, cut from the little-used center area of the animal, are naturally tender with little collagen and
elastin, so they cook best using dry heat and short cooking times. Rump or round roasts have more collagen so they need wet heat, and longer, slower cooking in order to melt the collagen.
Most solid cuts of beef are cooked in a two stage method. First, high heat produces the Maillard reactions and forms a flavorful crust on the surface. Then, slower cooking at a lower temperature
will evenly cook the meat through without overcooking the outer edges. If you are grilling a steak, divide your grill into a hot side and cooler side by controlling the number of briquette. Start the steak on the hot side to form a crust and pull it over to the cooler side to finish cooking. Roasts and stir fries use the same two stage method; first browned over high heat, then cooked with lower heat until the correct inner temperature is attained. You can also cook a roast with low heat in the oven, then turn on the broiler for the final few minutes to create a crisp flavorful crust.
In Balance
Cooking meat is all about finding the balance between reducing the moisture loss, and cooking long enough so collagen can melt into gelatin. That's why pot roasts and cuts that are braised are cooked slowly with low heat; you're trying to melt the collagen and reduce moisture loss. On the other hand, steaks have no collagen, so quick cooking at high temperatures creates that nice crust and preserves as much moisture as possible.
Searing meat before a longer cooking time does not seal in the juices. The crust that forms on the surface leaks! Searing is essential for creating the complex flavors that are so wonderful in a perfectly cooked cut of beef. The only way you can control the juiciness of a cut of beef is to control the cooking time and temperature. Other factors are beyond your control, including how the beef is aged and treated during handling and storage, so know your butcher.
The grain of meat also plays a factor in its cooking and serving. Flank and shoulder steaks, often sold as 'London Broil', are a single muscle and have a long, distinctive grain running along the
cut. These steaks must be cut perpendicular to the grain, or across the grain, cutting across the muscles. They will then be tender. If you cut these steaks with the grain they will be so tough as to be inedible.
You can marinate meats to add flavor and increase tenderness a little. Marinades contain acids, which break those protein bonds (denaturing the proteins). Marinades will not turn a tough piece of meat into a tender steak, however; it's more important to use the correct cooking method for the cut of meat. Marinades are best used to add flavor. Dry rubs are very good for adding flavor to meat, especially the crisp crust that forms when a steak is grilled.
Finally, standing time is a must when cooking any solid cut of beef. As the beef is heated, water is forced toward the center of the piece as well as evaporating from the edges. This water will be
easily squeezed out of the beef as pressure is applied with a knife. By covering the beef to retain heat and letting it stand for 5-10 minutes after cooking, the water will redistribute throughout the cut so it harder to squeeze out water from the pressure of cutting.
The Best Cuts
For grilling, broiling, and pan frying, the best cuts of meat are rib eye steaks, strip or shell steaks, and T bone, which contains both the strip and tenderloin steaks. Sirloin and round steaks are generally going to be tough and dry. Flank steaks are good when quickly cooked and sliced across the grain, as described above.
For roasting, top sirloin, tenderloin, standing rib roasts, and top rump roast are good candidates.
For stir frying, flank, top round, and sirloin steak are good. These cuts are best cooked quickly, and since elastin is broken because the meat is cubed, they are more tender.
For kebabs, tenderloin is the best bet. This mild cut absorbs flavors easily and it is very tender.
For pot roasting and braising, chuck and rump are the best cuts. These cuts have more collagen and need long, slow cooking in a wet environment to reach their optimum tenderness. Chuck has the most flavor and is the most tender.
For ground beef, chuck is the way to go. It has optimal amounts of fat and is tenderized mechanically by the grinding action. Most lean ground beef is chuck, but if you're not sure, ask!
Cooking basics...
The Two Methods of Cooking Beef
There are two methods for cooking meat: dry heat and wet heat.
Dry heat methods including:
- grilling,
- broiling,
- sauteing,
- roasting,
- stir frying, and
- deep frying.
Wet heat includes :
- braising,
- pot roasting,
- stewing,
- steaming,
- poaching, and
- slow cooking.
Most of us cook beef by the dry heat methods, along with pot roasting, stewing, and slow cooking.
You choose the cooking method depending on where the meat was located on the animal. Steaks, cut from the little-used center area of the animal, are naturally tender with little collagen and
elastin, so they cook best using dry heat and short cooking times. Rump or round roasts have more collagen so they need wet heat, and longer, slower cooking in order to melt the collagen.
Most solid cuts of beef are cooked in a two stage method. First, high heat produces the Maillard reactions and forms a flavorful crust on the surface. Then, slower cooking at a lower temperature
will evenly cook the meat through without overcooking the outer edges. If you are grilling a steak, divide your grill into a hot side and cooler side by controlling the number of briquette. Start the steak on the hot side to form a crust and pull it over to the cooler side to finish cooking. Roasts and stir fries use the same two stage method; first browned over high heat, then cooked with lower heat until the correct inner temperature is attained. You can also cook a roast with low heat in the oven, then turn on the broiler for the final few minutes to create a crisp flavorful crust.
In Balance
Cooking meat is all about finding the balance between reducing the moisture loss, and cooking long enough so collagen can melt into gelatin. That's why pot roasts and cuts that are braised are cooked slowly with low heat; you're trying to melt the collagen and reduce moisture loss. On the other hand, steaks have no collagen, so quick cooking at high temperatures creates that nice crust and preserves as much moisture as possible.
Searing meat before a longer cooking time does not seal in the juices. The crust that forms on the surface leaks! Searing is essential for creating the complex flavors that are so wonderful in a perfectly cooked cut of beef. The only way you can control the juiciness of a cut of beef is to control the cooking time and temperature. Other factors are beyond your control, including how the beef is aged and treated during handling and storage, so know your butcher.
The grain of meat also plays a factor in its cooking and serving. Flank and shoulder steaks, often sold as 'London Broil', are a single muscle and have a long, distinctive grain running along the
cut. These steaks must be cut perpendicular to the grain, or across the grain, cutting across the muscles. They will then be tender. If you cut these steaks with the grain they will be so tough as to be inedible.
You can marinate meats to add flavor and increase tenderness a little. Marinades contain acids, which break those protein bonds (denaturing the proteins). Marinades will not turn a tough piece of meat into a tender steak, however; it's more important to use the correct cooking method for the cut of meat. Marinades are best used to add flavor. Dry rubs are very good for adding flavor to meat, especially the crisp crust that forms when a steak is grilled.
Finally, standing time is a must when cooking any solid cut of beef. As the beef is heated, water is forced toward the center of the piece as well as evaporating from the edges. This water will be
easily squeezed out of the beef as pressure is applied with a knife. By covering the beef to retain heat and letting it stand for 5-10 minutes after cooking, the water will redistribute throughout the cut so it harder to squeeze out water from the pressure of cutting.
The Best Cuts
For grilling, broiling, and pan frying, the best cuts of meat are rib eye steaks, strip or shell steaks, and T bone, which contains both the strip and tenderloin steaks. Sirloin and round steaks are generally going to be tough and dry. Flank steaks are good when quickly cooked and sliced across the grain, as described above.
For roasting, top sirloin, tenderloin, standing rib roasts, and top rump roast are good candidates.
For stir frying, flank, top round, and sirloin steak are good. These cuts are best cooked quickly, and since elastin is broken because the meat is cubed, they are more tender.
For kebabs, tenderloin is the best bet. This mild cut absorbs flavors easily and it is very tender.
For pot roasting and braising, chuck and rump are the best cuts. These cuts have more collagen and need long, slow cooking in a wet environment to reach their optimum tenderness. Chuck has the most flavor and is the most tender.
For ground beef, chuck is the way to go. It has optimal amounts of fat and is tenderized mechanically by the grinding action. Most lean ground beef is chuck, but if you're not sure, ask!
Cooking basics...
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