COOKING BASICS

Mise-en-Place

This is a French term meaning "everything in its place" and refers to proper efficient preparation for any task. Before beginning production of any recipe, the recipe should be read in its entirety. Then, the associate workstation should be set-up, as described below, as well as retrieving, at one time, most of the ingredients necessary to complete the recipe. This must be done prudently, of course, as it is not suggested to remove meat or or other highly perishable items from the coolers until neccesary.

Workstation Set-Up

Each food preparation area should be equipped with the following before beginning production:

• Cutting board mat to keep the cutting board from sliding
• Cutting board of the proper color
• Knife (appropriate type for the task at hand)
• Clean towels
• Recipe
• Measuring and other Utensils as indicated by the recipe

Kitchen Terminology

The following are some of the most frequently used Kitchen terms. A more detailed narrative on food appears in the "Foodology" Training Module.

Cooking Techniques:

- Dry-Heat Cooking Methods: Use air or fat to cook food; includes broiling, grilling, roasting, baking, sauteing, pan-frying, and deep frying; results in a rich flavor caused by browning,

• Broiling: uses radiant heat from a source placed above the food.
• Grilling: uses a radiant heat source located beneath the cooking surface; can be electric or gas, or can burn wood or charcoal for added flavor.
• Roasting/Baking: Process of surrounding food with a dry-heating air in a closed environment, i.e , an oven.
• Sauteing: transfers heat from a hot saute pan to the food using a small amount of fat; uses high temperatures; generally for small pieces of food; means 'Jumps' in French to indicate the periodic motion of tossing the food to promote even cooking.
• Pan-frying: transfers heat from a hot pan to the food using a moderate amount of fat; foods are usually breaded first and are 1/4 to 1/2 submersed in the fat.
• Deep-frying: cooks food by total submersion in hot fat (between 163'C and 193'C; foods are usually first coated in better or breading to preserve moisture and prevent food from absorbing large amounts of fat.

- Moist-Heat Cooking Methods: use water or steam to cook food; includes poaching, simmering,boiling, and steaming; used to emphasize the natural flavors of food.

•  Poaching: food is submerged in a flavored liquid at a temperature between 71'C and 190'C and cooked gently; the liquid should show only slight movement, but no bubbles; used often for fish or fruit.
• Simmering: food is submerged in a flavored liquid at a temperature between 85'C and 96'C; causes small bubbles.
• Boiling: Food is submeged in large amounts of rapidly bubbling liquid at a temperature of approximately 100'C; used for pasta and potatoes.
• Steaming: Heat is transferred from the steam to the food being cooked, which is placed above the boiling liquid; food should not touch the liquid; alternatively, convection steamers that use pressurized steam in a enclosed chamber can be used suitable for vegetables and rice. 

Combination Cooking Methods: use a combination of dry- and moist-heat cooking methods; includes braising and stewing.

• Braising: A cooking method in which the main item, usually a large piece of meat, is browned in a small amount of fat, partially submerged in stock or another flavored liquid in a covered vessel, then slowly simmered and steamed until cooked; can be gone on the stovetop or in the oven; great for tough, fibrous cuts of meat which become tenderized by the slow cooking process; used for brisket and lamb shanks
• Stewing: Similiar to braising, but is usually associated with smaller pieces of food that are first either browned in a small amount of fat, or blanced in a liquid; then finished cooking by being totally immersed in a liquid or sauce and simmered.

Knife Cuts (see illustrations below):

Chop: To cut into pieces of roughly the same size.

Dice: To cut ingredients into small cubes.

Julienne: To cut into thin strips.

Mince: To finely chop into very small pieces.

Other Terms:

• Blanch: To cook an item briefly and partially in boiling water or hot fat before finishing or storing it.
• Brine: A solution of water, salt and or sugar, and seasonings used to preserve and flavor foods.
• Caramelization: The process of browning sugar in the presence of heat. The temperature range in which sugar camarelizes is approximately 160'C to 182'C. The sugars do not have to be added they can be naturally present in the product.
• Cure: To preserve a food by salting, smoking and/or drying.
• Egg Wash: A mixture of beaten eggs and a liquid used to coat baked goods to give them sheen.
• FIFO/First-In , First-out: A fundamental storage principle based on stock rotation. Products are stored and used so the oldest product is always used first.
• Garnish: An edible decoration or accompaniment to the dish.
• Glaze: To give an item a shiny surface by brushing it with a sauce.
• Shelf Life: The amount of time in storage that a product can maintain quality.
• Vinaigrette: A cold sauce of oil and vinegar, usually with various flavorings.

Kitchen Tools

The following is a list of the most commonly used kitchen tools and utensils;

• Cheesecloth: loosely woven cotton gauze used for straining stocks and sauces and making herb and other flavoring sachets; must be rinsed before using to remove lint.
• Chinois and China Cap: cone-shaped metal strainers that allow liquids to filter through small openings; chinois is made from a for straining stocks and sauces.
• Cookware: 

1. Hotels Pans: rectangular stainless steel pans used to hold food for service in steam tables, to roast items, and to steam items in the oven or streamer; also available perforated; standard size is 12 by 20 inches, with pans one-half, one-third, one-sixth, etc. available; depth is either 2,4,6, or 8 inches. 
2. Pots: used on the stovetop for making soups and stocks, or for boiling and simmering foods; available in a variety of size based on volume.
3. Pans: used for general stovetop cooking, such as sauteing and pan-frying.
4. Woks: commonly used in Asian cooking; has a round bottom and curved sides to diffuse heat quickly.

• Colanders: a perforated bowl, with or without a base or legs, used to strain foods. 
• Instant-Read Steammed Thermometer: used to measure the internal temperature of food; must be calibrated daily. 
• Knives:

1. Boining Knife: Knife with a thin balde used to separate meat from the bone; blade may be flexible or rigid and is usually 5 to 7 inches long.
2. French or Chef's knife: all purpose knife used for chopping, slicing, and mincing; usually with an 8 to 14 inch long blade; wide at the heel and tapers to a point at the trip. 
3. Paring Knife: short knife used for detail work or cutting fruits and vegetables with a 2 to 4 inch rigid blade.
4. Slicer: long knife with a blade used primarily for slicing cooked meat; tip can be round or pointed and flaxible or rigid; also comes serrated for slicing breads.

• Ladles: used to portion and scoop liquids, such as soups, sauces, stocks; capacity, in ounces, is stamped on the handle.
• Measuring Cups (liquid and dry) and Spoons: used to measure ingredients in recipes.
• Meat Mallet: used to tenderize meat or pound it into very thin pieces.
• Parchement Paper: used as a liner on sheet pans to avoid food sticking to the pan.
• Portion Scale: used to determine the weight of an ingredients or a portion of food. 
• Portion Scoop: used to portion soft floods, such as batters or salads; come with a lever-operated blade to release the contents; the number of level scoopfuls per quart is stamped on either the handle or release mechanism.
• Sharpening Stone/Whetstone: used to put an edge on a dull blade. 
• Skimmer and Spider: long-handled tools used to remove foods or impurietes from liquids; spider has a finer mesh disk.
• Spatulas metal or rubber
• Spoons (perforated, plain and slotted)
• Steel: used to hone or straighten a blade immediately after and between sharpening; does not sharped a knife.
• Whisks available in different sizes
• Table-Mounted Can Opener 
• Timers
• Tongs Available in different sizes 
• Tomato Star (or Shark): used to remove the core from a tomato 
• Vegetable Peelers
• Zesters: used to remove the outer skin from citrus fruit.