Aim and Objectives of Cooking

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOKING FOOD
What does ‘cooking’ mean?
Can cuchumbers and salads be called ‘cooked foods’?
Cooking means exposing food materials to heat. The medium of transfer of heat
from its source could be water, air or oil. This will be dealt with in detail at a
later stage. First let us understand why we need to ‘cook’ food.
In the ancient times, human beings ate / consumed raw meats and other foods
like roots and fruits. It was much later after the fire was invented that the
concept of ‘cooking’ was known. It is believed that food accidentally fell in the
fire and thus the discovery of cooked food. Today we do eat some food in the
uncooked (raw) form; though, mostly we associate food with its cooked form.
Aims and objectives of cooking food
1. Making food safe for consumption – Cooking sterilizes food partially. The
growth of bacteria gets restricted at 40oC (104oF). Non-sporing bacteria are
killed at temperatures above 60oC (140oF). For example, pasteurization – milk is
made safe by holding it at 63oC (145oF) for 30 minutes or at 72oC (161oF) for 15
seconds. Boiling kills living cells. Spore-bearing bacteria take 4-5 hours of
boiling to be destroyed.
2. Making food more digestible – Complex foods are split into simpler
substances during cooking. The human body can absorb and utilize these more
readily.
3. Increasing palatability
4. Making food look better – Heat brings about changes in colour, texture and
overall appearance of the food, making it more appetizing.
5. Introducing variety – A single ingredient may be used in many different

ways, cooked by different methods and bring about changes in the meal.
6. Balancing a meal – Different ingredients combined in one dish make it easier

to provide a balanced meal – i.e. providing all the required vital nutrients to the
consumer.
ADVANTAGES OF COOKING
The following are the advantages of cooking:-
§ Cooking makes the food easy to chew.

§ Cooking softens the connective tissues in the meat and makes animal foods
more digestible.
§ Cooking makes the complex foods split into simpler
substances.
§ Cooking helps to kill harmful bacteria. It makes the food safe to eat.
§ Cooking preserves the food.
§ Cooking increases palatability. It improves taste and enhances the flavour.
§ A wide variety of dishes can be made by different methods of cooking ,
Boiling, frying, roasting, microwaving, baking, smoking, etc.
§ Cooking makes the dish more colorful. It develops new
flavors in food.
§ Cooking makes the food to appreciable texture.
§ Cooking makes food more appetizing
§ Cooking provides balanced meal.
§ Cooking adds more nutritive value to food.
Some Additional Information
B. Various textures:
As explained above, raw foods get exposed to some form of heat and then
are called ‘cooked’ for consumption. The term TEXTURE is used to
describe the characteristics of a finished (ready-to-eat) food product. The
final product will have a certain texture depending on
· the order in which ingredients are added
· the way of mixing
· the method of cooking
A correct texture has to be brought about in the food. The chef should not
only know the correct texture, but should be able to produce the same in
the food. The various textures which are listed down, are difficult to
explain in words, they should be felt and understood better. There are very
thin differences between some of these, which one should learn better
during practical.
1. Firm and close – biscuits and plain short pastries can explain this
texture. Raising agents are used while preparing these, but they do
not make the product very light or brittle. In fact they are hard as a
result of many tiny air bubbles created by raising agents. But the
biscuits are not too hard either, because of the fat included.
2. Short and crumbly – nankhatai and tarts are good examples of this
texture. Fat included is more than that in biscuits, so it breaks more
easily into smaller particles.
3. Spongy – Swiss rolls, sponge cakes, idli and dhokla are spongy. A
soft, elastic texture due to incorporation of more air results in this
texture.
4. Light – Madeira cake has plenty large holes in it, making it ‘light’. It
is firm, but not hard and tough. It is neither as short as a tart nor as
spongy as a Swiss roll.
5. Flaky – chiroti, lacchha paratha, chicken or veg puffs and khara

biscuits are flaky. Thin, crisp layers are formed by spreading fat in
between two layers of dough which get separated during baking /
frying and remain separated due to air pockets. The flakes by
themselves should not be tough / hard. Ideally the layers break easily
and melt in the mouth.
6. Coarse – large and uneven holes are a result of too much of the
raising agent or too little liquid. This is not a good texture to have in
food; in fact, it is something to be avoided. Such cakes and other
products are sunken at the centre.
7. Tough – too much liquid, over mixing, incorrect mixing, too little fat
and long cooking time could result in toughness in food. Mostly, like
the coarse texture, this also is to be avoided.
8. Hard – another texture which should be avoided as far as possible. In

fact, it is considered to be a fault in the product. Too much pressure while
mixing, excessive liquid in the product and incorrect quantity of fat result
in this texture. Air that is incorporated gets removed out of the mixture,
making the final product hard.
C. Various consistencies:
Like different textures found in solid foods (which are mentioned above),
different ‘consistencies’ are found in liquid foods.
Some substances flow readily, others resist flow and some require force or
weight application to start flow. The concept of consistency is closely
related to viscosity.
Factors affecting consistency of liquid are –
· concentration (of thickening agent)
· temperature
· degree of dispersion
· mechanical treatment
· time (how long is it after preparing)
Generally speaking, the following consistencies could be found in liquid
foods –
A. Pouring – like water and milk. These do not show any resistance and
flow easily / readily. Stocks and some thin soups like consommé are
examples of ‘cooked’ liquids having pouring consistency.
B. Coating – when a starchy thickening agent is mixed with a liquid, and the
mixture is heated, the starch gelatinizes. In case of a protein as a thickening
agent, it coagulates when exposed to heat. In both these cases, the liquid
starts to thicken. If a spoon is dipped in this mixture, it starts coating the
spoon. A thin film of the mixture could be seen in the beginning. Later on it
goes on becoming visibly thicker. Depending upon one / more factors listed
before, the thickening will take place up to a certain point. While making
basic custard, this will be understood better. Here, liquid is milk and
thickening is egg yolk. Similar coating consistency could be observed in
kadhi where liquid is buttermilk and thickening is gram flour (besan)
The liquid is proportionately more than the flour or thickening agent.
C. Dropping – when a liquid is added to dry flour, it forms lumps as only
some flour (granules) gets combined with liquid. Later, when added more
liquid, it converts into dough and with some more liquid, it turns into
‘batter’. Here, the amount of solid (flour) is more than the liquid. For
example, a cake mixture of fat, sugar, egg and flour is moistened with
water or milk. Only that much liquid is required which will make the
mixture fall out in a big moist smooth lump. The liquid should be dispersed
well to get a smooth mixture. When you make cake batter in the bakery
class, you will understand it better. Also, next time when you are waiting
for your (batata)vada-pav, don’t forget to observe the vender making and
using the batter.
D. Techniques used in pre-preparation:

Raw materials used in food production are mostly natural products. They
are available in various shapes and weights. For example, no two potatoes
or onions will be same in size, shape and weight. No two red pumpkins will
be of the same size, shape and weight. Preparing a finished product calls
for basic uniformity in size, shape and weight. This is the base for
uniformity in cooking and also the appearance of the food. Breaking down
the raw materials into required form is called ‘prepreparation’. Following
are a few prepreparation techniques –
· Washing – superficial dirt is removed during washing. Vegetables, fish,
meat and sometimes even eggs are washed with cold water before any other
process. These days this is done at the very entrance of the store to prevent
any dirt and mud entering in the store / kitchen / workplace. Water soluble
vitamins and minerals are lost if they are soaked for a long period of time
or washed after cutting.
· Peeling and scraping – spoilt, soiled and inedible portions are removed.
Skins of potatoes, carrots, radish or fruits can be removed by peeling.
Smaller ingredients like ginger, galangal are scraped. Peel off as little of the
fleshy part as possible. If vegetables like carrots are washed well, their
peels could be used for making stocks.
· Paring – remove surface layers by using a circular motion as in paring an
apple.
· Cutting – reducing to smaller parts with a knife or a pair of scissors.
When a chopping knife or a food chopper is used, it is termed as chopping.
Cutting into even size cubes --- --- --- dicing.
Cutting into very fine pieces --- --- --- mincing.
Cutting (especially green leafy vegetables &
cabbage) into fine, long pieces --- shredding.
Cutting into slightly thicker, flat pieces --- slicing.
· Grating – reducing to fine particles by rubbing over a rough, sharp
surface.
· Grinding – reducing to fine fragments by crushing in a mill, a grinding
stone or an ostirizer.
· Mashing – breaking up soft foods like cooked potatoes. {SMASHes are in
boxing, NOT is food production}
· Sieving – passing through a mesh to remove impurities or to break down
into even parts or to enclose air.
· Milling – used for cereals, to remove husk.
· Steeping – extracting colouring or / and flavouring by allowing
ingredients to stand in water at a simmering temperature.
· Centrifuging – Separate two parts of a substance by application of
whirling force like separation of cream from milk.
· Emulsification – Blending or mixing to non-mixable (insoluble) liquids by
application of force.
· Evaporation / Reduction – removal of moisture by heating.
· Homogenization – subdivision of large drops into smaller ones by forcing
them through a small opening under great pressure.
E. Techniques used in preparation:

When raw materials are ready to be cooked, they are sent to the
preparation area or hot section of the kitchen where it gets exposed to heat.
Following are some of the techniques in preparation. List may be enriched
as and when you start actual cooking.
· Stirring – this mixes two or more ingredients as they get cooked. Wooden
/ stainless steel flat spoons, round spoons, perforated spoons etc. of various
sizes could be used. Liquids as well as solid and semi-solid ingredients need
stirring. Generally it helps in even dispersion of heat leading to even
cooking.
· Masking – to prevent food from getting burnt in case of baking / roasting,
it needs to be masked with some other food material. It can also be done to
get a desired colour and appearance.
· Coating or dipping in batter – as mentioned earlier, batter is a mixture of
flour and liquid (mostly equal quantities). Certain foods are dipped in
batter and deep fried. The most apt example would be potato vadas. The
batter should coat the stuffing fully and not expose any stuffing. This needs
skill, because food should be dropped in hot oil immediately after dipping
in batter. So, in a split of a second, the process has to be completed. Thus,
the consistency of the batter plays a very important role.
· Basting – this is a technique which goes hand in hand with roasting. This
means to apply fat / butter on the food while being roasted. It helps by
protecting the surface from going dry and also by giving a pleasant brown
colour to the roasted food.
· Tadka / baghar – these terms and technique are used in Indian cuisine.
Oil is heated to the required temperature and certain spice ingredients are
added to it (which should crackle,) then the food (like cooked dal or
chopped vegetables) are combined with this. It develops additional taste
and flavour to the dish. A peculiar flavour which is the characteristic of the
dish can be added through the ingredients in the tempering.
Sometimes, continental dishes, especially rich soups and sauces are also
‘tempered’; but the technique is applied for a different purpose and using
different ingredients. A mixture of egg yolk and cream (liaison) is added to
a dish to enrich it, to give it a glaze and to make it smooth. A little of the
hot soup / sauce is first mixed with the liaison, and then it is slowly stirred
into the larger quantity of soup / sauce.
· Seasoning – seasonings bring about the natural taste and flavours of the
ingredients. No dish can be complete without seasonings.
· Flavouring – these are those ingredients which impart additional flavours
in the dishes. Nutmeg powder in creamed potatoes, cardamom powder in
Indian sweets like kheers, vanilla essence in vanilla buns are some of the
examples. Flavourings could be added in various forms – powders, drops
or whole spices (which are removed before serving the dish to guest).

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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOKING FOOD

What does ‘cooking’ mean?

Can cuchumbers and salads be called ‘cooked foods’?

Aims and objectives of cooking food

5. Introducing variety – A single ingredient may be used in many different

6. Balancing a meal – Different ingredients combined in one dish make it easier

The following are the advantages of cooking:-

§ Cooking makes the food easy to chew.

Some Additional Information

5. Flaky – chiroti, lacchha paratha, chicken or veg puffs and khara

8. Hard – another texture which should be avoided as far as possible. In

D. Techniques used in pre-preparation:

E. Techniques used in preparation:

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