Maybe we never thought about it, but we should know that there are millions of people that suffer from foodborne illnesses every year. And we should also know that most of these cases actually can be prevented using proper food hygiene techniques, proper food safety management as well. Applying these techniques will safeguard the health and also unlock lot of culinary possibilities which allow us, in the end, allow us to create delicious and high nutrition meals with more confidence.
In this post we will try to guide you through the essentials and if. and effective food preparation techniques that you can use to be informed and to be more skilled chef. It will start from understanding the basic food safety principles and will go through various cooking methods and various techniques that you can use to improve the flavor of the cuisine. this will improve your culinary technique and also. enhance the overall well-being.
The Cornerstones of Food Safety
Everybody loves delicious fried chicken, at least apparently so. But nobody wants to have struck by foodborne illnesses just after eating the chicken. From this scenario, we can be sure that everyone prioritizes the help and safety of the foot be for the taste itself. And to avoid this unfortunate scenario where we can get poisoned by foodborne illnesses, we have to apply for fundamental principles in preparing food.
Clean: Make sure to hand was first before doing any cooking related activity, because this is the 1st line of defense against many toxic bacteria. Simply was the hand with a soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. Increasing it to 30 seconds is also recommended. Sanitize the cutting board, the counter tops, the utensils, especially after you have a contact with raw meat, or anything that has fat in it. What about fruits and vegetables? Of course, we need to rinse fruits and vegetables under running water before we consume them or prepare them.
Separate: Do not combine many types of food into a single container or single location. Raw meats, poultry, seafood and eggs may contain bacteria that can contaminate other foods. Thus, we will have to separate those from other foods. Always use separate cutting boards and separate utensils for these items. And for storage, you have to store the raw meat on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to prevent any dripping liquid from it to contaminate other foods.
Cook: Try to minimize the bacteria by cooking the food correctly. This step is very crucial because if we cook the food to the correct internal temperature, it will kill a lot of harmful bacteria. How to measure the internal temperature? Try to invest in a food thermometer and use it to ensure the food that we cook reach safe temperatures. The standard guide is 74 Celsius for poultry, 71 Celsius for ground beef, And 63 Celsius for fish
Chill: Chilling, the inverse of heating, can also be applied to prevent the harmful bacteria. We can try to refrigerate foods promptly after we purchase or cooking. Generally, bacteria will multiply rapidly between 4 Celsius to 60 Celsius, so it’s really commended to avoid this temporary range to store the food. It is really recommended to freeze the foot in refrigerator if possible. And thaw/defrost foods in running water. or in the microwave, not in room temperature.
Mastering Essential Techniques
Not only about the food safety measures, but we also need to master the basic cooking techniques to create delicious and appealing dishes. What are the cooking techniques that we need to master. Here are some.
Knife Skills: One of the most important fundamental skills in the cooking world is the knife skills. There are subsets of these skills like diching, chopping and mincing to ensures even cooking, and also enhance the presentation of the meals. So, we better learn this skill early in our journey of food cooking story.
Cooking Methods: There are some cooking methods that we can use to get the desired outcomes. However, mostly we can define the cooking methods into two parts.:
- Dry Heat Methods: This is associated with something like roasting, baking, grilling, sautéing and frying. This will be really helpful if we want to make the food tender and brown.
- Moist Heat Methods: Different from the previous technique. This one will make the food moist and not dry. This includes techniques like boiling, steaming, poaching and braising. This technique is really useful to cook and cut tougher cuts of meat and vegetables and at the same time retain the moisture.
Flavor and Nutrition: A Winning Combination
If we can’t prepare the food properly, it will unlock the full potential of the food. What we mean by default potential is it will be healthy and also delicious. There are some points that we have to make sure to get into this part, namely:
Seasoning: Try to experiment with multiple types of herbs, spices and peer to enhance the flavor of the food that we cook. And also, don’t afraid to try the things our flavors that we have not tried before because this can let us know and understand many different flavors. This new knowledge will enable us to be more creative in deciding the flavor of our dishes.
Balancing Flavors: Never overuse one type of flavor like too sweet, too sour, too salty, too bitter, etc. We should use the various flavors in the correct way. The lensing is the key. We have to combine all of the flavors available in a harmonious combination.
Nutrient Retention: Food is not just about the flavor. It also needs to fulfill our need of nutrient. And luckily, in cooking process, some nutrition can be lost or even completely gone. Therefore, it is a good habit and good technique if we can improve the nutrient retention in our foods. To do this, we have to choose the correct way to process the food and use the best way to retain the nutrient. For example, if we try to steam vegetables then it will be more beneficial for the body of human, because this way of cooking is better to retain more vitamins and minerals compared to boiling.
Healthy Substitutions: Still about nutrition. Food is not for the tongue only, but it is for the whole body. Therefore, we have to try to make the food as healthy as possible. One way we can do that is to substitute some unhealthy ingredients like too much fat, too much sugar, too much sodium without sacrificing the flavor. We can try to use the whole wet flour instead of white flour. We can also try to use Greek yogurt instead of a sour cream. And we can try to use natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup in moderation.
Conclusion
Preparing food properly is a really basic and fundamental skill that will help us, empower us, to take control of the health of the culinary journey. Adhere to the food hygiene and food safety principles, master the essential techniques and explore. the art of flavors and try to preserve nutrition. By doing all of this, we can make our kitchen become the central of delicious and wholesome new creations of food. We will have an enjoyable cooking experience. Become more confidence. We come on experimental. While at the same, we can savor the end result: Delicious and healthy meal that satisfy our palate and preserve our well-being.
