Types and Uses Butter – As a Spread, Cakes, Biscuits, Sauces, Fudge
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Fats and oils have the same chemical structure. Fats which are liquid at Types and uses room temperature are called oils. Fats and oils are insoluble in water. Butter – as a spread, cakes, Fats and oils carry flavour, odour and fat soluble vitamins. They all have biscuits, sauces, fudge, pastry, different functional and sensory characteristics. ice cream Ghee – frying Characteristics Lard – pastry, frying, roasting • Butter – butter is not a pure fat, but an emulsion of water in oil. Suet – suet pudding, • Lard – comes from pigs’ fat. It is a useful shortening agent due to its dumplings, jam roly poly, plasticity. sweet mincemeat • Dripping – is the fat which the meat ‘drips’, from being roasted. It Dripping – basting, as a has the flavour of meat. spread • Suet – the fat around the organs of animals such as ox and sheep. It Sunflower oil, soya oil, corn is solid and hard. oil, olive oil – margarine, • Fish oils – have a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids. frying, salad dressing, • Vegetable oils – may be a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids and ice cream usually contain natural antioxidants which resist rancidity. Fish oil – margarine, capsules • Margarine – is a solid emulsion of water in oil with a fat content (e.g. vitamin supplements) between 80% and 90%. Coconut oil – cream filling in • Low fat spreads – these spreads do not meet the minimum fat level biscuits (80%)to be called margarine. Water is used to bulk out the spread. Duck/goose fat – roasting Functional properties • Shortening – products such as shortcrust pastry, biscuits and shortbread rely on fat to coat the flour particles and prevents moisture absorption. This inhibits gluten formation which gives the products their characteristic crumbly or short texture. EU Cooking Corner • Plasticity – is where fats do not melt immediately but soften over a Why not try making some of range of temperatures (unique to each fat). Some fats have been the following EU foods to formulated so their melting points are low and they are spreadable help you learn to cook with straight from the fridge e.g. soft margarine. fats and oils? • Retention of moisture – some fats can help retain a bakery product’s • Croissant moisture and increase its shelf-life. They may also be used to baste • Greek salad with olive oil foods cooked by dry heat. dressing • Mincemeat with suet in Storage mince pies Fats should be stored in a cool place, covered and away from strong odours. They should be packaged to prevent oxidation. Oils should be stored at ambient temperatures in sealed containers. Oils that have been used need to be strained to remove impurities to prevent oxidation. Oils that have been used for deep frying frequently should be discarded. © CommNet 2014 Many different animals are consumed across the EU. The species, Types of meat breed, age and part of the animal are all factors which contribute to Beef/veal – e.g. rump steak, the sensory and nutritional qualities of meat. Cuts of meat which are brisket, loin of veal from muscle areas which do a lot of work will need longer, slower cooking methods (e.g. stewing). Cuts of meat from muscle areas not so heavily used by the animal can be cooked more quickly (e.g. stir- frying). Meat from the muscles of younger animals is tender as the muscles have been used less. Meat is a source of protein. The EU research project PROteINSECT is looking at the use of insect protein Lamb/mutton – e.g. chops, as a sustainable source of protein for animal feed and human shoulder, shank nutrition. Pork/bacon – e.g. chops, gammon steak, spare ribs Characteristics Poultry – e.g. chicken, duck, • Tenderness – some varieties of meat are tough and may be hard goose to cut or chew. Tenderness can be improved by: mechanical Offal – e.g. kidney, liver, tripe action; chemical action; hydration (e.g. using an acidic solution to Game – e.g. pheasant, rabbit, marinade meat) and cooking. venison. • Colour change – the colour of meat is due to a mixture of pigment There is also a market for horse in the muscle. The main pigment is called myoglobin. Muscles and goat meat in some contain varying proportions of pigments. Muscles used for European countries. physical activity contain large quantities and are darker in colour. • Red meat – as red meat is cooked the myoglobin changes from a Meat Products purple red to a greyish brown in colour. A wide variety of meat products • White meat – poultry has less connective tissue than red meat so are readily available, e.g. is usually more tender. The legs and wings, which do the most curries, pies, burgers and paté. work, tend to be darker and tougher due to the myoglobin Gelatine and stock cubes are present. Other parts of the bird, e.g. breast, have less myoglobin by-products of the meat and therefore become white during cooking. processing industry. • Game – game is generally tougher than poultry, beef, pork and lamb, due to their wild nature and having an active life. EU Cooking Corner • Offal – offal is defined as any part of a dead animal other than the Why not try making some of carcass meat (except hide and skin). It includes kidney, brain, the following EU foods to help tongue, tail and feet. you learn to cook with meat? • Hamburger steak (Hakkebøf) • Pork chop (Kotlet schabowy) Storage • Spaghetti bolegnese Fresh meat should be eaten within a few days of purchase or frozen. It should be covered and stored in the bottom of the refrigerator away from food which will not be cooked before being eaten, to avoid cross contamination. © CommNet 2014 Types Milk: Milk has been derived from many types of mammals and Animal milk – cows: fresh milk put to different uses over the centuries. This has resulted in (whole, semi-skimmed, skimmed), the development of a number of by-products of milk itself, dried, UHT, condensed, ewes’, including butter, cheese, cream and yogurt. Commonly goats consumed animal milks include cows’, ewes’ and goats’ Non-animal milk – soya, almond, milk. A range of non-animal milks are now available hazelnut, coconut, hemp, oat, rice including rice, oat, soya, hemp, coconut, almond and hazelnut milk. Milk products: Cream – single, whipping, double, Processing clotted, sour, crème fraiche Most milk undergoes some form of heat processing such as Cheese – Brie, Gouda, Stilton, pasteurisation, sterilisation or ultra high temperature (UHT) Cheddar, Cottage, Ricotta treatment to ensure harmful micro-organisms are Yogurt – Greek, bio, set, natural, destroyed before the milk is consumed and to improve flavoured keeping qualities. Butter – unsalted, salted, flavoured (e.g. garlic) Characteristics • Milk – when heated, a skin may develop on the surface of milk due to the coagulation of proteins. To avoid this, the milk should be agitated (e.g. whisked). • Cheese – overcooking can cause cheese to become tough and rubbery as the protein shrinks and squeezes out fat and water (syneresis). When adding cheese to sauces, grate or cut into small pieces and add at the end EU Cooking Corner of cooking so it can melt quickly, without any lumps. Why not try making some of the • Butter – butter can be used for a variety of functions following EU foods to help you including aeration (e.g. in cake making), shortening (e.g. learn to cook with milk and milk in shortcrust pastry making), flavouring (e.g. in sauces) products? and for the retention of moisture (e.g. in bakery • Blancmange products. • Lasagne • Bread and butter pudding Storage Most milk and milk products should be stored in a refrigerator to slow down the growth of micro-organisms e.g. mould growth on cheese. Milk, cheese and yogurt, once opened, should be stored and used by the ‘use by date’ on the packaging. © CommNet 2014 There are many different types of fish available in European seas. Types Fish move across borders and seas, and fishing fleets have done the Freshwater – e.g. salmon, same for centuries. As the activities of each fishing fleet affect the trout opportunities of other fleets, the EU countries manage their fisheries in collaboration through the common fisheries policy. Aquaculture (farming finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants) accounts for Sea water: approximately 20% of fish production in Europe. Pelagic – These swim near to the surface of the sea e.g. Characteristics herring, mackerel, sprat, • Fat content – oily fish have more than 5% fat in their flesh, e.g. sardines sardines, salmon. White fish have less than 5% fat in their flesh, e.g. cod and halibut. • Tenderness – fish muscle is composed of short segments of fibres therefore does not need to be tenderised. The segments are easily Demersal – These swim close broken and care needs to be taken when preparing and cooking to the sea bead, e.g. cod, fish. haddock, plaice and sole • Cooking – fish can be cooked very easily and quickly. Cooking Shellfish – molluscs e.g. improves colour and flavour whilst destroying harmful bacteria. cockles, winkles and mussels, Some fish is eaten raw, e.g. sushi. and crustaceans e.g. scampi, • Preservation – fish begin deteriorating as soon as they are caught. prawn and crab. Most fish are put on ice or frozen to halt this process and increase their shelf-life. Possible methods of preservation include salting, marinating, drying, smoking, canning and freezing. There is also a market for squid Processing and octopus in some EU Fish can be reformed into blocks and frozen. These blocks are usually countries. made of fillets. Minced fish, which can be used to fill up space in fillet blocks, comes from the trimming of fillets and recovery from the skeleton. EU Cooking Corner Why not try making some of the following EU foods to help you learn to cook with fish? Fish products • Fried plaice (Stegt Much of the fish that is bought by consumers has been processed, rødspætte) such as frozen fillets or manufactured coated fish products (e.g.