Preparation Techniques for Specific Vegetables
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Are you meeting the BASICS of a sound Dining Program? Yes No 1. Have you had recent survey issues related to your dining program or resident nutritional status? 2. Are your dietary department policies current & followed? 3. Do you have a sound orientation training program? 4. Is your dining team trained properly on food safety? Personal hygiene Time and Temperature Control Cleaning and Sanitizing 5. Do you have planned menus? 6. Does your staff follow the menus & recipes? 7. Would you rate the quality of the food served in your healthcare community as good? 8. Would your residents rate the quality of food served in your healthcare community as good? 9. Do you feel the community perception of the dining program is positive? 10. Does your company have a standard or policy for customer service? Is your dining team performing to company service standards? Basics to Brilliance Language Much of the terminology that we are familiar with using has become basic, but we want people to be “wowed” by your brilliant community. Below you will find the basic language on the left hand side of the paper. On the right, you will find a “brilliant” term that has been scrambled. Use the space provided to unscramble the brilliant term using the basic term as a clue. Basic Language Brilliant Language Unscrambled Nursing Home YOMMNUICT ____________________ Wing ODGIENHOBRHO ____________________ Dietary Department IIDGNN SVRCESIE ____________________ Dining Room TSEUAATNRR ____________________ Nourishment NKASC ____________________ Bib PKNIAN ____________________ 14 Hour Rule MEODEFR FO HCEOCI ____________________ Meals on Wheels MGUROET NO THE OG ____________________ Room Tray MORO ERCSEVI ____________________ Dietary Manager NIARCLUY RADTIONOCO ____________________ Alternate SWYLAA VBILAELA ____________________ Tray Card GTEUS IEKTCT ____________________ CUTTING FRESH VEGETABLES AND FRESH HERBS Make all vegetable cuts uniform in shape and size, so that they cook evenly and have a neat attractive appearance. The best dishes begin with the best-quality produce. Review the information about purchasing and handling produce found in Chapter Eight. Handle fresh produce carefully to maintain its flavor, color, and nutritional value throughout all stages of preparation and cooking. One key to preserving quality in produce is to perform all cutting tasks as close as possible to cooking time. Another important factor is the ability to select the right tool for the job, and to keep that tool in proper working condition. A steel should be on hand whenever you are cutting any food to periodically hone the knife’s blade as you work. PEELING VEGETABLES All fresh produce, even if it will be peeled before cutting, has to be washed well. Washing removes surface dirt and bacteria and other contaminants that might otherwise come into contact with cut surfaces by way of a knife or peeler. For the best shelf life, wash vegetables as close to preparation time as possible. Not all vegetables require peeling before cooking, but when it is necessary, use a tool that will evenly and neatly remove the skin without taking off too much of the edible flesh. Some vegetables and fruits have relatively thin skins or peels. Examples include, carrots, parsnips, asparagus, apples, pears, and potatoes. Use a swivel-bladed peeler for these thin-skinned vegetables. These peelers can be used in both directions, so that the skin or peel is removed on both the downward and upward strokes. A pairing knife can be used in place of a peeler in some instances. Hold the blade’s edge at a 20-degree angle to the vegetable’s surface and shave the blade just under the surface to remove thin layer. Vegetables are trimmed to remove roots, cores, stems, or seeds. They may also be trimmed by slicing away one side of a round vegetable. This makes vegetable cutting tasks safer, since the vegetable will not roll or slip as it is cut. To produce very regular and precise cuts, such as julienne, or dice, cut a slice from each side of both ends of the vegetable to make an even rectangle or square. CHOPPING Coarse chopping is generally used for mirepoix or similar flavoring ingredients that are to be strained out of the dish and discarded. It is also appropriate when cutting vegetables that will be pureed. Trim the root and stem ends and peel the vegetables if necessary. Slice or cut through the vegetables at nearly regular intervals until the cuts are relatively uniform. This need not be a perfectly neat cut, but all the pieces should be roughly the same size. MINCING Mincing is the very fine cut that is suitable for many vegetables and herbs. Rinse and dry herbs well, and strip the leaves from the stems. Gather the leaves in a pile on cutting board. Use your guiding hand to hold them in place. Position the knife so that it can slice through the pile. Coarsely chop. Once the herds are coarsely chopped, use the fingertips of your guiding hand to hold the tip pf the chef’s knife in contact with the cutting board. Keeping the tip of the blade against the cutting board, lower the knife firmly and rapidly, repeatedly cutting through the herbs. Continue cutting until desired fineness is attained. CHIFFONADE/SHREDDING The chiffonade cut is used for leafy vegetables and herbs. The result is a fine shred, often used as a garnish or as a bed. When cutting tight heads of greens such as Belgian endive or head cabbage, core the head and cut it in half, or quarters if it is large, to makes cuts easier. For greens with large leaves, such as romaine, roll individual leaves into cylinders before cutting. Stack smaller leaves, such as basil, one on the top of the other, then roll them into cylinders and cut. Use a chef’s knife to make very fine, parallel cuts to produce fine shreds. To shred or grate larger quantities, use a box grater or a food processor fitted with grating disks. An electric slicer can be used to shred cabbages, and head lettuce. JULIENNE AND BATONNET Julienne and batonnet are long, rectangular cuts. Related cuts are the standard pommes frites and pommes pont neuf cuts ( both are names for French fries) and the allumette ( or match stick) cut. The difference between these cuts is the final size. Trim and square off the vegetables by cutting a slice to make four straight sides. Cut both ends to even the block off. These initial slices make it easier to produce even cuts. The trimmings can be used for stocks, soups, pur’ees, or any preparation where the shape is not important. Slice the vegetables lengthwise, using parallel cuts of he desired thickness. (See the table at left for dimensions) Stack the slices, aligning the edges, and make parallel cuts of the same thickness through the stack. DICING Dicing produces cube shapes. Different preparations require different sizes of dice. The names given to the different size dice are fine brunoise/brunoise, and small, medium and large dice. The table at left list the dimensions. Trim and cut the vegetables as for julienne or batonnet. Gather the julienne or batonnet pieces and cut through them crosswise at the evenly spaced intervals. MAKING PAYSANNE/FERMIER CUTS Cuts produce in the paysanne (peasant) and fermiere (farmer) style are generally used in dishes intended to have a rustic or home-style appeal. When used for traditional regional specialties, they may be cut in such a way that the shape of the vegetable’s curved or uneven edges still apparent in the finished cut. However, it is important to cut them all the same thickness so they will cook evenly. In order to feature paysanne or fermiere cuts as an ingredient in a slassical dish or for a more upscale setting, square off the vegetable first and make large batonnet, 3/4 in/20 mm thick. Cut the batonnet crosswise at 1/8 in 4 mm intervals. For a more rustic presentation, cut the vegetables into halves, quarters, or eights, depending on its size. The pieces should be roughly similar in dimensions to a bonnet. Make even, thin crosswise cuts at roughly 1/8-in/4-mm intervals MAKING DIAMONDS/LOZENGE CUTS The diamond, or lozenge cut is similar to the paysanne. Instead of cutting batonnet, thinly slice vegetable, then cut into strips of the appropriate width. Trim and thinly slice the vegetable. Cut the slices into strips of the desired width. Make an initial bias cut to begin. This will leave some trim (reserve the trim for sue in preparations that do not require a neat, decorative cut). Continue to make bias cuts, parallel to the first one. MAKING ROUNDS/RONDELLES Rounds, or rondelles, are simple to cut. Just cut a cylindrical vegetable, such as a carrot or cucumber, crosswise. The basic round shape can be varied by cutting the vegetable on the bias to produce an elongated or oval disk or by slicing it in half for half moons. If the vegetable is scored with a channel knife, flower shapes are produced. Trim and peel the vegetable if necessary. Mark parallel slicing cuts through the vegetable at even intervals. MAKING DIAGONAL/BIAS CUTS This cut is often used to prepare vegetables for stir fries and other Asian-style dishes because it exposes a greater surface area and shortens cooking time. To make a diagonal cut, place the peeled or trimmed vegetable on the work surface. Hold the blade so that it is cutting through the food with an angle. The wider the angle, the more elongated the cur surface will be. Continue making parallel cuts, adjusting the angle of the blade so that all the pieces are approximately the same size.