Assignment

Principles of Poultry Cookery

1. Fat distribution and maturity of the fowl affect the quality of the product. Mature birds are best cooked using moist heat. Dry heat is
suitable for young birds.
2. The best cooking temperature for poultry is at low to moderate heat.
3. To prevent the risk of microbial contamination, stuffing of turkey and chicken should be done immediately before roasting.
4. Because of its susceptibility to microbial growth, cooked poultry should be eaten immediately or refrigerated if not consumed.
Leftover stuffing should be stored separately to prevent contamination.
5. Because poultry meat is pale-colored, it is best to employ dry heat cooking with fat for a brown color.
6. When roasting a chicken, cuts should be placed with the breast-side down to produce a juicier and tender product.
7. To improve the palatability of lean poultry meat, basting can be done.

Causes Of FOOD SPOILAGE CONTAMINATION

 Failure to properly refrigerate food.
 Failure to thoroughly heat or cook food.
 Infected employees/workers because of poor personal hygiene practices.
 Foods prepared a day or more before they are served.
 Raw, contaminated ingredients incorporated into foods that receive no further cooking.
 Cross-contamination of cooked foods through improperly cleaned equipment.
 Failure to reheat the foods to temperature that kills bacteria.
 Prolonged exposure to temperatures favorable to bacterial growth.

Moist-Heat Cooking Methods

In moist-heat cooking methods, liquid or steam is used to cook the food. Flavored liquids, such as broth or wine, can be used as the heat
transfer medium and will also add flavor during the cooking process. Leftover liquids from the cooking process can also be used to make
sauce or stock.

Moist heat methods are particularly useful for softening tough fibers, such as meat protein or plant cellulose. Conversely, the softening
effect can be detrimental to some food, therefore making moist-heat a poor choice

Blanching

- Blanching involves dropping food into boiling water briefly and then immediately halting the cooking process by submerging the food
into ice water. Blanching is used to loosen the skin on fruit and vegetables and to halt enzymatic action that causes fruit and
vegetables to deteriorate. Fruit and vegetables are often blanched prior to freezing to maintain their color and freshness during
storage.
Boiling

- At sea level, water boils at 212 degrees F. Boiling water has large, vigorous bubbles, which can disrupt or damage delicate foods.
Boiling is used to cook stronger, hearty foods such as beans, pasta, or tough vegetables. Because of the high heat involved, boiling is
usually a relatively quick cooking method.

Braising

- Braising involves simmering large cuts of meat in a small amount of liquid in a covered dish. Keeping the braising dish covered traps
moisture within and helps intensify the flavors. Liquids used for braising are often wine, stock, or the meat's own juices.

Poaching

- Partially or fully submerging food into water or another liquid that has reached 160 to 180 degrees F is called poaching. Water at this
temperature is hotter than scalding but is not vigorously bubbling like boiling water. This allows for delicate foods to be cooked without
being disrupted or damaged. Poaching is often used with eggs and fish, both of which would break apart if exposed to rapidly boiling
water.

Scalding

- Water that has reached 150 degrees F is considered scalding. At this temperature, water will have bubbles attached to the side or
bottom of its container that does not release or move as they do with simmering or boiling water. The scalding technique is sometimes
used to help solids, such as sugar, flour, or chocolate, dissolve more easily into the liquid. Scalding was also used in the past to kill
bacteria in milk before pasteurization was so prevalent.

Simmering

- Simmering liquids are above 180 degrees F but not vigorously bubbling like boiling water. Simmering liquid has gentle bubbles that
rise swiftly from the bottom of the pot. Simmering is a more gentle cooking method than boiling and is often used for long and slow
cooking processes because there is less evaporation than with boiling. Tough meat, soups, and stews are often simmered over low
heat for long periods of time.

Steaming

- Steaming involves the transfer of heat through vaporized water or other liquids. This is by far the most gentle moist-heat cooking
method. Because food is not allowed to steep in the hot water, steamed food retains more nutrients than food that is boiled or
simmered. Pressure cookers utilize steam and pressure to increase the cooking temperature above the boiling point of water.

Stewing

- Stewing is similar to simmering in that the liquid is heated until it forms gentle, yet quickly moving bubbles. The difference between
stewing and simmering is that stewing generally involves a much smaller amount of liquid that is retained and served with the food as
a sauce. Stewing is great for softening tough cuts of meat or fibrous vegetables.
Dry Heat Cooking Methods

Dry heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transferred to the food item without using extra moisture. This method
typically involves high temperatures—300 F or hotter.

Note that the browning of food, as when bread is toasted, can only be achieved through dry heat cooking. This browning, in turn, leads to
the development of complex flavors and aromas that can't be attained through moist heat cooking techniques.

Sautéing and Pan-Frying

- Sautéing requires a hot pan before cooking. When sautéing, it's important to heat the pan for a minute, then add a small amount of fat
(such as oil) and let it heat up before adding ingredients to the pan.

- Another key is not overloading or crowding the pan. Too much food in the pan dissipates the heat, causing the food to steam or boil
rather than sauté. One method for maintaining a hot pan and ensuring the food cooks evenly is through tossing or flipping the food in
the pan—sauté actually means "jump" in French. Some sauté pans have sloped sides to facilitate this, but it's generally only done with
smaller pieces of food, especially vegetables.

- Pan-frying closely resembles sautéing, but pan-frying uses slightly more fat and a slightly lower temperature than sautéing. This
makes it a good method for cooking larger pieces of meat that need longer to cook. Meat that is pan-fried is sometimes finished in the
oven to cook through.

Roasting and Baking

- The words roasting and baking are largely synonymous since they both describe a method of cooking an item by enveloping it in hot,
dry air. This typically happens inside an oven and at temperatures of at least 300 F.

- This technique cooks food fairly evenly since all of the food's surfaces are exposed to heat. This differs from pan-searing, for instance,
where the surface that touches the hot pan gets much hotter than the side that faces up. Roasting and baking both require that the
food be cooked uncovered when used as a dry heat cooking method so that it's the hot, dry air that delivers the heat, not the steam
from the food.

- Despite these similarities, roasting and baking can mean slightly different things depending on who you ask. Some chefs use the word
"baking" only when speaking of bread, pastry and other bakery items. Some may use the word "roasting" only when referring to
meats, poultry, and vegetables, but use the term "baking" for fish and other seafood.

Broiling and Grilling

- Broiling is another dry heat cooking method that relies on heat being conducted through the air. Because air is a relatively poor
conductor of heat, broiling, and grilling require the food to be quite close to the heat source, which in this case is likely to be an open
flame. Thus the surface of the food cooks very quickly, making this type of cooking ideal for poultry, fish and the tenderest cuts of
meat.

- There is one significant distinction between broiling and grilling: Grilling involves heating the food from below, while broiling involves
heating from above. In both cases, the food is typically turned once during cooking, and a grid or grate of some kind can be used,
giving the food the distinctive grill-marks that are the hallmark of this cooking technique. As with sautéing, it's critical to heat the broiler
or grill before adding the food.

Deep Frying

- Since deep frying involves submerging the food in hot, liquid fat, it might take some time to get used to the idea that it's actually a form
of dry heat cooking. But if you've ever seen the violent reaction of hot oil to a tiny drop of water, you know that oil and water are
 opposites that want nothing to do with each other. To avoid splatters, make sure anything you place into the hot fat is free from excess
moisture. That might mean patting an item dry with a paper towel before frying it.

- Deep frying requires keeping the oil at temperatures between 325 F and 400 F. Hotter than that and the oil may start to smoke, and if
it's any cooler, it starts to seep into the food and make it greasy. Only high-temperature tolerant oils should be used for deep frying. If
fried properly, deep-fried items should actually have very little oil on them.

- Foods are often coated in a simple batter to protect it and seal in its moisture. The key to keeping the oil hot is to fry items in small
batches, as introducing too much food to the oil will cool it off. Fried foods typically turn golden-brown once cooked.