All posts tagged basic cooking knowledge
Parmesan twists are a perfect accompaniment for soups and cheese. They can be easily made using strips of puff paste or off-cuts left over from other products. The twists puff up and provide a crunchy, cheesy addition to a soup or platter of cheese.
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Reductions are made to maximise the flavours of stocks and sauces. By boiling off the liquid component the flavours become more concentrated. If you reduce the volume down to about 10% you will have a very concentrated glaze, which can be frozen and used in a range of sauces. Another alternative is to make a reduction of a range of ingredients and add it to flavour a sauce. This process is used with Hollandaise sauce and applied to eggs Benedict.
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Fresh mushrooms will keep longer if they are pre-cooked. This can be done by cooking the mushrooms in lemon juice, butter and white wine. Store in the juice in the fridge. The juice can be used in sauces and the mushrooms can be used in dishes such as chicken sauté chasseur.
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Italian antipasti plates would be incomplete without roasted capsicums. They can also be used for pizzas and gourmet sandwiches, or in salads. The process is quite easy and brings out the rich flavours and colours of the capsicums. Removing the skin is easy – just place the capsicums in plastic and the steam will loosen the skin, allowing you to easily peel them off.
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Goulash is a thick stew made with lots of paprika and other spices. It was traditionally eaten as a hearty lunch by Hungarian cattle stockmen. Chopping the key spices garlic, lemon peel, fresh marjoram and caraway seeds with butter will keep them together. The fresh mixture lifts the flavour and is a must for an original Hungarian goulash.
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Clarifying butter will remove all of the whey and raise the burning point. This is important when pan-frying. Indian cooking uses clarified butter which can be made at home or purchased already clarified – known as ghee. Clarified butter is also added to make rich warm emulsion sauces such as Hollandaise and Béarnaise.
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Acidulating food means to add an acid to food, usually in the form of vinegar or lemon juice. This helps to set the protein and also adds flavour. This is often done to seafood such as fish fillets, prior to cooking. A common dish which uses this technique is South Pacific seafood salad.
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The basic chef’s uniform consists of a white coat, hat, apron, neckerchief and chequered pants. A professional chef will show the pride in their profession by wearing a clean uniform. The neckerchief is worn as part of the uniform and is nowadays often used to indicate the status of the chef, e.g. black for the executive chef. Traditionally it protected the uniform from wear and could be used as a quick bandage in case of injury.
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