1.1.3
Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment
Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
Preparing Fruit and Vegetables
Methods for preparing fruit and vegetables include:

Techniques
- Crushing.
- Shredding.
- Mashing.
- Grating.
- Peeling.
- De-seeding.
- Blending.

Techniques (continued)
- Piping - e.g. piping mash on top of shepherd's pie.
- De-skinning - e.g. removing the skins from almonds.
- Juicing - e.g. using a lime squeezer.
- Scissor snipping - e.g. snipping herbs with herb scissors.
- Segmenting - e.g. breaking a grapefruit up into segments.
- Blanching - boiling in water for a few seconds before putting into cold water.
- Scooping - used when portioning mash or balling melons.
- Making garnishes - e.g. lemon slice on fish.

Controlling enzymic browning
- Methods for preventing fruits and vegetables from naturally browning include:
- Blanching.
- Placing them in acidic substances like vinegar or lemon juice.
Use of the Cooker
Here's a summary of the uses of the grill and oven:

Using the grill
- Foods that can be conventionally grilled include:
- Fish.
- Meat.
- Vegetables.
- Halloumi.
- Foods that can be charred (cooked so the outer layer blackens) and toasted using a grill include:
- Seeds.
- Nuts.

Using the oven
- Techniques for cooking with an oven include:
- Baking.
- Roasting.
- Making casseroles and tagines. We slow-cook these dishes so that the meat tenderises. You must keep the lid on when cooking casseroles and tagines so that you don't lose any moisture.
- Braising.
Use of Equipment
Using equipment is often a lot faster than doing things by hand.

Blenders
- Uses - blend ingredients by chopping and mixing them up.
- Foods - used to make sauces, milkshakes, falafels etc.
- Types - a rotating blade inside a jug or a blade on the end of a hand-held device.

Food processors
- Uses - to mix, chop, slice, grind and dice food.
- Foods - used to grind meat to make mincemeat for bolognese, lasagnas etc. as well as other foods.

Food mixers
- Uses - mixing foods, like doughs, cake mixtures, soufflés, pancake batter (anything that needs beating).
- Types - hand-held device or a standalone appliance with a mixing bowl.

Pasta machines
- Uses - to roll dough into flat pasta sheets.

Microwave ovens
- Technique - cook foods using radiation.
- Uses - used to melt foods and cook foods like porridge, soups etc. quickly.
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills1.1.2Knife Skills1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating1.1.6Dough & Pastry1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2Food, Nutrition & Health
2.2Micronutrients
3Food Science
3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer
3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food
4Food Safety
4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination
5Food Choice
5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice
5.2British & International Cuisines
6Food Provenance
6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food
6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food6.1.5Food & The Environment6.1.6Food & The Environment 26.1.7Sustainability of Food6.1.8Sustainability of Food 26.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
Jump to other topics
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills1.1.2Knife Skills1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating1.1.6Dough & Pastry1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2Food, Nutrition & Health
2.2Micronutrients
3Food Science
3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer
3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food
4Food Safety
4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination
5Food Choice
5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice
5.2British & International Cuisines
6Food Provenance
6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food
6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food6.1.5Food & The Environment6.1.6Food & The Environment 26.1.7Sustainability of Food6.1.8Sustainability of Food 26.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
Practice questions on Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5Which of the following is NOT an oven cooking technique?Multiple choice
Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium
Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions
Mini-mock exams based on your study history
Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books