Primary Food Processing - Meat, Veg and Fruit
Primary processing involves converting raw foods into foods that can be eaten, cooked, or into ready-to-use ingredients. Fruit, meat and vegetables must all be processed.
Importance of processing
- Basic processing makes food safely edible and transportable.
- Processing also helps food to last longer and look nice enough to be sold.
Poultry
- Basic processing takes away internal organs and feathers.
- Processors truss wings and legs (tie them to the body) so that the bird cooks more evenly.
Meat
- Processors may hang and dry meats to enhance flavour and tenderise them.
- The processor will chop, slice or cut the meat.
Fruit
- Stones are taken out.
- Processors squeeze fruits to make fruit juices.
- Processors dry fruits to make dried products (e.g. apricots).
Vegetables
- Processors wash vegetables to get rid of direct chemical residue and insects.
- Sometimes, processors peel vegetables.
- Processors sort vegetables by size and shape.