3.1.3
Fat-Based Cooking Methods
Fat-Based Cooking Methods
Fat-Based Cooking Methods
Frying involves heating oil or fat to a really high temperature. The amount of fat or oil used will depend on the method of frying.
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Stir-frying
Stir-frying
- Frying food in a wok or similarly large frying pan using a small quantity of oil.
- You can stir-fry small chunks of meat (chicken, beef, pork), fish (cod) as well as noodles, tofu, vegetables and nuts.
- Advantages:
- Relatively healthy option - only a small amount of oil is used.
- Very quick cooking method - this also means vegetables don't lose too many nutrients.
- Disadvantages:
- Food needs constant attention and moving around the pan so that it does not burn.
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Shallow frying
Shallow frying
- Frying food in a frying pan (smaller than a wok) using a medium quantity of oil or fat.
- Good quality cuts of meat, fish, sausages and vegetables can be shallow fried.
- Advantages:
- Compared to stir-frying, food develops a crispier texture.
- Disadvantages:
- Unhealthy cooking method - uses more fat than stir-frying.
- The fat content of the pan increases throughout the cooking process as solid fats from the food start to melt.
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Dangers of frying
Dangers of frying
- Frying involves heating fat or oil to very high temperatures.
- When hot, the fat/oil is very flammable. Contact with the skin could cause severe burns.
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Conduction
Conduction
- When food is fried, heat energy transfers via:
- Conduction: from the pan → fat → throughout the food.
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Advantages of frying
Advantages of frying
- When food is fried, the food absorbs some of the fat from the pan. This gives the food more flavour.
- When some foods, such as onions, are fried, they caramelise and become sweeter.
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Sweating
Sweating
- Sweating involves frying food over a low heat using a small quantity of oil or fat.
- Covering sweating food helps the food to retain moisture.
- Advantages:
- The food releases moisture - it cooks tenderly and tastes sweet once cooked.
- Food doesn't brown.
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills
1.1.2Knife Skills
1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment
1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine
1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating
1.1.6Dough & Pastry
1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough
1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures
1.1.9End 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 Farming
6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops
6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food
6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food
6.1.5Food & The Environment
6.1.6Food & The Environment 2
6.1.7Sustainability of Food
6.1.8Sustainability of Food 2
6.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
Jump to other topics
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills
1.1.2Knife Skills
1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment
1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine
1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating
1.1.6Dough & Pastry
1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough
1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures
1.1.9End 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 Farming
6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops
6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food
6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food
6.1.5Food & The Environment
6.1.6Food & The Environment 2
6.1.7Sustainability of Food
6.1.8Sustainability of Food 2
6.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
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