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Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment

Food Preparation & Nutrition: AQA GCSE, topic 1.1.3

Preparing Fruit and Vegetables

Methods for preparing fruit and vegetables include:

Techniques

Techniques

  • Crushing.
  • Shredding.
  • Mashing.
  • Grating.
  • Peeling.
  • De-seeding.
  • Blending.
Techniques (continued)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pasta machines

  • Uses - to roll dough into flat pasta sheets.
Microwave ovens

Microwave ovens

  • Technique - cook foods using radiation.
  • Uses - used to melt foods and cook foods like porridge, soups etc. quickly.

Test yourself on Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment

  • Which of the following is a technique for preparing fruit and vegetables?

  • What do we call it when food is boiled in water for a few seconds before putting into cold water?

  • Which of the following foods can be conventionally grilled?

  • Which of the following is NOT an oven cooking technique?

  • Which of the following foods can NOT be conventionally grilled?

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