Often you will need to modify a recipe. Sometimes a recipe must be increased or decreased. You may be adapting a recipe from another source into a standardized format, or you may be adjusting a standardized recipe for a special event, such as a banquet or a reception. You may need to convert from volume measures to weight, or from metric ...

Carbohydrates come in various forms, and each form reacts differently when exposed to heat. The two forms of carbohydrates that are of interest from a basic food science perspective are sugar and starch. When exposed to heat, sugar will at first melt into a thick syrup. As the temperature continues to rise, the sugar syrup changes color, from clear to light ...

There is slang for everything in the kitchen; will you know what you're talking about? Chefs speak in a language that is specific to the kitchen, and you're not going to learn it by going to culinary school or reading culinary texts. So Chef's Blade has worked with industry professionals to bring you this introduction to culinary slang as well ...

The banquet chef or garde manger can take advantage of many opportunities to enhance the foods’ presentation and, at the same time, enhance the guests’ experience. Food presentation is the banquet chef’s chance to emphasis the theme and showcase the talents of the garde manger staff. Contents: 1. Arrangement of Items on a Line 4. Replenishing 5. Centerpieces and Displays Next ...

One of the basic components of charcuterie and garde manger items is a preparation known as a forcemeat. A forcemeat is a lean meat and fat emulsion that is established when the ingredients are processed together by grinding, sieving, or puréeing. Depending on the grinding and emulsifying methods and the intended use, the forcemeat may have a smooth consistency or may ...

Buffet design can be a challenge for any chef; with the Culinary Institute of America, Chef's Blade presents to you best practices for Buffet Design. Once the theme for an event is determined and you have made your best estimate of the anticipated head count, you can diagram the layout for tables, buffet lines, and stations. In addition, you can choose ...

With so many cheeses available today, there are several categories by which they can be referenced. Milk type, country of origin, region, handling, aging, and texture are some of the various classification strategies that have been used. Although most experts agree that none of these classifications are completely adequate, so far no one has been able to come up with one ...

Since the largest part of hollandaise is butter, the success or failure of the sauce depends not only on skillfully combining egg yolks, water, acid, and butter into a rich, smooth sauce, but also on the quality of the butter itself. Hollandaise sauce is prepared by emulsifying melted or clarified butter and water (in the form of an acidic reduction and/or ...

Making Pâté en Croûte Today, pâtés en croûte are often made in rectangular molds. The advantage of these molds is that they have regular dimensions and straight sides. This encourages even baking and helps reduce the chances of undercooking the dough. Another reason to choose a rectangular mold is the ability to make uniform slices. However, an oval pâté en croûte ...

Smoke has been intentionally applied to foods since it was first recognized that holding meats and other provisions off the ground near the smoky fires did more than dry them more quickly or prevent animals from getting to them. The hanging foods, treated to a smokebath, took on new and enticing flavors. Today we enjoy smoked foods for their special flavors. ...

Succeeding in culinary school is more than just being a good student With the recession, customers want cheaper meat. And with the head-to-tail movement, chefs aren’t just cooking prime rib and terderloin, but the neck and shanks of cows, pigs, and ducks everywhere. Whether it’s the recession or the head to tail movement, normally discarded cuts of meat are making ...

A buffet may center on a particular meal period, special occasion, holiday, or ethnic presentation. The event’s theme is typically the starting point for developing a plan for the buffet itself. Another fundamental decision is a menu that is developed around a theme. The season, weather, and the guests’ comfort and expectations hold together the theme. They have a direct impact ...

Cooling Foods Safely One of the leading causes of food-borne illness is improperly cooled food. Cooked foods that are to be stored need to be cooled to below 41°F/5°C as quickly as possible. This should be completed within four hours, unless you use the two-stage cooling method. In the first stage of this method, foods must be cooled to 70°F/21°C within ...

Knowing food science principles will give you new tools to create exception dishes There are dozens of scientific principles at work during the cooking process. As an introduction to the topic of food science, this guide, provided to Chef's Blade by The Culinary Institute of America, provides an overview of these principles. Topics: 1. Egg Structure and Uses 2. Effects ...

Galantines, as we know them, have been popular since the time of the French Revolution (1789–99). The chef from the house of Marquis de Brancas, an M. Prévost, began producing the savory cold dish, made from boned poultry, sewn back into the bird’s skin, poached in a rich stock, and preserved in the natural jelly. The origin of the dish appears ...

At one time the term brown sauce was equated exclusively with the classic sauces espagnole and demi-glace. Today it may also indicate jus de veau lié, pan sauces, or reduction style sauces based on a brown or fortified stock. Espagnole sauce is prepared by bolstering a brown veal stock with additional roasted mirepoix, tomato pinçage, and aromatics and thickening it with ...

Foie gras is one of the world’s great luxury items. The earliest records of foie gras go back to 2500 B.C.E. The tombs dedicated to Ti, an Egyptian counselor to the Pharaoh, show scenes of Egyptians hand-feeding figs to geese. The first published recipe for pâté de foie gras appeared in Le Cuisinier Gascon, a cookbook published in 1747. Jean-Pierre Clause ...

The specific types of pathogens responsible for foodborne illnesses are fungi, viruses, parasites, and bacteria. Fungi, which include molds and yeast, are more adaptable than other microorganisms and have a high tolerance for acidic conditions. They are more often responsible for food spoilage than for food-borne illness. Fungi are important to the food industry in the production of cheese, bread, wine, ...

For a novice cook, a kitchen, a recipe and assorted foodstuff can become a veritable culinary minefield. As a cooking instructor, I’ve seen firsthand many of the pitfalls beginning cooks fall victim to. And it’s not pretty. I’m going to divulge five of the most common cooking mistakes I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing and five tools to help you ...

From the editor: Food preservation techniques have always been intended to control the growth of microbes, halting the growth of some and encouraging the grown of others. This article summarizes the ingredients used to preserve foods. 1. Salt 2. Nitrates and Nitrites 3 Seasing and Flavoring Ingredients Salt The basic ingredient used by the garde manger to preserve foods is salt. ...