Archive for Culinary Arts

The Food Service Of The Present Age

There are a few restaurants nowadays that can really sweep you off your feet from merely displaying their exquisite style in food serving. Years ago, food serving was an art that was practiced like a ritual. This is because, for one, people were so deeply religious that even the preparation of the food was a cause of celebration and joy. Two, people used to have all the time in the world that even the preparation of food was made into a beautiful ritual of blessing.

Of all the people in the known world, the Japanese has managed, up to now, to maintain rituals that they have observed all throughout their life, of which include preparation and serving of food and drinks. In fact, they have this so-called tea ceremony for special events like weddings or funerals, with teas served in little cups. Most of Japanese food preparations and rituals are meant as an offering to their master, teacher, deity or God. In some other parts of the world, like in Africa, for example, there still exist more radical rituals such as dancing or the banging of congo drums to exalt their God. The food were said to be a gift from their God and they are dancing out of joy for the blessing.

Such rituals of food service are colorful memories of tradition that is slowly being forgotten. Notwithstanding the lost tradition of food serving, some people still do understand the importance of proper food serving. Read More→

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Apr
05

Make The Perfect Barbecue Smoke

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Choose the right wood to make the perfect smoke

Smoke is the third leg of barbecue, with the other two being heat and time. Smoke is the ancient and time-honored way to add flavor to anything you can cook. In ancient times, smoke was used to preserve meat for long periods of time. Nowadays we use it to enhance the flavor of meats. Now don’t run out to the saw mill and pick up some scrap wood. Though you might luck out and get something good, the wood for smoking meat must be selected very carefully.

Now while you don’t have to use prepackaged wood chips to add a little smoke to your fire, you do want to make sure that what you’re using is all wood, no glues, nails, chewing gum; well you get the picture. And more than this you need to pick the right wood for the job. Different woods leave different flavors. But before we take a closer look, there’s one more thing to wrap up. Read More→

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Jan
08

Cooking Class – Knife Skills

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Taking a knife skills class will dramatically change the way you cook and bring more enjoyment in the kitchen. Learning how to choose knives for purchase, how to choose knives for specific tasks, how to care for your knives, and applying proper cutting techniques will open up a whole new world of culinary possibilities. Learning to properly prepare ingredients and save time in the kitchen will result in better-finished dishes. Cook the dishes you have never dared to prepare, and dazzle your diners in the process.

Your knife skills instructor will show you different knives, how they are made, how to hold them,

Knife sharpening
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and what tasks each knife is best suited for. You will learn about the different metals that knives are made from and how the quality of knives makes a huge difference in the cutting results. The best knives make the best tools and it is a

lways easier for a beginner or a seasoned professional to achieve the best results by owning and using the best equipment. For a beginning cook or aspiring chef, learning cutting skills properly, from a professional, right from the start in your cooking career is the perfect approach.

Learning to care for your knives, how to keep them sharp, and how to wash and store them is p

aramount to having good cooking results each time you enter the kitchen. Your knife skills instructor will go over the various equipment and techniques available to sharpen your knives. You will also be taught how to handle and use them to avoid damaging them, how to keep them in the best shape by properly caring for them, and how to put them away after each use so they maintain their peak usefulness.

You will learn detailed cutting techniques for a large variety of every day cooking ingredients. Basic cutting techniques for ingredients such as meats, poultry, fruits, vegetables, fish and shellfish are the foundation to more advanced techniques and specialty cutting, as well as approaching the ingredients in ways never before imagined by non-professionals. For example, once you know how to chop, dice and mince a bell pepper for speed and size of ingredient required, you can move on to a julienne cut for visual appeal, or learn how peeling the bell pepper and removing its skin presents the pepper in a whole new light. Learn how each cut presents the ingredient in a different way, shape, texture and flavor, and affects the finished dish.

The importance of knives to the sophisticated home cook or professional chef cannot be overstated. Don’t wait any longer, have some fun and learn knife skills at a local cooking class today.

by Tom Lingle

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Dec
05

Culinary School Basic Facts

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Cooking is a set of an art, this fact has been established a long time ago. There are many people who claim that they can cook as well as, presumably, they probably can. A lot people learn to cook as they grow up when it plays a part in their family kitchen. There are many different kinds of cooks, when it plays a part in diners, short order cooks and the list goes on. If you want to be called a chef, you will have to go through years of training at a culinary institute.

When talking about a culinary institute, it is a college that gives its students the blessing of learning how to prepare culinary masterpieces and luscious deserts. It is more than just cooking, it is an art formulate. There are different levels of training as well as the student chooses the area that they would like to study.

The necessary training and the skills a student learns when it plays a part in culinary school will define the area when you are thinking about which they will ideal their art. There are several various areas of expertise that a student can choose. Several of the choices would be a pastry chef or a bread chef. Read More→

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A set of stainless steel pots and pans will provide several pans of various sizes which will give you just what you need for any purpose or occasion. If you are struggling with unsightly, mismatched cookware, and having trouble finding a size that is appropriate for what you are trying to do, you might want to consider replacing them with a new set of cookware that will give you just what you need any time you need it.

A stainless steel frying pan.
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A great selection for cookware is stainless steel. Other cookware materials such as copper or aluminum simply do not have the special properties that it does. It will not be damaged by foods, no matter what the ph balance is. It resists corrosion, scratches, and other damages. Properly cared for stainless steel is shiny and beautiful, adding a gourmet look to your kitchen.

Stainless steel cookware’s quality can largely be determined by its ability to provide an excellent cooking experience. In order to achieve this, when selecting any stainless steel cookware, be sure to look for a disk of material which is heat-conducive, and is located on the bottom of the cookware. While stainless is an excellent choice for cookware; it needs to be combined with aluminum or copper. Of these choices, copper is a better conductor of heat.

Second, make sure to choose the right non-stick coating. A high quality non-stick coating produces eye-pleasing browned crusts on foods that easily release from the pan. A high quality non-stick coating will last a long time and be resistant to scratching and other damage if properly cared for.

Teflon can be a good choice for a non-stick coating since it is durable, inexpensive and easy to find. Used and maintained properly, Teflon is safe and will ensure that your foods can obtain flavorful browning without sticking. Another option for the best non-stick cookware is a coating called Silverstone. Silverstone is more durable than Teflon and can withstand more scratching with sharp implements, but it is pricier and harder to find.

A final tip when shopping for stainless steel cookware is to look not only at prices but also brands and reviews. Cooking and professional chef magazines have plenty of information about the various brands of stainless steel cookware.

Stainless steel cookware may be the best choice in pots and pans for nearly any cook. It is durable and resists food acids and alkaline foods as well, and is also resistant to scratches. This cookware comes in assortments of sizes and shapes to meet every culinary need and a match set of shiny stainless looks great as well. Choose cookware that has a good heat conducting base for even cooking, usually a disc of aluminum or the preferred copper. Some will prefer the best non stick cookware which is stainless steel with a coating of Teflon or Silverstone to make browning, cleaning, and removing food easy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robin_Holland-smith

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