Cooking is the process of preparing food for consumption, and the term is usually applied to those meals that are prepared using heat, such as fire, for example, and cooking includes several methods, including boiling, frying, grilling, etc., or combining these methods and diversifying them to reach delicious, useful, beautiful-looking and great-use foods. .
brief history
Cooking in ancient civilizations.
We do not know when or how people started cooking their food, but we can say that a prehistoric man learned how to light a fire a million and a half million years ago, and he may have been cooking his food over a small open fire, but even before a prehistoric man discovered fire, perhaps He roasted the meat using burning wood he took from fires that started naturally and unintentionally.
As for the ancient Egyptians, they often cooked their food over an open fire, and they also baked their bread in clay ovens, which they heated with wood or coal . In ancient Rome, people cooked their food on high brick stoves. Above the fire they place tripods on which the cooking utensils are focused. The Romans used two types of ovens, in one of which a fire was lit in the center of the oven until it heated up and became hot enough to allow food to be cooked. As for the second type, it was surrounded by two pairs of walls separated by a certain distance, and a fire was lit under the oven . By virtue of the heat generated by the ignition in the space between these two walls, the oven is heated without the food being exposed to the smoke emanating from the fire.
People in Europe used fireplaces for cooking during the Middle Ages, which extended between the fifth and sixteenth centuries AD, as they heated food in kettles and fried meat on metal skewers, one of which was called a svoda. There were communal ovens in many cities, since many people did not have ovens in their homes.
In many fireplaces there were fixed ovens, and the use of metal stoves that were used for cooking and protected by wood did not spread until the early nineteenth century . The first practical charcoal stove was not patented until 1833 AD. Today, people in developed countries use gas stoves, electric cookers, and microwave ovens for cooking. As a result of these improvements in cooking equipment and other appliances, cooking is easier and faster than ever before. It also increased the ease of the cooking process, creating types of fast food.
Meal preparation planning
Meal planning calls for several factors to be taken into account, as the food must be nutritious and tasty, and its cost must be within one's means. The chef must also take into account the time required to prepare meals so that he can plan for them if the need arises, such as if his concerns are many and his time is short.
Planning nutritious meals
It is necessary to know the basic principles of the nutritional needs of the body, as well as the nutrients available in each type of food. Nutritionists divide the types of food into basic groups, and recommend eating specific portions daily from each of these groups. We have listed these groups in the Nutrition article, which also includes a list of the number of servings required from each group. It should be noted that the meals prepared on the basis of these guidelines provide the body with the necessary nutrients, without adding extra calories to it than required.
Plan attractive meals
Food dishes should include materials of different colors, textures, flavor and temperature in order to be attractive and appetizing. And the choice of vegetables and fruits can be of particular importance in coordinating food colors. A dish that includes, for example, slices of turkey with some pieces of cauliflower , mashed potatoes, white bread and milk seems, without a doubt, a dish without attractiveness. However, if we replace cauliflower and potatoes, for example, with one type of vegetable and another with an orange color, we will add color and attractiveness to the dish. The hardness of foods also varies between soft foods and those that need biting and grinding. The meal must include materials that differ in their hardness and the extent to which they need to be chewed. It is also necessary in most cases that the meal includes at least one type of hot food, and one type of cold food . In addition to that, there is a need for a difference in flavor, as it must be in addition to foods with a strong flavor, other materials with a mild flavor.
Planning economical meals
There are many ways that can be used to save on food costs, while at the same time ensuring that you get nutritious and good-tasting meals. For example, care must be taken to buy food types when their prices are low, while not buying fresh materials except in their seasons, as well as choosing the cheapest types. Cheaper foods can often be substituted for more expensive ones. Some types of fish and birds, for example, may be less expensive than red meat, and one can reduce the amount of meat and use an amount of bread, cereals and legumes such as beans and dried beans .
Plan to save time for meal preparation
One has to, at times, plan to prepare meals that do not require much time due to the lack of time. Fast foods such as canned food, frozen foods, and pre-cooked meats may not require much preparation, or they may be ready-to-eat. However, the cost of these fast foods may be more than the cost of purchasing the basic ingredients necessary to prepare the dish itself. It is also possible to save time by providing types of vegetables and fruits that do not require cooking, and some main dishes can be prepared and frozen in the freezer until needed, in which case they are melted and heated before eating.
cooking methods
Cooking with a wok in China
Basic cooking methods include 1- baking 2- roasting 3- grilling 4- frying 5- blanching 6- slow cooking 7- steaming. Salt, pepper and other seasonings can be added to food during cooking to improve the taste and flavour. Some appetizers can also be used to decorate the dish and add more attractiveness and elegance to it, as these appetizers are usually stacked around the food after it is fully cooked and before serving it. Among the types of materials that are used to decorate parsley, tomato slices and lemon.
the bread
The food is baked by placing it on a plate in an oven with a temperature between 150 and 220°C. The word bread usually refers to cooked foods consisting of sourdough or dough, including bread, cakes, pies, and pastries. It is also possible to bake other foods at the same time, including fried dishes, in addition to some vegetables and fruits, as well as certain types of meat.
The Roasting
The word roasting is used to describe the process of preparing some types of meat in open pots inside the oven. For example, a turkey or a leg of lamb is roasted, and the meat is placed in a flat pot on a stove for cooking inside the oven, without being covered. The oven temperature for browning ranges between 150 and 180°C.
the thing
Grilling is mainly used for cooking meat. However, there are a few types of vegetables and fruits that are also grilled sometimes. In this case, foods are placed on a stand, above or directly under a lit fire. The process of grilling the meat is done using a grill in which burning charcoal is used.
Frying
It means cooking food using fatty materials such as butter or vegetable oil at a temperature of up to 190°C. It should be noted that frying increases the calories in foods, as these foods absorb some of the fat in the pan during the frying process.
There are three types of frying: 1- deep frying 2- light frying 3- stir frying. In the first type, a large amount of fat is heated in a deep pot or a thick frying pan filled with fat so that it covers the items to be fried. This method is commonly used to fry chicken and potatoes, such as potato chips or potato sticks. In the case of light frying, the food is fried in a small amount of fat in the pan, and chicken, eggs, fish and meat are often fried in this way. As for stir-frying, it is an oriental method of cooking meat and vegetables, which, after cutting them into small pieces, are placed in a large, thin metal pot with a round base, in which a very small amount of fat is placed. In this case, the food is fried on high heat for a few minutes, and with continuous stirring.
Boiling
It is the process of heating food in boiling water up to 100°C. This method is usually used to cook vegetables and rice, and the vegetables are boiled in a small saucepan, usually placed over the stove flame.
Slow cooking
In this case, the food is cooked with water or another liquid heated just below boiling point, a method preferred over boiling when cooking eggs, pulses, or meat. In this case, a covered pot or slow cooker may be used. It is an electrically powered device in which food is slow cooked for up to ten hours at a low temperature. The material to be cooked is placed with an amount of liquid in the slow cooker in this case, with the heat fixed at a certain temperature.
Steam cooking
The steam cooking method is mainly used to cook vegetables; It is placed on a stand inside a small cauldron filled with water below the level of the stand. Then the pot is closed and heated so that the water boils. This method takes longer than blanching, but steamed vegetables retain more nutrients than blanching. It should be noted that this method is sometimes used for cooking fish as well.
other cooking methods
In some cases, a pressure cooker can be used to speed up the cooking of items that take a long time to cook, such as broth, beans, and dry beans. The cooking process takes place at a high temperature, so that the steam is retained under high pressure.
Another method of quick cooking is using microwave ovens (short radio waves). This type of oven heats food much faster than gas or electric stoves, and is especially useful for melting frozen foods and warming up soups and vegetables.