Posts Tagged ‘cooking’

How To Use Dairy Produce: Part 2 – Cheese

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

About The Basic Preparation Of Foodstuffs: Dairy Products.

CHEESE.

Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.

Colouring and salt are usually put in too. The whey is then allowed to drain off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are kept until ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by a variety of means. The method, the quality of the milk, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the quality of its pasture and the type of bacteria all govern the end result.

Some local environmental conditions are unique and those areas are capable of producing cheeses that are not successfully copied anywhere else: for instance Roquefort and Camembert, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of success: remember that most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now derives from the United States and Canada.

The constituents of cheese are roughly|typically|: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the other 1%. These proportions vary from region to region as some manufacturers use full-cream milk, others skimmed-milk and yet others add extra cream. Others add some extra sugar, although most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and should be considered as ‘concentrated milk’ and stored the same way.

Many people say that cheese should not be kept in a fridge and while storing in water, as for milk, is not an option, a cool larder is ideal. Try the traditional method of hanging it up in cheesecloth in a cool, airy place. If the weather is hot, dampen the cloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.

in Europe, cheese is frequently served with a salad or/and bread and is often presented after or instead of the dessert course. Hard cheese can be nigh-on impossible for children to digest and grating it first will make it more edible for them. After being grated the cheese can be scattered on vegetables or fish soups or sauces; combined with egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in sandwiches or salads.

How To Cook Cheese: A not well known fact is that a lot of people find cooked cheese practically indigestible and the reason lies in its make-up. This is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth, but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process to be completed. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.

Cheese possesses a high fat and protein mixture, but when melted, the fat often covers the protein and stops the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. Therefore, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed in the intestines. Cheese can be made more digestible in the following way:

1] Adding to or combining with starchy foods. The starch will absorb the fat, not allowing it to cover the protein.

2] Adding seasoning. Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing extra digestive juices to be released.

3] Cooking rapidly|quickly|briskly| at fairly high temperatures. This has the effect of preventing the protein from becoming tough and stringy and so, harder to digest. You could also add the cheese late to sauces.

4] Adding alkali: so, generous pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g (3 ozs) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.

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Bread Making Machines: Bread Machine Mixes

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Are bread machine mixes useful? Yes, some of them are, but the problem with all bread machine mixes is that they place limitations on your choice and do not encourage your creative talents. That may sound a little harsh, but think about it for a while. If you rely on bread machine mixes you can only make the bread for which you can buy a bread machine mix and you can only tip the bread machine mix into the bowl and switch the bread making machine on. You are not likely to alter the bread machine mix for fear that it won’t work.

OK, what is the alternative? Well, the old-fashioned recipe book, of course! Not any old cookbook, but a specialized bread making machine cookbook. Bread making is a very simple, but rather tiresome process. The ingredients are everyday, household items: water, flour, yeast, salt, sugar and oil. You already have those items in your cupboard by using already tried and tested gourmet bread recipes and gradually develop your own – ofttimes you don’t have everything.

I once made a fantastic loaf by adding all the left-over vegetables from my Sunday lunch. It was lovely, but I could never quite reproduce it, because I did not write down the weights and measures. I could only remember that it had green beans, potatoes and sweet corn in it!

Bread machine mixes will never ever provide that, will they? Furthermore, bread machine mixes are fairly expensive compared to the cost of 10 pounds of flour. I usually vary the ingredients too: honey instead of sugar, milk instead of water, olive oil or butter instead of just corn oil. Rock salt instead of sea salt or visa versa. I’m sure you see what I mean.

Bread machine mixes are limited and limiting. A bread making machine is a great way to use up leftovers. I have even put meat and fruit in my gourmet bread. My principle is: if it’ll go in a sandwich it’ll go in the dough – like an Indian stuffed paratha or stuffed naan bread.

Stop buying bread machine mixes – they are a waste of money. Instead be creative with a bread machine recipes cookbook.

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The Traditional Use Of Dairy Produce: Part 2 – Cheese

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

The Basic Preparation Food: Dairy Products.

CHEESE.

Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.

Colouring and salt are usually added too. The whey is then drained off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by a variety of means. The method, the quality of the milk and its pasture, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the type of bacteria all govern the final product.

Some local conditions are unique and those areas produce cheeses that are not successfully replicated elsewhere: for example Roquefort and Edam, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of, as most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now comes from the United States and Canada.

The constituent parts of cheese are roughly: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the other 1%. These proportions do vary from area to area as some manufacturers use full cream milk, others skimmed milk and yet others add extra cream. Yet others add extra sugar, although most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and can be considered ‘concentrated milk’ and stored in the same way.

Many people say that cheese must not be kept in a fridge and although storing in water, as for milk, is not a viable option, a cool larder is certainly ideal. Try the traditional method of suspending it from a hook in muslin in a cool, breezy place. If it is hot, moisten the cheesecloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.

Cheese is often served in Europe with a salad or/and bread and is often presented after or instead of the pudding. Hard cheese can be difficult for children to digest and grating it first will make it more palatable to them. Having been grated the cheese can be scattered on vegetable or fish soups or sauces; added to egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in salads and sandwiches.

How To Cook Cheese: A not well known fact is that many people find cooked cheese indigestible. The reason lies in its molecular structure. This is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.

Cheese has a high fat and protein content, but when melted, the fat often covers the protein and prevents the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. This results in, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed by the intestines. Cheese can be rendered more digestible by:

a] Combining it with some starchy foodstuff, since the starch will absorb the fat, thus preventing it covering the protein.

2] Adding seasoning. Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing extra digestive juices to be released.

3] Cooking rapidly|quickly|briskly| at fairly high temperatures. This has the effect of preventing the protein from becoming tough and stringy and thus, harder to digest. You could also add the cheese late to sauces.

4] Adding an alkali: for example, a generous pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 3 ozs (75g) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.

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Your Guide To Bread Machine Mixes

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Do you use bread machine mixes when you want to make yeast bread in your automated bread-making machine? If so, why do you? Because you think it’s easier? It is so easy to make gourmet bread quickly from simple bread recipes and so much more flexible too. If you use bread machine mixes you are limited to the bread machine mixes there are in the shops ” no matter how many of them there are there.

However, a good bread machine recipe book is infinitely more flexible than bread machine mixes. A good bread machine recipe book might provide you with 150 or so recipes originating from many countries, but it will also inspire you to adapt those recipes, inspiring you to be creative and develop your own style of bread.

Bread machine mixes are really quite restricting and you have no control about what the bread machine mix contains either: preservatives, colouring, MSG, salt or Heaven knows what. Yes, it tells you on the label, but you cant remove them, if you only use bread machine mixes.

Making bread is really quite simple. Or to put it correctly, the ingredients to making bread are really quite simple. To make a very basic loaf of bread, you only need: flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt and fat or oil. The hard part about making bread is the mixing. It can take four hours to mix the bread mixture together; to wait for it to rise; to knead it; wait for it to prove; knead it again and cook it.

So, if you have a bread making machine you can automate the hard bread mixing, proving, kneading cycle and if you have a bread-making cookbook you will be provided with recipes to guide and inspire you.

What could be more simple? You look in the bread-making machine cookbook for an appetizing recipe; you put the household ingredients into the bread mixing bowl of the bread machine and you put the yeast into a time-release capsule on the top of the bread machine; set the timer and just go about your daily routine or even go to sleep!

The bread making machine will mix the ingredients and check the timer. My bread-making machine can be programmed 16 hours in advance. So, if you want your gourmet, yeast bread ready for 8:30 AM, the bread-making machine will stir the flour, water, salt oil and sugar at once, add the yeast at say, 5 AM, knead, prove and bake the bread and ring a bell at 8:30 to let you know that your gourmet food is ready.

But you wont need the alarm to tell you that. The aroma of fresh bread will [permeate|fill your house and you will be well cognizant of the fact that your bread making machine is almost ready to serve up one of the best loaves of bread youve ever had in your whole life. And you wont ever look for bread machine mixes again. Youll be brimming over with your own bread machine mixes in no time at all and youll be giving bread away as presents so that you can try out your very own latest bread machine mix recipe.

Bread machine mixes ” why bother with them?

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How To Use Dairy Produce: Part 1 – Milk

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

These fairly basic tips may seem quite irrelevant to most modern householders who own a refrigerator, but modern technology do make people sloppy and so it is very worth while to know ‘why’ we ought do some things. For example, it is worth remembering these tips when your refrigerator is broken or is so small that it will not hold everything you have, such as when camping or boating or on holiday in some (parts of) countries in the world.

MILK:

Milk has been called ‘nature’s perfect food’, because no other food, taken alone, can support adult human life. It is of the utmost importance for the growth and development of adolescents, but it must be clean because bacteria also find it very nourishing and quickly grow in it. If your milk was not bought pasteurized, then it should be scalded and cooled quickly before drinking it.

How To Scald Milk: Rinse a clean saucepan with cold water, pour in the milk and apply heat until bubbles form around the side of the pan. Keep it at this temperature, that is not letting it boil, for 3 minutes. Do not overheat, as milk burns easily. Pour immediately into a clean jug and place in a basin of cold water and cover with a fine cloth to prevent the ingress of flies and dust.

How To Keep Milk Fresh: If milk the is not be preserved in the receptacles in which you bought it, pour it into a clean container, which has been rinsed with cold water. A warm receptacle will cause the milk to stick to the sides and go off much more quickly. Always keep milk covered and in the coolest place in the larder. it is a good tip to remember that draughts usually occur at ground-level and that hot air rises. Never keep milk in an airless cupboard and in hot weather stand the milk in a container in a bowl of water with the cloth covering hanging in the water. The muslin will soak up water, which will evaporate, which dissipates the heat, ensuring that the container remains cool. Keep milk away from strong-smelling foods, as it absorbs smells easily. Never mix old and new milk together.

Sour Milk: When milk comes straight from the cow, it is a little alkaline, but as time passes, lactic acid is created and it becomes what is called ‘sour’. Pasteurizing or scalding the milk retards this process. Milk which is just “on the turn” can be rejuvenated by boiling with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda to restore its alkalinity. However, once the milk has gone too far and has curdled, it can be strained through (cheese) cloth, thus separating the curds from the whey. The curds can be used as a filling for cakes, tarts, scones etc and the whey can be used as the liquid for making scones, cakes and soups etc., because it still retains a lot of goodness.

Evaporated Milk: Evaporated milk is ordinary milk, which has had some of its water content driven off by heat in some way or other before being placed in its container. Once reconstituted by adding water, it will last only a little longer than fresh milk does.

Condensed Milk: This is simply evaporated milk to which sugar has been added before canning. The sugar acts as a preservative and will keep the milk for about a week. Do not keep in the tin, but decant it into a jug.

Dried Milk: Dried milk comes in a variety of forms and particular attention should be paid to the instructions on the label. Specialized products can be bought for babies, invalids, convalescents and dieters, all of which contain varying amounts and types of added vitamins and minerals. Usually, they are very much lower in fat content than conventional milk.

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Cooking is one of the best parts of family life, if you like it

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Modern women are increasingly prone to buy semi-prepared foods which can help them earlier finish kitchen errands. Although it is fast, this is not a brilliant idea of cooking.

Using vegetable fats is appropriate to vegetarian dishes in general. Most women think that it is easier to do vegetarian cooking. You need to have the vegan cuisine know how. It is what it is.

Let this infiltrate your thoughts. Today, I want to give you five ways you can use homemade pizza tips. If you are taking vegan cuisine seriously maybe you’ll think to discover innovative recipes of rotate menus for greater variation. Don’t be afraid to experiment new homemade pizza ideas.

The following recommendations will provide you with details on cooking tips.

Check that you have acquired all tools and spices you need to use in most of the meals. Buy a cook book, and improve your creativity and style in the kitchen.

You shouldn’t repeat the same meal for more than 2 consecutive times. In case you do so, the recipes you overdo will lose their savor and you’ll be seen as a lousy cook.

How hard can it be to avoid this to happen? The wish for a healthy nutrition does not have to make you eat tasteless foods. Traps like this are common in vegan cooking, so you need to know how to avoid them.

If you master the art of cooking and you have a camera, you can start a food recipes photo blog. This is a great way to become famous for your cooking tips.

A good cooking tip is to rotate the spices you use in your meals. The same food with different spices will have a totally different taste. The preference for certain flavors is individual and cannot be disputed.

It would be advisable that from time to time to forget about cooking and take your family to eat at the mall or in some other shopping center with cafe bars and food stores.

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An Easy Crockpot Roast Recipe

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

If your looking for a easy dinner recipe using the crockpot, then I have the best recipe for crockpot roast. I love preparing a simple family meal on Sunday morning and allow it to simmer throughout the day so I can just relax with my family.

I choose to purchase pork roast as I can always find a 3-5 lb. pork roast on sale for less than $5. This recipe calls for simple ingredients that are probably right in your pantry. No need to cut potatoes and vegetables, just add a side of white rice topped with the juice from the pork roast and your family meal on a budget is complete.

If you want the traditional crockpot roast with potatoes and veggies then just simply add 3-4 cut up potatoes,2 large carrots cup up and 2 stalks of celery. Of course what you add is optional and that’s the best part of cooking in the crock pot, you can add whatever you want.

Time For Prep: 5 min. Time For Cooking: 1 hour on high the 5-7 hours on low

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup of water * 1/2 cup of sugar * 1 cup soy sauce * 3 cloves of garlic * 2 TBS. Accent * 1 pork roast (3-5 lbs.)

Directions:

1. Add roast to crockpot. 2. Add remaining ingredients to crockpot. 3. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour then simmer for 5-7 hours on low. 4. Enjoy the family and relax until dinner time.

Yield 4-6 people. Serve with white rice and juice from the roast. To complete your meal add a side salad and bread. This really is one of those set and forget meals.

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Rival Crock Pot Cooking Guide

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

I prefer Rival Crock Pot cooking when preparing meals for my big family. Cooking with the Rival Crock Pot is simple, fast and inexpensive.

Creating family meals just would not be complete without including the use of a Rival Crock Pot. Here’s why: There are so many overlooked benefits of using a Rival Crock Pot such as:

* Time Saver – meals can be prepared in the morning and ready when its dinner time.

* Saves Money- you can purchase cheaper cuts of meat and slow cook for 8 hrs to produce tender, delicious meals.

* Lower The Power Bill – you don’t even have to turn the oven on. Save energy and back aches as you don’t have to stand there cooking at the stove-top anymore.

Converting Stove-Top Recipes

Yes you can use most of your recipes with the Rival Crock Pot. Just follow these simple steps for and you will have perfect crock pot meals in no time:

* Liquids – only add milk during the last hour of cooking and decrease any liquid called for in the recipe to 1/2 the amount.

* Spices and Seasoning – they can evaporate with slow cooking so just add them during the last hour of cooking.

* Beans – soak your beans first until they are soft for better crock pot cooking results.

* Cream Soups- hold better with slow cooking, can replace milk in the recipe.

* Vegetables – for tender veggies add to the crock pot meal first as they need more time to cook. Also cut about 1 inch in thickness.

Comparing the Rival Crock Pot method of cooking and the Stove Top method of cooking are quite easy. For great family meals that are inexpensive, Rival Crock Pot cooking is the winner.

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Homemade Gravy Recipe

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

As I recall the first time I prepared a homemade roast and potato dinner everything went splendid, (crock pots are amazing) until I realized I didn’t know how to make gravy. Not a clue, my mom wasn’t available to call and the world wide web wasn’t an option back then!

I had to finish the meal with one of those store bought powdered gravy packets. The meal was great but the gravy was gross. In time I was taught to make a simple homemade gravy with flour.

That was just it, my mom taught me to slowly add the flour, stir with a whisk, bring to a boil and oh ya scoop the lumps out before serving. Her directions on how to make gravy were to basic, she was one of those that could just add a little of this and that and create a delicious meal.

I tried to prepare my mom’s directions for the gravy but it wasn’t working. I wanted a detailed recipe for making homemade gravy that involved the use of my measuring cups or measuring spoons as I did understand the basics of measuring ingredients.

I have to thank the internet for helping me create a homemade gravy recipe with the use of a measuring cups and detailed directions. No more lumpy gravy from my kitchen.

1. Step 1 – After cooking the meat (roast, chicken, turkey or whatever it is) remove the meat and use a ladle or strainer and transfer the cooking liquid into a measuring cup ( I use a glass 4-cup one). Let the cooking liquid stand for about 5 minutes. You will see the fat raise to the top, skim that off and toss it, the fat that is. Take note of amount left in the measuring cup once the fat has been removed.

* Now pour the liquid into a pan and start cooking over medium heat. In a seperate dish, I like the plastic ones with a lid that attaches, mix 2 tbsp. flour and 1/4 cup of cold water for each cup of liquid you poured into the pan. (refer to the last part of step one)Stir or shake until it’s smooth – we don’t want lumps.

3. Step 3 – Stir flour mixture into boiling cooking liquid, stirring constantly 1 minute or until thickened.

If you have a big family and need lot’s of gravy, simply add canned broth to the original cooking liquid in the glass measuring cup then follow as directed. This is such an easy recipe for homemade gravy.

No canned broth, that’s okay water works. But you will need to add additional salt and pepper to taste.

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Kitchen Equipment That Make Life Easier

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Most people are always looking for products on the market that make doing everyday tasks easier. There are many small kitchen appliances available today that help make preparing meals so much simpler. The variety is so wide that choosing just what we need can be a chore in itself!

Years ago people seemed to get by just fine with just basic kitchen equipment. Most people just had a stove, some pots and pans, hand-operated mixers and utensils. Today there are literally thousands of cooking appliances and equipment to choose from and there are special kitchen stores available in most every town and city.

We all need cooking equipment to be able to prepare food and having cooking appliances available to make the tasks easier is definitely a plus. Most people today cannot imagine life in the kitchen without some of the modern kitchen aids that are available today.

One of the most popular kitchen appliances that nearly everyone has in the kitchen is the bread toaster. Toasters come in all shapes and sizes and in varying price ranges. A toaster is considered a standard kitchen gadget.

Having a coffee machine is also considered quite standard. You can purchase an electric percolator, one of the drip-variety kind and even coffee machines that have a coffee grinder built right in. Many coffee makers today come with a timer so that you can set it the night before so that the coffee is ready when you get out of bed in morning.

Mixers are also very common and having a mixer is a must, especially if you are a baker. Some mixers have multi-functions wherein they chop, make juice and even can roll out pasta. The prices vary greatly, depending on what functions you require.

In the early 1980s, microwave ovens became very popular. These days microwaves come in all styles and can grill food, roast meat and bake breads. The varieties are many and they come with varying power levels also.

Having a food processor is a great plus as it can make the tasks such as shredding, blending, chopping and slicing a breeze and even fun! Different blades or discs are included that are each designed for a specific function. You can usually buy extra accessories for a food processor also.

Crock pots and slow cookers are great in the fact that you can put all of the ingredients into the pot, cover with the lid, plug it in and set the timer, and in a few short hours you have a complete meal ready to serve.

Toaster ovens are another popular small appliance because they are economical to use and they heat up quickly. They are ideal to use for grilling a few sandwiches, baking pizza or to re-heat items quickly. Toaster ovens are a popular choice for college students to use in their dormitory rooms since they often do not have access to a kitchen.

Blenders are very popular amongst people who like to mix drinks. You can put fruit, yogurt and juice in a blender and make wonderful smoothie right at home. A blender is also terrific to use as an ice crusher.

There are so many small kitchen appliances today to choose from. When deciding which kitchen equipment to buy, you must think about your own cooking habits. Perhaps you would never have the need for a toaster oven, but could not imagine your life without a handy food processor!

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