A

Assignment on
“Cooking”

Submitted To
Soft Key Education, Mumbai
In partial fulfilment for the degree
Of
“Hotel Management & Catering (First Year)”
By
Mr.Nilesh Sudarshan Singh
(B.sc HMC)

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 Index

Sr.no Particular Page no.

1. Introduction 3

2. History 4

3. Aim & objectives 7

4. Type of cooking 15

5. Basic principle 18

6. Ingredient 24

7. Type of fuel 39

8. Type of equipment 48

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Introduction
Cooking or cookery is the art or practice of preparing food for consumption
with the use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the
world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks
themselves also vary widely in skill and training. Cooking can also occur through
chemical reactions without the presence of heat, most notably as in Ceviche, a
traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with the acids in lemon or lime
juice. Sushi also uses a similar chemical reaction between fish and the acidic content
of rice glazed with vinegar.

Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans, and some
scientists believe the advent of cooking played an important role in human
evolution.[1] Most anthropologists believe that cooking fires first developed around
250,000 years ago. The development of agriculture, commerce and transportation
between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New
inventions and technologies, such as pottery for holding and boiling water,
expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced scientific
techniques to food preparation.

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History
There is no clear archeological evidence when food was first cooked. Most
anthropologists believe that cooking fires began only about 250,000 years ago, when
hearths started appearing.[3] Phylogenetic analysis by Chris Organ, Charles Nunn,
Zarin Machanda, and Richard Wrangham suggests that cooking may have been
invented as far back as 1.8 million to 2.3 million years ago.[4] Other researchers
believe that cooking was invented as recently as 40,000 or 10,000 years ago.
Evidence of fire is inconclusive, as wildfires started by lightning-strikes are still
common in East Africa and other wild areas, and it is difficult to determine when fire
was first used for cooking, as opposed to just being used for warmth or for keeping
predators away.

Wrangham proposed cooking was instrumental in human evolution, as it

reduced the time required for foraging and led to an increase in brain size. He
estimates the percentage decrease in gut size of early humans directly correlates to
the increase in brain size. Most other anthropologists, however, oppose Wrangham,
stating that archeological evidence suggests that cooking fires began in earnest only
about 250,000 years ago, when ancient hearths, earth ovens, burnt animal bones,
and flint appear across Europe and the Middle East.

Two million years ago, the only sign of fire is burnt earth with human remains,
which most other anthropologists consider to be mere coincidence rather than
evidence of intentional fire. The mainstream view among anthropologists is that the
increases in human brain size occurred well before the advent of cooking, due to a
shift away from the consumption of nuts and berries to the consumption of meat.

Food has become a part of material culture, and cuisine is much more than a
substance. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, food was a classic marker in
Europe. However, in the nineteenth century, cuisine became a defining symbol of
national identity. The discovery of the New World represented a major turning point
in the history of food because of the movement of foods from and to Europe, such
as potatoes, tomatoes, corn, yams, and beans. Food in America consisted of
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traditions that were adapted from England, but up until the end of this century, the
presence of new ingredients along with the contact between diverse ethnic groups
influenced experimentation. Industrialization was also a turning point that changed
how food affected the nation.

During the period of industrialization, food began to be mass-produced, mass

marketed, and standardized. Factories processed, preserved, canned, and packaged
a wide variety of foods, and processed cereals quickly became a defining feature of
the American breakfast. In the twenties, freezing methods as well as the earliest
cafeterias and fast food establishments emerged. This point in time is when
processed and nationally distributed foods became a huge part of the nation's diet.

Along with changes in food, there have also been several changes in
nutritional guidelines as well. Since 1916, there have been several different nutrition
guidelines issued by the United States government, eventually leading up to the
food pyramid.[10] In 1916, "Food For Young Children" along with its sequel for adults,
"How to Select Foods" was the first USDA guide to give specific dietary guidelines.
Updated in the 1920s to these guides gave shopping suggestions for different-sized
families along with a Depression Era revision which included four cost levels.

In 1943, the USDA created the "Basic Seven" chart to make sure that people
got the recommended nutrients. It included the first-ever Recommended Daily
Allowances from the National Academy of Sciences. In 1956, the "Essentials of an
Adequate Diet" brought recommendations which cut seven down to four groups
that school children would learn about for decades. In 1979, a guide called "Food"
was published, which addressed the link between too much of certain foods and
chronic diseases. This publication also added "fats, oils, and sweets" to the four basic
food groups and cautioned moderation. In 1992, the food pyramid was debuted. The
USDA introduced this, which represented proportions of foods in a balanced diet. In
2005, the pyramid got a makeover and was renamed MyPyramid. Lastly, in 2011,
"MyPlate" came about.

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How It All Began: A Brief History of the Kitchen
Brigade
The next time a restaurant kitchen delivers a complex meal to the dining
room, deftly timed and executed, consider the fact that this military precision is no
accident. The traditional system of kitchen structure -- the brigade led by the chef --
has venerable roots in European military organizations.

From the 14th century on, traveling armies had to be fed; cooks were selected
from among the ranks. During peacetime, rulers set up tournaments to keep their
warriors prepared for future battles; the military cooks followed knights to castles
and ultimately became the cooks to kings and nobility, orchestrating huge and
complicated meals and feasts for vast entourages.

Trade guilds soon developed; these were carefully controlled monopolies for
cooks that ensured the membership steady employment. Expensive and exclusive,
these guilds adopted uniforms, rigid hierarchies, and systems of exhaustive
apprenticeship. Until after the French Revolution and the subsequent rise of
restaurants, this caste of cooks continued to work exclusively for the aristocracy.

The classic double-breasted white jacket is vestigial -- it originated when chefs

were servants of the king and presumably might be called upon to serve in battle as
well as in noble households. By the 1820s, chefs were wearing uniforms purportedly
based on those worn by soldiers in the Turkish army. White eventually became the
standard to emphasize cleanliness and good sanitation.

There are numerous unsubstantiated legends about the origins of the chef's
tall white toque; one version attributes it to the tubular black hats worn by Greek
Orthodox priests. Antonin Carême, the 18th-century chef to Tallyrand and various
Rothschilds, is also credited with bringing the toque into the kitchen. Supposedly
inspired by a woman's hat, he inserted a snappy cardboard tube into his cap, and
the style caught on.

Traditional stiff, pleated toques are about 8 inches tall, but executive chefs
wear them up to 12 inches. The story told in my culinary school is that the extra-tall
headgear enables subordinates in need of guidance to quickly spot the chef in a
crowded kitchen. (Of course, the women students circulated an alternate theory.)

Late in the 19th century, following a French army career, gifted chef Georges-
Auguste Escoffier developed the modern brigade system in London's Savoy Hotel.
For maximum efficiency, he organized the kitchen into a strict hierarchy of authority,
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responsibility, and function. In the brigade, widely adopted by fine-dining
establishments, the general is the executive chef, or chef de cuisine, assisted by a
sous chef. Subordinate are the chefs de partie, each in charge of a production station
and assisted by demi-chefs and commis (apprentices). The number of station chefs
can get exhaustive, including the saucier (sauces), poissionier (fish), grillardin (grilled
items), fritteurier (fried items), rotissier (roasts), garde manger (cold food), patissier
(pastries), and tournant (roundsman, station relief).

Today, most restaurants use some simplified variation of Escoffier's kitchen

brigade. Typically, the executive chef coordinates kitchen activities, sets standards,
manages costs, and directs training and work efforts. The sous chef sees that the
food is prepared, portioned, and presented according to the executive chef's
standards. The line cooks run the stations and prepare menu items according to
specifications, aided by assistants and apprentices.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COOKING FOOD

What does ‘cooking’ mean?

Can cuchumbers and salads be called ‘cooked foods’?

Cooking means exposing food materials to heat. The medium of transfer of

heat from its source could be water, air or oil. This will be dealt with in detail at a
later stage. First let us understand why we need to ‘cook’ food.

In the ancient times, human beings ate / consumed raw meats and other foods
like roots and fruits. It was much later after the fire was invented that the concept of
‘cooking’ was known. It is believed that food accidentally fell in the fire and thus the
discovery of cooked food. Today we do eat some food in the uncooked (raw) form;
though, mostly we associate food with its cooked form.

A. Aims and objectives of cooking food:

1. Making food safe for consumption – Cooking sterilizes food partially. The
growth of bacteria gets restricted at 40oC (104oF). Non-sporing bacteria are killed at
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temperatures above 60oC (140oF). For example, pasteurization – milk is made safe by
holding it at 63oC (145oF) for 30 minutes or at 72oC (161oF) for 15 seconds. Boiling
kills living cells. Spore-bearing bacteria take 4-5 hours of boiling to be destroyed.

2. Making food more digestible – Complex foods are split into simpler
substances during cooking. The human body can absorb and utilize these more
readily.

3. Increasing palatability

4. Making food look better – Heat brings about changes in colour, texture and
overall appearance of the food, making it more appetizing.

5. Introducing variety – A single ingredient may be used in many different

ways, cooked by different methods and bring about changes in the meal.

6. Balancing a meal – Different ingredients combined in one dish make it easier

to provide a balanced meal – i.e. providing all the required vital nutrients to the
consumer.

B. Various textures:

As explained above, raw foods get exposed to some form of heat and then are
called ‘cooked’ for consumption. The term TEXTURE is used to describe the
characteristics of a finished (ready-to-eat) food product. The final product will have a
certain texture depending on

the order in which ingredients are added

the way of mixing

the method of cooking

A correct texture has to be brought about in the food. The chef should not only
know the correct texture, but should be able to produce the same in the food. The
various textures which are listed down, are difficult to explain in words, they should
be felt and understood better. There are very thin differences between some of
these, which one should learn better during practical.

1. Firm and close – biscuits and plain short pastries can explain this texture.
Raising agents are used while preparing these, but they do not make the product
very light or brittle. In fact they are hard as a result of many tiny air bubbles created
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by raising agents. But the biscuits are not too hard either, because of the fat
included.

2. Short and crumbly – nankhatai and tarts are good examples of this texture.
Fat included is more than that in biscuits, so it breaks more easily into smaller
particles.

3. Spongy – Swiss rolls, sponge cakes, idli and dhokla are spongy. A soft, elastic
texture due to incorporation of more air results in this texture.

4. Light – Madeira cake has plenty large holes in it, making it ‘light’. It is firm,
but not hard and tough. It is neither as short as a tart nor as spongy as a Swiss roll.

5. Flaky – chiroti, lacchha paratha, chicken or veg puffs and khara biscuits are
flaky. Thin, crisp layers are formed by spreading fat in between two layers of dough
which get separated during baking / frying and remain separated due to air pockets.
The flakes by themselves should not be tough / hard. Ideally the layers break easily
and melt in the mouth.

6. Coarse – large and uneven holes are a result of too much of the raising
agent or too little liquid. This is not a good texture to have in food; in fact, it is
something to be avoided. Such cakes and other products are sunken at the centre.

7. Tough – too much liquid, over mixing, incorrect mixing, too little fat and
long cooking time could result in toughness in food. Mostly, like the coarse texture,
this also is to be avoided.

8. Hard – another texture which should be avoided as far as possible. In fact, it

is considered to be a fault in the product. Too much pressure while mixing, excessive
liquid in the product and incorrect quantity of fat result in this texture. Air that is
incorporated gets removed out of the mixture, making the final product hard.

C. Various consistencies:

Like different textures found in solid foods (which are mentioned above),
different ‘consistencies’ are found in liquid foods.

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 Some substances flow readily, others resist flow and some require force or
weight application to start flow. The concept of consistency is closely related to
viscosity.

Factors affecting consistency of liquid are –

concentration (of thickening agent)

temperature

degree of dispersion

mechanical treatment

time (how long is it after preparing)

Generally speaking, the following consistencies could be found in liquid foods

–

A. Pouring – like water and milk. These do not show any resistance and
flow easily / readily. Stocks and some thin soups like consommé are examples of
‘cooked’ liquids having pouring consistency.

B. Coating – when a starchy thickening agent is mixed with a liquid, and

the mixture is heated, the starch gelatinizes. In case of a protein as a thickening
agent, it coagulates when exposed to heat. In both these cases, the liquid starts to
thicken. If a spoon is dipped in this mixture, it starts coating the spoon. A thin film of
the mixture could be seen in the beginning. Later on it goes on becoming visibly
thicker. Depending upon one / more factors listed before, the thickening will take
place up to a certain point. While making basic custard, this will be understood
better. Here, liquid is milk and thickening is egg yolk. Similar coating consistency
could be observed in kadhi where liquid is buttermilk and thickening is gram flour
(besan)

The liquid is proportionately more than the flour or thickening agent.

C. Dropping – when a liquid is added to dry flour, it forms lumps as only

some flour (granules) gets combined with liquid. Later, when added more liquid, it
converts into dough and with some more liquid, it turns into ‘batter’. Here, the
amount of solid (flour) is more than the liquid. For example, a cake mixture of fat,
sugar, egg and flour is moistened with water or milk. Only that much liquid is
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required which will make the mixture fall out in a big moist smooth lump. The liquid
should be dispersed well to get a smooth mixture. When you make cake batter in
the bakery class, you will understand it better. Also, next time when you are waiting
for your (batata)vada-pav, don’t forget to observe the vender making and using the
batter.

D. Techniques used in pre-preparation:

Raw materials used in food production are mostly natural products. They are
available in various shapes and weights. For example, no two potatoes or onions will
be same in size, shape and weight. No two red pumpkins will be of the same size,
shape and weight. Preparing a finished product calls for basic uniformity in size,
shape and weight. This is the base for uniformity in cooking and also the appearance
of the food. Breaking down the raw materials into required form is called
‘prepreparation’. Following are a few prepreparation techniques –

Washing – superficial dirt is removed during washing. Vegetables, fish, meat

and sometimes even eggs are washed with cold water before any other process.
These days this is done at the very entrance of the store to prevent any dirt and mud
entering in the store / kitchen / workplace. Water soluble vitamins and minerals are
lost if they are soaked for a long period of time or washed after cutting.

Peeling and scraping – spoilt, soiled and inedible portions are removed. Skins of
potatoes, carrots, radish or fruits can be removed by peeling. Smaller ingredients
like ginger, galangal are scraped. Peel off as little of the fleshy part as possible. If
vegetables like carrots are washed well, their peels could be used for making stocks.

Paring – remove surface layers by using a circular motion as in paring an apple.

Cutting – reducing to smaller parts with a knife or a pair of scissors. When a

chopping knife or a food chopper is used, it is termed as chopping.

Cutting into even size cubes --- --- --- dicing.

Cutting into very fine pieces --- --- --- mincing.

Cutting (especially green leafy vegetables & cabbage) into fine, long pieces ---
shredding. Cutting into slightly thicker, flat pieces --- slicing.

Grating – reducing to fine particles by rubbing over a rough, sharp surface.

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 Grinding – reducing to fine fragments by crushing in a mill, a grinding stone or
an ostirizer.

Mashing – breaking up soft foods like cooked potatoes. {SMASHes are in

boxing, NOT is food production}

Sieving – passing through a mesh to remove impurities or to break down into

even parts or to enclose air.

Milling – used for cereals, to remove husk.

Steeping – extracting colouring or / and flavouring by allowing ingredients to

stand in water at a simmering temperature.

Centrifuging – Separate two parts of a substance by application of whirling

force like separation of cream from milk.

Emulsification – Blending or mixing to non-mixable (insoluble) liquids by

application of force.

Evaporation / Reduction – removal of moisture by heating.

Homogenization – subdivision of large drops into smaller ones by forcing them

through a small opening under great pressure.

E. Techniques used in preparation:

When raw materials are ready to be cooked, they are sent to the preparation
area or hot section of the kitchen where it gets exposed to heat. Following are some
of the techniques in preparation. List may be enriched as and when you start actual
cooking.

Stirring – this mixes two or more ingredients as they get cooked. Wooden /
stainless steel flat spoons, round spoons, perforated spoons etc. of various sizes
could be used. Liquids as well as solid and semi-solid ingredients need stirring.
Generally it helps in even dispersion of heat leading to even cooking.

Masking – to prevent food from getting burnt in case of baking / roasting, it

needs to be masked with some other food material. It can also be done to get a
desired colour and appearance.
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 Coating or dipping in batter – as mentioned earlier, batter is a mixture of flour
and liquid (mostly equal quantities). Certain foods are dipped in batter and deep
fried. The most apt example would be potato vadas. The batter should coat the
stuffing fully and not expose any stuffing. This needs skill, because food should be
dropped in hot oil immediately after dipping in batter. So, in a split of a second, the
process has to be completed. Thus, the consistency of the batter plays a very
important role.

Basting – this is a technique which goes hand in hand with roasting. This means
to apply fat / butter on the food while being roasted. It helps by protecting the
surface from going dry and also by giving a pleasant brown colour to the roasted
food.

Tadka / baghar – these terms and technique are used in Indian cuisine. Oil is
heated to the required temperature and certain spice ingredients are added to it
(which should crackle,) then the food (like cooked dal or chopped vegetables) are
combined with this. It develops additional taste and flavour to the dish. A peculiar
flavour which is the characteristic of the dish can be added through the ingredients
in the tempering.

Sometimes, continental dishes, especially rich soups and sauces are also
‘tempered’; but the technique is applied for a different purpose and using different
ingredients. A mixture of egg yolk and cream (liaison) is added to a dish to enrich it,
to give it a glaze and to make it smooth. A little of the hot soup / sauce is first mixed
with the liaison, and then it is slowly stirred into the larger quantity of soup / sauce.

Seasoning – seasonings bring about the natural taste and flavours of the
ingredients. No dish can be complete without seasonings.

Flavouring – these are those ingredients which impart additional flavours in the
dishes. Nutmeg powder in creamed potatoes, cardamom powder in Indian sweets
like kheers, vanilla essence in vanilla buns are some of the examples. Flavourings
could be added in various forms – powders, drops or whole spices (which are
removed before serving the dish to guest).

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What different type of Raw Material?
Food raw materials, as a group, encompass a wide range of products needed
by many businesses, including food processing plants and restaurants. Meat,
seafood and poultry are gathered from slaughtered animals. From trees, grasses and
shrubs, people can gather food raw materials such as grains, seeds and nuts that
often have high levels of fiber and proteins. Fruits, fungi and vegetables are
gathered from fields, caves and trees; have high vitamin contents; and tend to be
either sweet or somewhat bitter. Dairy milk comes from many mammals, such as
cows and goats, while eggs come from birds such as chickens and ducks.

Meat, seafood and poultry involve slaughtering animals so their muscle tissue
can be harvested and used for cooking and eating. Poultry comes from birds,
including chickens and turkeys; seafood comes from creatures that live in water,
including lobster and salmon; meat is a general term used to categorize many
different animals, including cows as beef, pigs as pork and lamb as mutton. These
food raw materials tend to have the highest protein levels, and are included in many
main-course dishes.

Grains, seeds and nuts are calorically dense food raw materials that may be
consumed directly, but they often go on to further processing. Seeds come from the
inside of fruits and flowers, often have high fiber and usually are a good source of
protein. Most "nuts" come from trees — though cashews are actually seeds from
cashew apples and peanuts are legumes — and have high protein and fat contents.
Certain grasses create grains, which often are made into cereal, and they usually
have a good amount of fiber and some protein but are dense with carbohydrate
calories.

Fruits, fungi and vegetables are harvested from fields, caves and trees, and
they are often consumed whole or are added into dishes. All three have a high
amount of vitamins and minerals. Vegetables are often grown in fields, and they are
considered to be any type of plant that is not a fruit, leading to discrepancies
between countries and regions. Flowering plants create fruit, which is often sweet;
legumes come from flowers, but they are often not considered a fruit because of
their taste. Fungi are typically mushrooms for the purpose of food raw materials,
and they grow in moist places such as in caves and under trees.

Dairy milk and eggs come from animals, but the animals are not slaughtered to
get the products. Both can only be harvested from female animals. Milk is typically
gathered from female cows and goats, though horses and buffalo may be used, as
well, and this is the milk that otherwise would go to their young.
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 Eggs are often unfertilized — though, in some very rare instances, consumers
and buyers may get a fertilized egg — and are laid by birds such as chickens and
ducks. These are both high in protein, and these food raw materials are important to
food processing plants to make cheese, yogurt, baked goods and other items.

Types of Cooking

The basic methods of cooking include:

(1) Baking,
(2) Roasting,
(3) Broiling and grilling,
(4) Frying,
(5) Boiling,
(6) Simmering, and
(7) Steaming.
Salt, pepper, and other seasonings may be added to improve flavour.

Baking:
Food is baked by cooking it in an oven. In most cases, the oven temperature
ranges from 300 to 450 °F (149 to 232 °C).
The word baking usually refers to the cooking of foods made from a batter or dough.
Such foods include breads, cakes, cookies, and pastries. However, casseroles, a few
vegetables and fruits, and some cuts of meats can also be baked.

Roasting is cooking food uncovered in hot air. The term usually refers to the
cooking of meat. For example, a turkey or a leg of lamb is roasted.In roasting, the
meat is usually placed on a rackin a shallow pan and cooked uncovered in an oven.
The temperature usually ranges from 300 to 350 °F (149 to 177 °C).

Broiling and grilling are cooking by the application of direct heat. In broiling,
the food lies directly under a continuous heat source. Meat can be broiled by placing
it on a rack in a shallow broiler pan. The surface of the meat lies 3 to 5 inches (8 to
13 centimeters) under the flames in a gas range broiler or below the broilerheating
unit in an electric oven.
Leave the door open slightly when broiling in an electric oven to prevent the
air in the oven from becoming too hot. In grilling, the food lies directly over the heat
source. Cooks sometimes grill sandwiches in a skillet on the stove.

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 In barbecuing, highly seasoned meat is grilled over hot coals.In panbroiling,
the meat cooks in a skillet over a burner. The fat that melts from the meat is poured
out of the pan as it accumulates.

Frying is the cooking of food in fat, such as butter or vegetable oil.

Frying adds fat and calories to food because the food absorbs some of the fat in the
pan.

There are three main methods of frying:

(1) deep-frying, (2) pan frying, and (3) stir-frying.
In deep-frying, a large amount of fat is heated to about 350 °F (177 °C) in a heavy
saucepan or an electric appliance called a deep-fryer.
The hot fat completely covers the food.Deep-frying is a popular way of cooking
chicken, French fried potatoes, and shrimp.

In pan frying, also called sauteing, the food cooks in a small amount of fat,
usually in a skillet. Chicken, eggs, fish, and red meat are often pan fried.

In stir-frying, meat or vegetables cook in a skillet or in a wok, a large, thin

metal pan with a round bottom. The food is cut into small pieces and cooked in an
extremely small amount of fat. The cook fries the food at a high temperature
for only a few minutes and stirs it constantly with a tossing motion.

Boiling is cooking food in boiling water, whichhas a temperature of about 212

°F (100 °C). In boiling, air bubbles rise to the surface of the water and break.
Potatoes and other vegetables are often boiled in a saucepan over a burner.

Simmering is cooking food in water that is just below the boiling point. Such
foods as eggs and meats should be simmered rather than boiled. Cooks often use
covered saucepans to simmer foods. Slow cookers are electric appliances that
simmer foods at low temperatures for 4 to 12 hours. A cook puts the food and some
water in a slow cooker and sets the temperature. Health experts recommend
caution when using a slow cooker for meat and other foods prone to bacterial
growth at warm temperatures. Use sanitary methods in preparing the food and
keep it refrigerated until just before cooking.

Steaming is cooking food in steam. It is used mostly to cook vegetables.

To steam vegetables, place them on a rack or perforated pan in a saucepan and add
water to the saucepan. The water collects below the rack or perforated pan,

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and the vegetables remain above--and out of--the liquid. Cover the saucepan and
heat it on a burner until the waterboils and forms steam, which surrounds and cooks
the vegetables. Steaming takes longer than boiling. However, steamed vegetables
retain better color and flavor than boiled vegetables do. They also have more
nutrients because certain vitamins, including vitamin C, dissolve easily in water and
may be removed by boiling.

Other methods.
Some foods that require a long time to cook, such as stews and dried beans,
may be prepared more quickly in a pressure saucepan. This utensil cooks foods at
high temperatures by means of steam under pressure. Pressure saucepans are also
called pressure cookers.

Another fast method of cooking uses microwaves (short radio waves).

Microwave ovens heat small amounts of foods much faster than gasor electric ovens
or cooktops do. Microwave ovens are especially useful for thawing frozen foods and
heating soups, vegetables, and leftovers.

Method
Moist heat cooking methods:

 Boiling
 Poaching
 Steaming
 Stewing/Braising
 Blanching
 Boiling
 Basting
 Pot Roasting
 Braising
 Steaming
 Poaching
 Brining
 Deglazing

Dry heat cooking methods:

 Roasting
 Baking

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  Grilling
 Sauteing
 Steaming

Fry Cooking Methods:

 Dry frying
 Deep frying
 Shallow frying
 Pan frying
 Stir frying

Others:
 Pressure cooker cooking
 Microwaving
 Charcoal broiling
 Claypot cooking
 Barbecueing
 Smoking
 Curing
 Spit Roasting.

Basic Principle of cooking

Cooking
Cooking is generally understood to be the transfer of heat into food items to
render these more palatable, easier digestible and overall speaking, to improve their
bacteriological and tasteful aspects.

There are four important reasons why we cook food:

 To improve the appearance, flavor and taste of food and also helps to develop,
blend or alter flavors
 To bring about structural changes in food. Meat fibers are tenderized and the
cellulose in vegetables and fruits is softened so that they are easier to chew
and digest
 To stimulate the appetite and the digestive juices. It gives food an attractive
appearance, aroma and taste

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  To improve the keeping quality of food. It destroys some of the harmful micro-
organisms such as yeasts, and bacteria that are naturally present

Heat Transfer
In order for food to be cooked, heat must be transferred from a heat source
(such as a gas flame or an electric element) to and through the food.

Heat is transferred in three ways:

Conduction - Heat conducted by fire, hot plate, griddle plate, pot/pan, or grill.
Convection - Heat conducted by hot air, dry and wet steam, water, and oil, as in a
steamer or convection oven.
Radiation - Heat conducted by infrared heat or microwaves, as in a broiler,
salamander, or microwave oven.

Cooking Methodology
Cooking methods are classified as “moist heat” and “dry heat”.

 Moist heat methods are those in which the heat is conducted to the food
product by water (including stock, sauces, etc) or by steam.
 Dry heat methods are those in which the heat is conducted without moisture
that is by hot air, hot metal, radiation or hot fat.

Moist-Heat Methods
There are number of Moist-Heat Methods. The following section will describe
some of them one by one.

Boiling
To boil means to cook the product fully submerged in liquid that is
bubbling rapidly and is greatly agitated. Boiling is generally reserved for
certain vegetables and starches. The high temperature would toughen the proteins
of meats, fish and eggs and the rapid bubbling breaks up delicate foods.

Poaching
To poach means to cook in a liquid, usually a small amount that is hot but
not actually bubbling. Temperature is about 71° C to 82°C. Poaching is used to
cook delicate foods in a minimum amount of liquid in order to
conserve flavor and nutritive value such as fish and eggs out of the shell.

19
Stewing
This is the slow cooking of food (simmering) in the smallest quantity of
water, stock or sauce in a pan with a tight fitting lid. The cooking temperature is
in the range of 120° C - 140° C for better uniformity in cooking, the food is always
cut up into small equal sizes and the liquid is always served together so as to provide
moisture and taste.

Healthy Principle
If your eating habits are anything like those of most Americans and you are
looking for the simplest advice possible we would tell you to eat more vegetables,
fruits and whole grains and less of just about everything else. But if you’re ready for
just a bit more guidance, our 10 principles of healthy cooking will get you started:

1. Use smart fats. Not all fat is bad. Opt for unsaturated (e.g., olive oil) over
saturated fats such as butter. But still use them in moderation because all fats are
loaded with calories.

2. Go unrefined. Pick whole grains over refined grains. Whole grains like
brown rice and bulgur have their bran intact and thus have more fiber, B vitamins,
magnesium, zinc and other nutrients.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Most people don’t get enough! Aim for 5 to
13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Pick produce in a variety of colors to get a
range of antioxidants and vitamins. A serving size is 1⁄2 to 1 cup depending on the
fruit or vegetable.

4. It’s not all about the meat. Meat is a great source of protein but it’s also a
big source of saturated fat in many people’s diets. So eat small amounts of lean
meat, fish and poultry. Fill up the rest of your plate with healthy vegetables and
whole grains.

5. Choose low-fat dairy. Dairy products like milk, sour cream and yogurt are a
good source of calcium. Replacing whole-milk dairy products with low-fat or nonfat
is an easy way to cut saturated fat in your diet.

6. Keep portions reasonable. Even though we would all like a magic bullet for
weight control, it really boils down to calories. One of the easiest ways to manage
calorie intake is by eating healthy portions.
20
 7. Use sweeteners judiciously. Sugars of any kind, whether corn syrup, white
sugar, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup, add significant calories without any
nutritive value.

8. Keep an eye on sodium. Whether you have high blood pressure or not, it’s
wise to watch your sodium intake. The USDA’s dietary guidelines for Americans
recommend consuming less than 2,300 mg (about 1 teaspoon salt) daily.

9. Go for the flavor. Enhance food with bold flavors from healthy ingredients
like fresh herbs, spices and citrus. When your food has great flavor, there’s no
reason to feel deprived.

10. Be mindful and enjoy. Make conscious food decisions rather than grabbing
for what is most convenient. Make sure it is something delicious and savor it. When
you enjoy what you eat, you feel satisfied.

Principle of cooking
Roasting & Baking

Roasting and baking are forms of dry-heat cooking that use hot, dry air to cook
food. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, roasting and baking brown the surface of
the food, which in turn develops complex flavors and aromas. Both words describe a
method of cooking an item by enveloping it in hot, dry air, generally inside an oven
and at temperatures of at least 150°C and often much hotter. A convection oven,
which circulates hot air throughout the oven, can enhance the browning reaction.

21
Grilling & Char grilling

Grilling and broiling are dry-heat cooking methods that rely on heat being
conducted through the air from an open flame. This type of cooking produces
browning reactions on the surface of the food, thus encouraging the development of
complex flavours and aromas.

Sautéing

Sautéing is a form of dry-heat cooking that uses a very hot pan and a small
amount of fat / oil to cook the food very quickly. Like other dry-heat cooking
methods, sautéing browns the food's surface as it cooks and develops complex
flavors and aromas. Sautéing requires a very hot pan – so when sautéing, it's
important to heat the pan for a minute, then add a small amount of fat oil and let
the fat get hot as well, before adding the food to the pan. This hot fat helps to
brown the surface of the foods. Another key point to remember is to avoid
overloading or overcrowding the pan

Deep-Fat Frying

Deep-frying is a form of cooking that involves submerging food in hot, liquid

fat, it might take some time to get used to the idea that it's actually a form of dry-
heat cooking. But if you've ever seen the violent reaction of hot oil to even a tiny
drop of water, you know that oil and water are a couple of opposites that want
nothing to do with each other. Even though fat can take a liquid form, it really is
considered a solid — hence dry heat.

Poaching, Simmering & Boiling

Poaching, simmering and boiling are three different moist-heat cooking

methods where food is cooked either in hot water or in some other cooking liquid
such as broth, stock or wine.

What defines each one is an approximate range of temperatures, which can be

identified by observing how the cooking liquid behaves. Each one — poaching,
simmering and boiling — has certain telltale characteristics:

Poaching is to cook an item by submerging it in a liquid that is barely

simmering of a temperature range between 71°C - 82°C and this is a much gentler
technique compared with boiling.

22
 Simmering is usually used for secondary cuts of meat or items that require
more time to cook. The temperature of hte liquid is usually between 85°C -
93°C. This is also often referred to as a gentle boil.

Boiling is the process of cooking an item or a product in a boiling liquid, more

often than not it is water. Boiling water has a temperature of 100°C and no matter
how long or how hard you boil the item for it will never become hotter . At this
point the water is transformed into steam and slowly boils the water away/

Braising & Stewing

Braising is a form of moist-heat cooking in which the item to be cooked is

partially covered with liquid and then simmered slowly at a low temperature.

Though it can be done on the stovetop, braising is best done in the oven, because
the heat fully surrounds the pot and causes the food to cook more evenly than if it
were only heated from below.

Steaming: Moist Heat Cooking

Steaming is a form of moist-heat cooking technique that employs hot steam to

conduct the heat to the food item.

Once water is heated past the 100°C mark, it stops being water and turns into
steam. Steaming has an advantage over methods such as boiling or even simmering
is that there is no agitation involved, so it's gentler on delicate items like seafood.
And because it doesn't require the food to be submerged, it avoids the loss of
nutrients through leaching. It also cooks relatively quickly.

Confit

A classic method to confit a product is to firstly, salt and season the meat. A
confit of goose (confit d'oie) and confit of duck (confit de canard) are usually
prepared from the legs of the bird. The product is then slowly cooked by being
submerged in its own rendered fat, and then it is preserved by allowing it to cool
and to be stored in the fat.

23
Ingredients
Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables,
fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat,
eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in
baking are kinds of fungi. Cooks also use water and minerals such as salt. Cooks can
also use wine or spirits.

Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules called

proteins, carbohydrates and fats. They also contain water and minerals. Cooking
involves a manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules.

Carbohydrates

Grain products are often baked, and are rich sources of complex and simple
carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates include the common sugar, sucrose (table sugar), a

disaccharide, and such simple sugars as glucose (from the digestion of table sugar)
and fructose (from fruit), and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice,
arrowroot, and potato. The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex.

Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to break down into simpler sugars when
cooked, while simple sugars can form syrups. If sugars are heated so that all water of
crystallisation is driven off, then caramelization starts, with the sugar undergoing
thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon, and other breakdown
24
products producing caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins elicits the
Maillard reaction, a basic flavor-enhancing technique.

An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide
thickening to the dish being cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and
flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian
cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water.
These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous
saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This
thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.

Fats

Batter coated and deep-fried shrimp is usually cooked in vegetable oil

Types of fat include vegetable oils, animal products such as butter and lard, as
well as fats from grains, including corn and flax oils. Fats can reach temperatures
higher than the boiling point of water, and are often used to conduct high heat to
other ingredients, such as in frying or sautéing.

Proteins

Red kidney beans contain protein.

Edible animal material, including muscle, offal, milk, eggs and egg whites,
contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular
legumes and seeds) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts.
25
 Mushrooms have high protein content. Any of these may be sources of
essential amino acids. When proteins are heated they become denatured (unfolded)
and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to
become softer or more friable – meat becomes cooked and is more friable and less
flexible. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the
coagulation of albumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible
matrix from egg white provides an important component in baking cakes, and also
underpins many desserts based on meringue.

Vitamins and minerals

Vitamins are materials required for normal metabolism but which the body
cannot manufacture itself and which must therefore come from external sources.
Vitamins come from several sources including fresh fruit and vegetables (Vitamin C),
carrots, liver (Vitamin A), cereal bran, bread, liver e ( B vitamins), fish liver oil
(Vitamin D) and fresh green vegetables (Vitamin K).

Many minerals are also essential in small quantities including iron, calcium,
magnesium and sulphur; and in very small quantities copper, zinc and selenium. The
micronutrients, minerals, and vitamins[11] in fruit and vegetables may be destroyed
or eluted by cooking. Vitamin C is especially prone to oxidation during cooking and
may be completely destroyed by protracted cooking.[12][not in citation given]

Water

Water is often used to cook foods such as noodles.

Cooking often involves water, frequently present in other liquids, which is both
added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (typically water, stock or
wine), and released from the foods themselves. Liquids are so important to cooking
that the name of the cooking method used is often based on how the liquid is
combined with the food, as in steaming, simmering, boiling, braising, and blanching.
26
 Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation,
which concentrates the remaining flavor and ingredients – this is a critical
component of both stewing and sauce making.

There are very many methods of cooking, most of which have been known
since antiquity. These include baking, roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing, smoking,
boiling, steaming and braising. A more recent innovation is microwaving. Various
methods use differing levels of heat and moisture and vary in cooking time. The
method chosen greatly affects the end result because some foods are more
appropriate to some methods than others. Some major hot cooking techniques
include:

A Sunday roast consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables, and yorkshire
pudding

27
A Braised pot roast dish

A diagram of a propane smoker used to prepare smoked foods.

Roasting

Roasting – Barbecuing – Grilling/Broiling – Rotisserie – Searing

Baking

Baking – Baking Blind- Flashbaking

Boiling

Boiling – Blanching – Braising – Coddling – Double steaming – Infusion –

Poaching – Pressure cooking – Simmering – Smothering – Steaming – Steeping
– Stewing – Vacuum flask cooking

Frying

Fry – Deep frying – Hot salt frying – Hot sand frying – Pan frying – Pressure
frying – Sautéing – Stir frying

Smoking

Smoking

28
Cooking and health
1.Food safety

Ddeokbokki is a Korean dish consisting of sautéed rice cakes with vegetables and
pork.

A cook sautees onions and green peppers on a skillet

When heat is used in the preparation of food, it can kill or inactivate

potentially harmful organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, as well as various
parasites such as tapeworms and Toxoplasma gondii.

Food poisoning and other illness from uncooked or poorly-prepared food may
be caused by bacteria such as pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli, Salmonella
typhimurium and Campylobacter, viruses such as noroviruses, and protozoa such as
Entamoeba histolytica. Parasites may be introduced through salad, meat that is
uncooked or done rare, and unboiled water.

The sterilizing effect of cooking depends on temperature, cooking time, and

technique used. However, some bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum or Bacillus
cereus, can form spores that survive cooking, which then germinate and regrow

29
after the food has cooled. It is therefore recommended that cooked food should not
be reheated more than once to avoid repeated growths that allow the bacteria to
proliferate to dangerous level.[13]

Cooking prevents many foodborne illnesses that would otherwise occur if the
food was eaten raw. Cooking also increases the digestibility of some foods such as
grains or lactose because most foods, when raw, are inedible, and some are
poisonous. For example kidney beans are toxic when raw or improperly cooked, due
to the presence of phytohaemagglutinin which can be inactivated after cooking for
at least ten minutes at 100 °C.[14] Slow cooker however may not reach the desired
temperature and cases of poisoning from red beans cooked in slow cooker have
been reported.

Preparation, handling, and storage of food are other considerations in food

safety. According to the USDA, the temperature range from 40 °F to 140 °F (4 to 60
°C), is the "Danger zone" where bacteria is likely to proliferate, food therefore
should not be stored in this temperature range. Washing of hands and surfaces, and
avoidance of cross-contamination are good practices in food safety.

Food prepared on plastic cutting boards may be less likely to harbor bacteria
than wooden ones, other research however suggested otherwise. Washing and
sanitizing cutting boards is highly recommended, especially after use with raw meat,
poultry, or seafood. Hot water and soap followed by a rinse with an diluted
antibacterial cleaner, or a trip through a dishwasher with a "sanitize" cycle, are
effective methods for reducing the risk of illness due to contaminated cooking
implements.

Effects on nutritional content of food

A raw tomato sauce with olives, celery, spinach and walnuts on zucchini noodles.

30
A raw vegan lunch

Proponents of Raw foodism argue that cooking food increases the risk of some
of the detrimental effects on food or health. They point out that the cooking of
vegetables and fruit containing vitamin C both elutes the vitamin into the cooking
water and degrades the vitamin through oxidation. Peeling vegetables can also
substantially reduce the vitamin C content, especially in the case of potatoes where
most vitamin C is in the skin.[18] However, research has shown that in the specific
case of carotenoids a greater proportion is absorbed from cooked vegetables than
from raw vegetables.[12]

German research in 2003 showed significant benefits in reducing breast cancer

risk when large amounts of raw vegetable matter are included in the diet. The
authors attribute some of this effect to heat-labile phytonutrients.[19] Sulforaphane,
which may be found in vegetables such as broccoli, has been shown to be protective
against prostate cancer, however, much of it is destroyed when the vegetable is
boiled.[20]

Cooking and carcinogens

In a human epidemiological analysis by Richard Doll and Richard Peto in 1981,

diet was estimated to cause a large percentage of cancers.[21] Some of these cancers
may be caused by carcinogens in food generated during cooking process, although it
is often difficult to identify the specific components in diet that serve to increase
cancer risk. Many food, such as beef steak and broccoli, contain low concentrations
of both carcinogens and anticarcinogens.[22]

Several studies published since 1990 indicate that cooking meat at high
temperature creates heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are thought to increase
cancer risk in humans. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that
human subjects who ate beef rare or medium-rare had less than one third the risk of
stomach cancer than those who ate beef medium-well or well-done.[23] While eating
31
meat raw may be the only way to avoid HCAs fully, the National Cancer Institute
states that cooking meat below 212 °F (100 °C) creates "negligible amounts" of
HCAs. Also, microwaving meat before cooking may reduce HCAs by 90%.[23]
Nitrosamines, present in processed and cooked foods, have also been noted as
being carcinogenic, being linked to colon cancer.

Research has shown that grilling, barbecuing and smoking meat and fish
increases levels of carcinogenic Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In Europe,
grilled meat and smoked fish generally only contribute a small proportion of dietary
PAH intake since they are a minor component of diet – most intake comes from
cereals, oils and fats.[24] However, in the US, grilled/barbecued meat is the second
highest contributor of the mean daily intake of benzo[a]pyrene at 21% after ‘bread,
cereal and grain’ at 29%.[24]

Baking, grilling or broiling food, especially starchy foods, until a toasted crust is
formed generates significant concentrations of acrylamide, a possible carcinogen.[25]

Other health issues

Cooking dairy products may reduce a protective effect against colon cancer.
Researchers at the University of Toronto suggest that ingesting uncooked or
unpasteurized dairy products (see also Raw milk) may reduce the risk of colorectal
cancer.[26] Mice and rats fed uncooked sucrose, casein, and beef tallow had one-third
to one-fifth the incidence of microadenomas as the mice and rats fed the same
ingredients cooked.

This claim, however, is contentious. According to the Food and Drug

Administration of the United States, health benefits claimed by raw milk advocates
do not exist. "The small quantities of antibodies in milk are not absorbed in the
human intestinal tract," says Barbara Ingham, PhD, associate professor and
extension food scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "There is no
scientific evidence that raw milk contains an anti-arthritis factor or that it enhances
resistance to other diseases."[29]

Heating sugars with proteins or fats can produce Advanced glycation end
products ("glycotoxins").[30] These have been linked to ageing and health conditions
such as diabetes and causing obesity.

Deep fried food in restaurants may contain high level of trans fat which is known to
increase level of low-density lipoprotein that may increase risk of heart diseases and
other conditions. However, many fast food chains have now switched to trans-fat-
free alternatives for deep-frying.
32
Science of cooking
Main article: molecular gastronomy

The application of scientific knowledge to cooking and gastronomy has

become known as molecular gastronomy. This is a subdiscipline of food science.
Important contributions have been made by scientists, chefs and authors such as
Herve This (chemist), Nicholas Kurti (physicist), Peter Barham (physicist), Harold
McGee (author), Shirley Corriher (biochemist, author), Heston Blumenthal (chef),
Ferran Adria (chef), Robert Wolke (chemist, author) and Pierre Gagnaire (chef).

Chemical processes central to cooking include the Maillard reaction – a form of

non-enzymatic browning involving an amino acid, a reducing sugar and heat.

Home-cooking vs. factory cooking

Although cooking has traditionally been a process carried out informally in a
home or around a communal fire, cooking is also often carried out outside of
personal quarters, for example at restaurants, or schools.

Bakeries were one of the earliest forms of cooking outside the home, and
bakeries in the past often offered the cooking of pots of food provided by their
customers as an additional service. In the present day, factory food preparation has
become common, with many "ready-to-eat" foods being prepared and cooked in
factories and home cooks using a mixture of scratch made, and factory made foods
together to make a meal.

"Home-cooking" may be associated with comfort food, and some

commercially produced foods are presented through advertising or packaging as
having been "home-cooked", regardless of their actual origin.

Making a cream ingredient

Introduction.

The following information is used to instruct participants in the Medicinal Herb

Seminars held at Pindari Herb Farm. It details how to successfully manufacture
creams from plant derived ingredients and is based both on the author's 30 years
experience as a community pharmacist working in complementary medicine and for
the last 10 years in the manufacture of the Pindari Herb Farm's Skin Care Range.
33
The on going positive feed back from clients for the cosmetic and therapeutic
creams, and from participants of the herbal seminars who have gone on to establish
their own businesses making natural skin care products is an indication that there is
a place in today's market for creams produced using the procedures and ingredients
outlined below.

The acceptance of our products can in part be attributed to the use of extra
virgin and where possible organic oils, our recently prepared herbal extracts from
organically grown fresh herbs and the use of adequate and low irritant antioxidants,
preservatives and emulsifiers, these carefully combined to produce a stable,
cosmetically very acceptable, therapeutic cream.

In the information and formulations provided below, the emulsifier,

preservative and Glycerin used are made by the chemical manipulation of plant
derived ingredients and are thus not "natural" ingredients in the true sense.

A good reference for those wishing for further information in this area is the
book "Creating Your Own Cosmetics - Naturally" by Nikolaus J. Smeh (ISBN 0-
9637755-1-0)

What is a cream?

Creams generally consist of two basic components, an oil phase and an

aqueous phase. A cream is formed when the oil phase is successfully emulsified into
the aqueous phase, producing an oil in water emulsion of stable and solid
consistency at room temperatures.

Functions of a cream.

A cream can be successfully used to deliver and hold nutrients and

medications on the skin's surface. Both the oil and aqueous components can be used
as a carrier. The skin has a limited capacity to absorb many oils and some chemical
compounds and is responsive to surface medications such as herbal extracts, and to
vibrational energies such as Flower essences.

Efficacy of a cream

This is directly related to the quality of the added ingredients, their

concentration and how suited and how well either the oil or aqueous phases deliver
and hold that ingredient on the skin's surface and facilitate its absorption into the
34
skin. How the herbal extracts are prepared is crucial in determining their efficacy in a
cream. (Refer to "Practice and Principles in Preparing Fresh Plant Tinctures" and
"Basic Guidelines in Making Oil Infusion," both are freely available on our web page
at: www.pindariherbfarm.com/educate/edulist.htm)

What ingredients can go into a cream?

As previously mentioned, a cream consists of two basic components being an

oil phase and an aqueous phase. Into either of these two phases can be respectively
added oil and water soluble ingredients according to the intended functions of the
planned cream. Examples of some more commonly added ingredients are detailed
below.

Aqueous phase components.

This phase usually consists of 50% to 80% by weight of a cream with water as
the primary component. Water is the principle solvent on earth and is essential for
life. It is a dipolar solvent and is responsive to and "holds" vibrational energies as
demonstrated by Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto in his book "The Secret Life of
Water." According to Masaru, the source of the water, its level of contamination by
pollutants and the thoughts of those handling it can affect the water's vibrational
nature and thus would influence the subtle qualities of a resultant cream. This
author's personal experience supports Masaru's findings.

Water soluble and water miscible ingredients include:

 Herbal aqueous and alcoholic extracts.

 Mineral salts and other water soluble chemicals including vitamins.
 Glycerin. This water miscible ingredient adds emollient characteristics to a
cream improving its texture.
 Flower essences and Homoeopathic vibrational energies.
 Preservatives.
Water is an ideal medium for the growth of bacteria and moulds and unless a
cream is being used immediately or is carefully handled and stored in a
refrigerator, it needs the addition of a preservative.
There are many chemical preservatives and a few effective more natural
preservatives derived from plant material or other natural ingredients that are
then chemically manipulated. Two popular preservatives in this class and
available in Australia are:
Citrus seed extract (proprietary name Citricidal) prepared from Grapefruit
35
 pulp and seed.
Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate (proprietary name Suttocide C) prepared
from the amino acid Glycine.

Oil (and fat) phase Components.

This phase usually consists of between 15% and 30% of a cream by weight and
"holds the key" to the cream's texture and cosmetic quality. The bulk of this fraction
consists of the emulsifying agent and a mix of vegetable oils and fats.
The types, qualities and effects of the oils and fats that can be incorporated into this
component of a cream are extensive and complex and are beyond the scope of this
document. For further information on this refer to Nikolaus's book and “Fats that
Heal Fats that Kill” by Udo Erasmus published by Alive Books. (ISBN 0-920470-38-6)
Below is a brief outline of the more commonly used oils and fats.

Vegetable oils - these are divided here into five basic types:

1. Saturated or fixed oil or fat.

E.g. Coconut oil - saturated oil from the coconut palm.
E.g. Jojoba oil - natural saturated fluid wax extracted from the Jojoba seed.
2. Mono unsaturated oils (omega 9).
E.g. Olive oil
3. Poly unsaturated oils (omega 6).
E.g. Almond oil - oil with omega 9 and omega 6 fatty acids.
E.g. Grape seed and Sunflower oils - oils high in omega 6 with a little omega 9
fatty acids.
4. Poly unsaturated oils (omega 3).
E.g. Flax seed oil - high in omega 3 fatty acids. The most susceptible group to
oxidation.
5. Specialised oils.
E.g. Evening primrose and Borage seed oils - contain high levels of GLA
(Gamma-linolenic Acid).

Animal oils and fats.

1. Lard (pig fat) and other animal fats have fallen out of fashion, being mostly
replaced by the more cosmetically acceptable and readily available vegetable
oils.
2. Emu oil extracted from the liver area of the Emu and is being used increasingly
as a therapeutic agent for inflammatory conditions involving pain.

36
 3. Mutton bird oil is extracted from the gullet of juvenile Shearwater birds and
consists of the oil from digested fish. It has a limited availability to southern
Australia.

Fish oils.

Cod liver and other fish oils are high in omega 3 fatty acids including DHA and EPA.

Other oil phase components:

 Fragrant essential oils (e.g. Lavender oil and Peppermint oil).

 Herbal oil infusions (e.g. Calendula flowers infused in Olive oil).
 Emulsifiers (see below).
 Antioxidants (see below).

Emulsifiers.
Also known as surfactants, these are usually organic salts with a linear (straight)
molecular structure where one end is "water loving" (hydrophilic) and the other "oil
loving (lipophilic)." They act by "sitting" on the surface of the oil globule (micelle) at
its interface with the aqueous phase of the cream, reducing the "surface tension"
between the two, thus providing a "platform" for a stable emulsion that forms the
cream.

Emulsifiers is a complex science and in this document only the commonly available
emulsifying agent called Emulsifying wax is discussed as it is easy to use in practice
and is more tolerant and accepting when significant quantities of ingredients are
added. It is derived mostly from the chemical manipulation of palm oil and the
variations in this process result in differing properties in the Emulsifying waxes
available. It is usually used in a cream at a concentration of 6% - 15% by weight.
Obtain the product information on the chosen emulsifier for the optimum
percentage to use and the temperature and mixing time needed to form a stable
emulsion.

Antioxidants
Antioxidants "resist" the oxidation of oils in the presence of air and especially light
by sacrificing themselves to oxidation thus protecting the chemical bonds in the oil.
They can extend the shelf life of oils.

They are especially needed in un-saturated oils (most vegetable oils) but are not
required for oils such as paraffin oil that is used in Sorbolene cream. Virgin
(unprocessed) vegetable oils contain their own natural antioxidants. These are
mostly removed when the oil is processed.

37
Natural antioxidants:
- Vitamin E is extracted from vegetable oils. It is available as vitamin E capsules and
as a liquid concentrate.
- Rosemary frond extract is available as a commercial product called Amiox. It is used
at a concentration of 2 - 4 drops per 100mL/gm of cream.

Equipment needed for making a cream in a home

based setting.
 A source of heating for two saucepans to be used as water baths. Gas heating
is preferred.
 Two tall stainless or enamel, straight sided jugs, one large enough to hold the
volume of the cream to be made. Both jugs should comfortably fit inside the
water bath saucepans which are filled with sufficient water to heat the
ingredients but to not over flow when the jugs are placed in them.
 A stainless bladed spatula, a stick type thermometer and a stick type blender
that are long enough to reach to the bottom of both jugs. (Approximately
20cm)
 Scales that are accurate down to 1 gm and up to 5 kilograms.
 A graduated measuring cylinder. e.g. 100mL
 A large saucepan to be used as a cooling bath and into which cold water can
be added from a tap or container.
 A clean bench, preferably a sink as a work place.
 Sufficient jars to hold the quantity of cream to be made cream and a place
where they can be comfortably and efficiently filled. (e.g. Table top).

38
Type of fule
Anything that can burn has been used as fuel for cooking. This includes, but is
not limited to:

 methane
 butane
 oil (various grades)
 animal fat
 cow, yak, buffalo manure
 liquid alcohol
 solid alcohol
 waxes and paraffins
 gasoline and kerosene
 wood
 coal
 straw
 charcoal
 Oil (Paraffin, Petrol etc.)
 Gas (Natural Gas, Propane, Butane)
 Wood
 Charcoal
 Coal
 peat

Fuels burned for cooking are usually burned in conditions of plentiful air and
low temperatures so the production of CO and NOx is low. Burning of biomass can
create organic emissions as volatiles are boiled out of the unburned material.
Carbon dioxide emissions are lowest with methane and highest with coal, peat and
charcoal.

There are a wide variety of fuels currently employed around the world for
household cooking purposes. Each of the fuel types described below differ in their
health and climate impacts, efficiency, and availability, but are important pieces in
the clean cookstoves sector today.

39
Biogas

Biogas is a methane rich gas produced through the anaerobic (without air)
digestion of organic wastes. It can be generated from animal and kitchen wastes, as
well as some crop residues. For cooking and other thermal household tasks, biogas
can be used directly in conventional low-pressure gas burners. Biogas is used for
many different applications worldwide. In rural communities, small-scale digesters
can provide biogas for single-household cooking and lighting. Large-scale digesters
can utilize biogas for electricity production, heat and steam, chemical production,
and vehicle fuel.

Health Impacts: Users of biogas technology yield tangible health effects with
regards to smoke reduction in the kitchen. Individual studies have found that biogas
plant installation can significantly reduce respiratory diseases, including decreases in
respiratory illness, eye infection, asthma and lung problems.

Climate Impacts: Unlike fossil fuel combustion, biogas production from biomass is
considered CO2 neutral and therefore does not emit additional greenhouse gases
(GHG) into the atmosphere. However, if biogas is not recovered properly it will
contribute to a greater GHG impact than if methane is simply combusted. Several
biogas programmes in Asia have managed to generate carbon revenues through the
compliance and/or voluntary market.

Fuel Efficiency: The primary domestic uses of biogas are cooking and lighting
by means of a gas mantle. The efficiency of a biogas cookstove ranges from 50 to 65
percent, depending on the gas pressure and the stove design.

Fuel Availability: Biogas is best suited for the estimated 155 million
households and commercial farms where sufficient animal manure can be collected
on a daily basis. However, fuel collection can prove challenging, particularly for
farmers who do not keep their livestock in one location. Biogas systems can function
under a variety of climatic conditions, yet widespread acceptance and dissemination
of biogas technology has yet to materialize in many countries.

One primary reason is the high investment capital necessary for a biogas plant,
which often can only be afforded by better-off farmers. Even for small biogas units,
the up-front costs may not be affordable for poor households. Even so,
approximately 48 million domestic biogas plants have been installed since the end of
2011, of which 42.8 million are in China and 4.4 million in India.

40
Biomass

Approximately half of the world's population still depend on coal and biomass
fuels, (mainly wood, charcoal, dung, and crop residues), for their home cooking and
heating. Biomass is the oldest source of renewable energy known to humans and is
used for household energy production either through growing energy crops, plants
specifically grown for energy use, or by using biomass residues from plants with
other applications.

Wood is still the largest biomass energy resource today, though other sources
of biomass include food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues from agriculture or
forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes.

Health Impacts: Burning biomass indoors over open fires or on crude stoves
can lead to high concentrations in air of substances harmful to health. The known
adverse effects of biomass combustion for household energy use include common
respiratory diseases, along with low birth weight and increased infant mortality. In
developing countries, women are traditionally responsible for cooking and have the
highest levels of exposure, as well as infants and young children, who are often
carried on their mother's back.

Climate Impacts: Burning biomass releases approximately the same amount of

carbon dioxide as burning fossil fuels. While fossil fuels release carbon dioxide (CO2)
captured by photosynthesis millions of years ago, biomass releases CO2 that is
largely balanced by the carbon dioxide captured in its own growth (depending upon
the amount of energy used to grow, harvest, and process the fuel). Replacing
harvested biomass results in a sustainable cycle of carbon dioxide emission and
sequestration. However, burning biomass also releases pollutants including black
carbon and methane, which have short life spans but significant consequences for
the climate. Black carbon, which results from incomplete combustion, is estimated
to contribute the equivalent of 25 to 50 percent of CO2 warming globally. Methane
emissions are the second largest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide.

Fuel Efficiency: Biomass is often burned over open fires or in crude stoves,
which yields negative health and climate impacts. Use of clean and efficient biomass
cookstoves results in fuel saving, improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions

Fuel Availability: Biomass availability varies in regions throughout the world

from sustainable harvesting in some areas to many areas where biomass use is
unsustainable, leading to deforestation, desertification, and land degradation. The
type of biomass used varies from region to region according to climate, soils,
geography and population.
41
Charcoal

Charcoal is charred wood, which has lost all moisture and most volatile
contents in the production process. It is an energy-dense, light-weight, easy-to-
handle, and convenient fuel, which burns without producing much smoke (visible
emissions) other than during lighting. These properties make it a preferred fuel
especially in urban and peri-urban areas. However, the process of turning wood into
charcoal usually wastes over half of the energy in the wood,

Health Impacts: While low in particulate matter emissions, charcoal often has
high (odorless and colorless) monoxide (CO) emissions which can kill if room
concentrations reach critical levels.Use of charcoal for household energy can lead to
high concentrations in air of substances harmful to health, particularly for women
and children. Lab testing indicates that improved charcoal stoves can significantly
(by 75% and possibly much more) reduce particle emissions released by an open
fire. However, most charcoal stoves significantly increase carbon monoxide
emissions. Lab testing comparing improved charcoal stoves with traditional charcoal
stoves showed mixed results, with some “improved” charcoal stoves slightly
reducing emissions and others increasing these emissions.

Climate Impacts: Lab tests of charcoal stoves for climate forcing emissions
found that these stoves—relative to an open fire – achieved modest reductions of
climate forcing of about 20 percent, when taking into account CO2. However, this
analysis does not take into account the net life-cycle impacts, which would also
include the substantial climate impacts related to charcoal production. Lab testing
comparing improved charcoal stoves to a traditional charcoal stove showed that
most (but not all) “improved” charcoal stoves reduced CO2 emissions to varying
degrees.

Fuel Efficiency: Most traditional charcoal stoves are made of scrap metal with
no option to regulate the burn-rate of the fuel and often without pot-rests, so that
the pot sits directly on the charcoal. This causes high emissions of potentially lethal
carbon monoxide and wastes a significant amount of fuel. The inability to regulate
the air supply and turn down the heat also leads to unnecessary waste of fuel. Lab
testing indicates that improved charcoal stoves can reduce fuel use substantially.

Fuel Availability: Charcoal is often produced in rural areas as an income

generating activity and then sold in urban markets where firewood collection is less
feasible and people have more purchasing power to buy fuel. The price of charcoal is
consequently linked to the size of cities, the distance to exploitable forests, and the
price of the fuel required for transport. Thus, as cities expand and forests retreat,
42
the cost of charcoal climbs upwards, often resulting in a heavy financial burden on
urban households.

Coal

Coal is a black, solid, carbon-rich material found underground and is among

the most important fossil fuels. In the household energy sector, coal is often used in
countries where cooking and heating are combined, particularly in China.

Health Impacts: Coal combustion tends to emit other pollutants, in addition to

products of incomplete combustion, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and
mercury compounds. Coal has additional pollutants that may include sulfur, arsenic,
mercury, and fluorine that make it a particularly dangerous solid fuel to cook with.

However, if local realities are such that coal will be used as a household
cooking fuel, processed coal briquettes in combination with advanced coal stoves
(especially with a chimney to lessen immediate individual exposures) appear to be a
much cleaner way to cook with coal. Lab measurements indicate that the
combination of using improved stoves with processed coal briquettes could have a
dramatic impact on particle emissions, in one case reducing emissions by over 60
percent.

Climate Impacts: Burning coal for cooking and heating yields carbon dioxide,
black carbon, and methane emissions, while coal mining and abandoned mines emit
methane, all of which affect climate. Coal and coal waste products contain many
heavy metals, which are dangerous if released into the environment.

Fuel Availability: While coal is not used widely as a source of cooking fuel
around the world, it is a significant household energy source for China, where strong
domestic coal production influences availability of the fuel for cooking and heating.

Ethanol

Ethanol is a clean liquid bio fuel that can be made from a variety of feedstocks
including sugary materials such as sugar cane, molasses, sugar beet, or sweet
sorghum, starchy materials such as cassava (manioc), potatoes, or maize,
or cellulostic materials such as wood, grasses, corn stover and other agricultural
residues. Many new feedstocks are under development, such as algae, kelp and
other wild or non-cultivated crops such as cattails (bulrush).

43
 Health Impacts: Ethanol burns very cleanly, without the production of harmful
gases and fine particulates (soot). Burning ethanol produces significantly less carbon
monoxide (CO) than kerosene or solid fuels. Studies conducted in a number of
countries, both in the laboratory and in household field tests, have shown the
benefit of alcohol stoves in dramatically reducing indoor air pollution as compared
to wood, charcoal and kerosene stoves.

Climate Impacts: Greenhouse gases released in the production and

consumption of ethanol fuel are reabsorbed during the growth cycle of the plant
material used to make the fuel. Especially damaging greenhouse gases like carbon
monoxide and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are not produced or produced
only at extremely low levels. Black carbon aerosols, a potentially potent climate
forcer, are essentially not produced by the combustion of ethanol and methanol.

Fuel Efficiency: Ethanol fuel functions in a range of efficiencies when used in

alcohol stoves, with gelfuel generally somewhat less efficient and liquid fuel
somewhat more efficient. In the most efficient alcohol stoves, ethanol is more
efficient than solid fuels and kerosene, and generally comparable to LPG.

Although ethanol fuel has a lower energy content by volume than kerosene,
ethanol tends to combust more efficiently in a simple cook stove than kerosene
does and therefore gains in efficiency what it lacks in energy. Ethanol with lower
water content contains more energy; thus 95% ethanol produces more heat per
volume of fuel consumed than 80% ethanol, although flame temperature remains
reasonably constant.

Fuel Availability: Ethanol is made on every continent and in most countries.

World production of ethanol has topped 100 billion liters annually, with the U.S. and
Brazil the largest producers. Other important producers include Colombia, South
Africa, India, China, Pakistan, the European Union, Canada and Australia. In Africa
important producers include South Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,
Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and others. Global growth in production capacity has
topped 18% in recent years. However, the price of ethanol is still high, in part due to
the demand created by its use as a transport fuel.

Kerosene

Kerosene, also called paraffin in some countries, is a liquid product of crude oil
with a high energy density. Kerosene is widely used in urban households for cooking,
heating, and lighting, but is flammable and causes a high number of fires and deaths
each year. Kerosene is sometimes improperly stored in soda bottles leading to
accidental poisoning of children.
44
 Health Impacts: In lab testing, emissions from kerosene stoves were low,
though appreciably higher than alcohol or propane. Kerosene is not as clean as
gaseous fuels and produces more emissions than LPG. Additionally, kerosene fuel
use carries a higher risk of injury than many other household cooking fuels.

Climate Impacts: While kerosene has a net climate impact worse than that of
LPG, it is much better than that of traditional stoves fueled by solid biomass.

Fuel Efficiency: The energy content of kerosene is 47 MJ/kg. The release of

energy from this fuel is dependent of the technological advancement of the
appliances used.

Fuel Availability: Kerosene can easily be transported in bulk and does not
need to be transported in pressurized containers, in contrast to LPG. Thus, the
logistics of distribution and retail are simpler and access to kerosene in rural and
peri-urban areas is often widespread.

In addition, distribution of kerosene is efficiently controlled by market

mechanisms and does not require project support (although its use is subsidized in
some countries). However, kerosene must be purchased and the high price
frequently prevents its use, particularly amongst the rural poor. This is especially
true where fuelwood can easily be gathered.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a clean-burning, portable, sustainable, and

efficient fuel. LPG is a co-product of natural gas and crude oil production and usually
consists of a mixture of propane and butane for standard heating and cooking
purposes. Its unique properties make it a versatile energy source – it is a multi-
purpose energy with many applications, is portable, and can be used virtually
anywhere in the world.

Health Impacts: Lab testing confirms that cooking with propane or liquid
petroleum gas (LPG) is vastly cleaner than cooking over an open fire – reducing
emissions of most key pollutants by over 95%, and reducing energy use by about 50
to 70%. LPG improves both indoor and outdoor air quality by substantially reducing
pollutants that are hazardous to health, such as SOx, NOx and particulate matter.

Climate Impacts: LPG is very clean burning and has lower greenhouse gas
emissions than any other fossil fuel when measured on a total fuel cycle. However,
LPG is a fossil fuel, and thus has a substantial carbon footprint. It has been estimated
that the carbon impact of LPG per unit of energy delivered is substantially less than
45
the net warming impact from other forms of solid biomass burned in a cookstove
and produced fewer harmful emissions than other fuels such as petrol, kerosene, oil,
and diesel.

Fuel Efficiency: LPG is cost-effective, since a high proportion of its energy

content is converted into heat. LPG can be up to five times more efficient than
traditional fuels, resulting in less energy wasted and less household income spent on
fuel for those families currently buying solid fuels for cooking. Lab testing results
show that cooking with LPG reduces the weighed fuel to cook by nearly 90%, relative
to cooking on an open fire.


Fuel Availability: While there is increasing access to LPG in developing

countries, this is often primarily in urban areas. The unit of purchase – a canister –
can be difficult for low-income families to afford, unlike other fuels that can be sold
varying quantities.

Pellets or Briquettes/Cakes

Pellets or briquettes/cakes made from biomass such as agricultural waste,

recycled materials, or other materials such as saw dust, are an increasingly common
fuel source in developing countries. However, few stoves are dedicated to these
fuels alone and pellets or briquettes/cakes are typically used with an improved
biomass stove.

Health Impacts: Broadly, use of these fuels can lead to substantial

improvements in efficiency and reduction in smoke emissions. Pellets are a clean
fuel requiring no additives in the production, and provide a renewable alternative to
coal and other fossil fuels.

Climate Impacts: There has been very little independent testing of these fuels
in either lab or field settings to date, but recent testing will be forthcoming shortly,
and indications are that the combination of an advanced stove with pelletized fuel
may be able to dramatically decrease both emissions and fuel use.

Fuel Efficiency: Under the right conditions, pellets or briquettes/cakes can

burn more efficiently than traditional biomass. They are more consistent in
composition and size than traditional biomass, and a well-designed stove can burn
these processed fuels efficiently.

Fuel Availability: Providing adequate supplies of the pellets or cakes at

affordable prices and at large scale has proved challenging in previous settings.

46
Solar

Direct solar thermal energy can be used to power solar cook stoves, which can
save time, work, money, and combustible fuel in suitable circumstances. Unlike solar
photovoltaic energy, which requires expensive PV cells to convert sunlight into
electricity, solar thermal energy can be captured instantly and directly with a solar
cooker, which generates zero emissions heat for cooking food and boiling water.

By comparison, a one hundred square foot PV array would be needed to

power a single hotplate. Solar thermal energy can also be used for solar hot water
heaters, sterilizers and food driers.

Health Emissions: Use of direct solar thermal energy to power cookstoves

produces no smoke, thus eliminating health impacts associated with cooking over
open fires or crude stoves.

Climate Impacts: Solar energy use emits no greenhouse gasses and does not
contribute to climate change. Fuel Efficiency: While the efficiency of solar thermal
energy for cooking is dependent on sunshine, this “fuel” is available free of charge,
making it an extremely cost-effective solution, especially for populations with
limited access to other fuel sources.

Fuel Availability: Most people cooking over open fires or on crude stoves live
where sunshine is abundant and solar cooking is possible, as indicated by NASA’s
solar insolation maps. However, in the sun’s absence there is often a need to burn
combustibles as well, in which case multiple stove technologies can compliment
each other.

In some places solar can be the main source of household energy, while in
others it is an excellent back-up energy source. As with other fuel efficient stoves,
solar cookers are unfamiliar to most cooks in the developing world who are used to
cooking over an open flame, so their adaptation to these stoves requires careful
training and follow-up.

47
Type of equipment
Pots, pans, and knives are cooking equipment that many people consider
basic, but which are generally available in a wide range of varieties. Some people
consider the word oven to refer to a specific piece of equipment, but there are
actually numerous types of these also. Certain types of cooking equipment fall into
the category of counter-top appliances. These items include deep fryers, slow
cookers, and food processors.

Pots and pans are one type of cooking equipment with a vast number of
options. These tend to vary based on factors such as brand, with some companies
having somewhat of a celebrity status. They differ according to what they are made
of and the type of interior surface that they have. Furthermore, there are different
types, which are used to produce difference results. For example, a person shopping
for equipment in this category may have options such as a wok, a griddle pan, or a
stockpot.

Knives are cooking equipment that often seem basic and not worthy of much
thought for the general household cook. For chefs, however, knives are essentially
tools that are carefully selected, and the proper knife is used for the proper reason.
Examples of the various types of knives include a paring knife, a fillet knife, and a
Santoku knife, which all vary in design.

For many people, the word oven invokes a specific image, but there are
numerous types. An unknowing person may, for example, call a Dutch oven a pot
because of the resemblance. Dutch ovens are usually designed with rounded bodies
to be used over an open fire or hearth. Brick ovens are usually permanent structures
that are fire heated and used for baking items such as bread or pizza. A toaster oven
is a small counter-top appliance that may have numerous settings, such as grilling,
baking, and toasting.

Another piece of cooking equipment that is available in a counter-top version

is a deep fryer. This appliance allows food to be cooked by complete submersion in
cooking oil. Some deep fryers, such as those used in restaurants, are much larger
and rest on the floor in much the same way as a conventional cooking range. Though
they may look somewhat similar, a counter-top deep fryer should not be confused
with a slow cooker. A slow cooker is a small appliance that does as the name
suggests and prepares food over an extended period.

48
 Two other types of cooking equipment that individuals may get confused are a
blender and a food processor. A blender is a machine that is mostly used for either
soft foods or liquids. A food processor is generally larger and can be used for a much
wider variety of foods. Food processors also tend to have more capabilities,
including the ability to chop, slice, and grate.

Basic Cooking Equipment

You need some basic equipment to start cooking — essential items for
working in the kitchen. Here’s a short list of all-I-can-spend-now cooking equipment,
including pots, pans, and other tools that no home cook should be without.

 10-inch nonstick frying pan: The all-around pan for sautéing and more.
 3-quart saucepan: For cooking things such as vegetables and soups.
 10-quart stockpot with lid: For making stocks or large quantities of soup,
pasta, and vegetables.
 Heavy-duty roasting pan: Roasting pans have high sides to keep in all those
juices that you can use to make gravy.

 10-inch chef’s knife: You can perform more than 80 percent of all cutting and
slicing chores with this knife.
 9- to 12-inch serrated bread knife: Invaluable for cutting slices of fresh bread
without squishing the loaf.
49
  Paring knife: For peeling, coring, and carving garnishes from vegetables and
fruits.
 Liquid and dry measuring cups and measuring spoons: So you don’t botch up
recipes by using too much or too little of something.
 Mesh strainer: This tool is essential for certain sauces, pastas, salads, and
soups.
 Meat thermometer: Why guess?
 Vegetable peeler, heatproof rubber spatula, and a few wooden spoons of
varying sizes: These basics have many uses.

Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, (such as a simple sauce) that is added to
some foods to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor or in some cultures, to
complement the dish. The term originally described pickled or preserved foods, but
has shifted meaning over time.[2] Many condiments are available packaged in single-
serving sachets (packets), like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with
take-out or fast-food meals. Condiments are usually applied by the diner.
Condiments are sometimes added prior to serving, for example a sandwich made
50
with ketchup or mustard. Some condiments are used during cooking to add flavor or
texture to the food; barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, marmite are
examples.

Capsicum
Capsicum

Fruit and longitudinal section (Bell

pepper)

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

(unranked): Angiosperms

(unranked): Eudicots

(unranked): Asterids

Order: Solanales

Family: Solanaceae

Subfamily: Solanoideae

Tribe: Capsiceae

Capsicum
Genus:
L.[1]

Species

51
 Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Its species are native to the Americas, where they have been cultivated for
thousands of years. In modern times, it is cultivated worldwide, and has become a
key element in many regional cuisines. In addition to use as spices and food
vegetables, capsicum has also found use in medicines.

The fruit of Capsicum plants have a variety of names depending on place and
type. The piquant (spicy) variety are commonly called chili peppers, or simply
"chilies". The large mild form is called red pepper, green pepper or bell pepper in
North America and Britain and typically just "capsicum" in New Zealand, Australia,
and India. The fruit is called paprika in some other countries (although paprika can
also refer to the powdered spice made from various capsicum fruit).

The generic name is derived from the Greek word κάπτω (kapto), meaning "to
bite" or "to swallow." The name "pepper" came into use because of their similar
flavour to the condiment black pepper, Piper nigrum, although there is no botanical
relationship with this plant, or with Sichuan pepper. The original Mexican term, chilli
(now chile in Mexico) came from the Nahuatl word chilli or xilli, referring to a larger
Capsicum variety cultivated at least since 3000 BC, as evidenced by remains found in
pottery from Puebla and Oaxaca.

Capsicum consists of approximately 20–27 species, five of which are

domesticated: C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescens .
Phylogenetic relationships between species were investigated using
biogeographical, morphological, chemosystematic, hybridization, and geneticdata.
Fruits of Capsicum can vary tremendously in colour, shape, and size both between
and within species, which has led to confusion over the relationships between taxa.
Chemosystematic studies helped distinguish the difference between varieties and
species. For example, C. baccatum var. baccatum had the same flavonoids as C.
baccatum var. pendulum, which led researchers to believe that the two groups
belonged to the same species.[20]

Many varieties of the same species can be used in many different ways; for
example, C. annuum includes the "bell pepper" variety, which is sold in both its
immature green state and its red, yellow or orange ripe state. This same species has
other varieties as well, such as the Anaheim chiles often used for stuffing, the dried
ancho chile used to make chili powder, the mild-to-hot jalapeño, and the smoked,
ripe jalapeño, known as a chipotle.

Most of the capsaicin in a pungent (hot) pepper is concentrated in blisters on

the epidermis of the interior ribs (septa) that divide the chambers of the fruit to
which the seeds are attached. A study on capsaicin production in fruits of C.
52
chinense showed that capsaicinoids are produced only in the epidermal cells of the
interlocular septa of pungent fruits, that blister formation only occurs as a result of
capsaicinoid accumulation, and that pungency and blister formation are controlled
by a single locus, Pun1, for which there exist at least two recessive alleles that result
in non-pungency of C. chinense fruits.

Ingredients of hot sauce

There are many recipes for hot sauces but the only common ingredient is any
kind of chili pepper. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the
heat in chili peppers.[6] Many hot sauces are made by using chili peppers as the base
and can be as simple as adding salt and vinegar while other sauces use some type of
fruits or vegetables as the base and add the chili peppers to make them hot.

Manufacturers use many different processes including aging in containers,

pureeing and cooking the ingredients to achieve a desired flavor. Because of their
ratings on the Scoville scale, Ghost pepper and Habanero peppers are used to make
the hotter sauces but additional ingredients are used to add extra heat, such as pure
capsaicin extract and mustard oil. Other common ingredients include vinegar and
spices. Vinegar is used primarily as a natural preservative, but using flavored
vinegars can be used to attain a different taste.

53