Food Preparation Skills (AQA GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition): Flashcards

• infusing a liquid with herbs or spices

• seasoning with salt and pepper

• adding a paste, e.g. garlic or tomato

• making a jus or reduction

A flavoured liquid is rapidly boiled so the water evaporates.

This concentrates the flavour and changes the viscosity.

• browning, by dextrinisation or caramelisation

• glazing, e.g. an egg wash on pastry for colour and shine

• adding a crust, crisp or crumb

False.

A clean spoon must be used every time, to taste food hygienically and avoid contaminating the dish.

• adding garnishes and decorative techniques

• food styling to attract consumers

• correct portioning, so the plate has neither too much nor too little

Recipes use different measurement units.

Weight: ounces (oz) or grams (g), e.g. 1 oz = 25 g

Volume: fluid ounces (fl oz) or millilitres (ml), e.g. 1 fl oz = 30 ml

• clean knives after use to prevent contamination

• keep knives sharp using a knife sharpener

• use the correct-sized knife for the food

• store knives safely in a block, magnetic board or wrap

• carry knives with the blade facing downwards

The thumb and forefinger make a bridge shape to grasp the food and hold it steady, and the knife cuts underneath the bridge.

The fingertips are held close together and tucked towards the palm, holding the ingredient in place like a claw.

For safety, to protect the fingers, and for accuracy in the cut.

Cutting a vegetable into long, thin matchstick strips is known as julienne.

Slicing cuts food into thin slices.

Dicing cuts food into small cubes.

• batons

• julienne strips

Removing the breast meat from the carcass.

Cutting a whole chicken into portions such as wings, legs and breast meat.

A piece of fish cut from the bone — one from each side of the fish.

False.

Knives should be kept sharp using a knife sharpener, as a blunt knife is more likely to slip.

• tofu

• halloumi cheese

To prevent cross-contamination with pathogens, especially between raw and cooked foods.

Slicing it into long, thin strips, e.g. cabbage for a coleslaw.

Grating slices food into small, narrow threads by rubbing it over a grater.

Crushing reduces food to tiny pieces, e.g. garlic in a garlic crusher.

Peeling removes the skin in a thin strip, using a peeler.

De-skinning removes the skin by blanching in boiling water, e.g. tomatoes.

Dividing it into segments, e.g. grapefruit segments.

• to help remove the skin, e.g. from tomatoes

• to prevent enzymic browning

Using a knife to cut it decoratively, so the piece can be used as a garnish.

Forcing soft or mashed food through a piping bag to create specific patterns, e.g. buttercream icing on a cake.

Blending mixes fruit and vegetables into a smooth consistency, e.g. a smoothie.

Juicing extracts only the juice, leaving the fibrous part behind.

A masher or ricer is used to reduce a food such as potato to a soft mass.

Scissor snipping — cutting small pieces using scissors.

True.

Washing removes contaminating pathogens, e.g. from soil, which could otherwise cause food poisoning.

• blanching in boiling water

• adding an acid, e.g. lemon juice

Using a spoon-like device to remove portions of soft fruit or vegetables, e.g. melon balls.

The grill and the oven.

• grilling under heat

• char-grilling

• barbecue (BBQ)

Grilling under heat: heat is applied from above, and food can be moved between shelf heights.

Char-grilling: food sits on grill bars and is heated from below.

Food is cooked on a grill over burning charcoal, usually outside.

• baking

• roasting

• casseroles and tagines

• braising

Ovens should be pre-heated to make sure the food cooks at the correct temperature for the recipe.

Baking: cooking in a hot oven without adding extra fat.

Roasting: cooking in a hot oven with fat added, which gives a crispy coating.

Any four of:

• cakes

• pies

• biscuits

• scones

• pastry

• fruits

A North African earthenware pot used for slow cooking. The stew cooked inside it is also called a tagine.

It is cooked in a lidded pot in liquid at a lower heat, for much longer and more slowly than baking or roasting.

Both use a lidded pot cooked slowly at a low temperature, but braising uses less liquid — a cut of meat may only be half covered.

True.

A grill pan, or griddle, is used to create char lines, as in char-grilling.

• meats

• vegetables

• pulses, e.g. beans and lentils

Blenders use rotating blades to chop food and reduce it to a liquid.

Mixers use a range of attachments to mix, knead or beat food.

Any four of:

• baby food

• soup

• smoothie

• puree

• fruit shake

• liquidisers — blend solid foods into a liquid

• smoothie makers — blend fruit and vegetables into a drink

• hand blenders — blend food inside a jug or pan

• soup makers — make home-made soup from scratch

• chopping

• slicing

• mixing

• grating

• grinding

Any three of:

• shredding cabbage

• making nut butter

• mixing pastry dough

• breaking bread into breadcrumbs

• cake batter

• dough

• whisked cream

• whisked egg whites

Hand-held mixers handle smaller volumes and tend to be less powerful than worktop mixers.

• place devices on a flat, stable surface

• keep devices away from water

• take care with blade and grater attachments

• switch off the electricity when not in use

Pasta dough passes through rollers to flatten it into sheets, which can then be cut into shapes such as tagliatelle or ravioli.

A microwave oven uses microwave radiation to heat food quickly.

Any four of:

• reheats or defrosts food quickly

• energy efficient

• convenient for ready meals

• easy to clean

• combination ovens can also crisp food

Any four of:

• food is easily overcooked if timings are not exact

• cold spots occur without regular stirring

• cannot crisp food unless it is a combination oven

• metal and some plastics cannot be used

• foods high in fat or sugar burn easily

False.

Blenders use rotating blades to reduce food to a liquid, while mixers use attachments to mix, knead or beat.

• reheating preprepared meals

• melting butter

• steaming vegetables

To retain softness and prevent it from drying out or crisping.

• boiling

• steaming

• poaching

• simmering

• blanching

Boiling: food is cooked in boiling water or another liquid.

Steaming: food is cooked over boiling water, in its steam.

Both cook food gently just below boiling point.

Poaching uses a saucepan or poaching pan, e.g. for eggs; simmering uses a saucepan, e.g. for curries and sauces.

Food is cooked in boiling water for a short period, then quickly cooled to stop the cooking, e.g. tomatoes to remove their skin.

• potatoes

• pasta

• rice

• dry frying

• shallow frying

• stir-frying

Foods that naturally contain fat, e.g. bacon, sausages and minced meat, because no fat is added to the pan.

Shallow frying uses a small amount of fat in the pan, e.g. for eggs, pancakes and burgers.

Dry frying uses no fat at all.

Stir-frying cooks small pieces of food quickly at high heat with constant movement to ensure even cooking.

• vegetables

• chicken

• tofu

• noodles

False.

Blanched food is only part-cooked — it is cooled quickly to stop the cooking process.

Stock or milk.

Flattening and spreading food out, e.g. rolling out pastry.

Shaping combined food into a roll, e.g. a sausage roll.

Wrapping one food in another food type, e.g. sausages wrapped in bacon, or sushi wrapped in seaweed.

Holding food together with a long skewer, usually made of metal or wood, e.g. meat or vegetable skewers.

To create a different texture or appearance, e.g. fish cakes coated in breadcrumbs, or a cake coated in icing to add moisture and change its look.

Combining a wet mixture and forming it into a specific shape, e.g. falafels, burgers, fish cakes or meatballs.

• lasagne

• fish pie

Mixing foods together brings a risk of cross-contamination by harmful microorganisms.

True.

Wet mixtures such as burgers and fish cakes are high risk foods, so cross-contamination must be prevented.

The ingredients for spaghetti Bolognese are mixed together as the dish is cooked.

• roll

• wrap

• skewer

• mix

• coat

• shape and bind

• layer

Meat, fish and their alternatives, along with wet mixtures made from them.

Bread is layered with the meat patty, salads, dressings and cheese, combining several foods into one dish.

A thickened liquid used to add flavour and moisture to a dish.

• gelatinisation, by adding starch

• reduction, by evaporation

• making an emulsion

The starch granules in flour break open at around 80 °C, forming a gel that thickens the sauce.

More liquid creates a thinner sauce.

More starch creates a thicker sauce.

Starch is mixed with butter and heated until a thick paste forms.

Milk is then added slowly to form the sauce.

All the ingredients are added at the same time, then continually stirred or whisked until the sauce thickens.

Starch is mixed with cold water to form a paste.

Heated liquid is then added and mixed while heating to form the sauce.

A sauce made by the roux method, but using stock instead of milk.

Milk is first infused with extra ingredients such as peppercorns and bay leaves, then thickened using the roux method.

The liquid is boiled or simmered so it evaporates.

This concentrates the flavour and makes the sauce thicker.

• tomato sauce

• curry sauce

• gravy

By vigorous mixing of the oil and water together with an emulsifier, such as egg yolk.

False.

Under normal circumstances oil and water are immiscible, so an emulsifier is needed to hold them together.

• mayonnaise

• milk

• ice cream

• softening it

• adding flavour

• adding moisture

Giving meat a softer texture by breaking down the fibres within the muscle.

The acid denatures the proteins in the meat, making it softer and more tender.

• extended cooking periods

• mechanical action, e.g. mincing or pounding with a hammer

Adding a liquid to a food and leaving it to soak for a prolonged period.

The liquid in which food is soaked, which may contain herbs, spices and/or acids such as lemon juice.

A marinade containing an acid such as lemon juice will also help to tenderise the meat.

• meat

• fish

• tofu

• vegetables

False.

Marinades that contain an acid also denature the proteins, so marinating can contribute to tenderising.

The liquid needs time to penetrate the food, so the flavour, moisture and any acid can act on the protein fibres.

• lemon juice

• vinegar

Breaking down the muscle fibres makes the meat softer, so it is easier to chew and swallow.

By mixing dry ingredients with a liquid, e.g. flour and water.

• bread

• pasta

• pastry

Fat is crumbled into the flour before the liquid is added, which gives the dough a crumbly texture.

Pasta, pizza and bread doughs.

Kneading a dough increases the amount of gluten that forms.

The dough is left so the yeast ferments, releasing carbon dioxide gas that makes the dough rise.

The yeast is killed and the gas expands further, giving soft, fluffy bread.

• rolled

• piped, e.g. choux pastry

• used to line a tin

• made into layers, e.g. palmiers and puff pastry

• glazed with egg before baking

It is rolled through a pasta machine, then cut into shapes such as ravioli, tortellini and farfalle.

• bread rolls

• flat-breads

• pinwheels

• pizza

• calzone

False.

Shortening coats the flour in fat so no gluten network forms, which is what gives pastry its crumbly, 'short' texture.

Egg for pastry, and milk for bread.

The ingredients used and the production process, e.g. whether the fat is rubbed in or the dough is kneaded.

They add a gas, which expands during cooking.

• egg

• chemical

• steam

• biological

The structure created when whisking eggs traps pockets of air within a liquid batter.

Whisking egg whites to make a meringue.

Whisking whole eggs into cake batter to make a whisked sponge.

• self-raising flour

• baking powder

• bicarbonate of soda

Chemical raising agents produce bubbles of carbon dioxide when heated, which help doughs and batters to rise.

The water present in the mixture evaporates when heated, producing steam that raises the dough.

Choux pastry.

Yeast added to bread dough ferments to produce gas, which expands during proving and baking to raise the dough.

• bread rolls

• focaccia

• naan bread

True.

Baking powder is already present within self-raising flour.

Egg — whisking whole eggs creates a gas-in-liquid foam that raises the sponge.

• removal of heat, e.g. chilling a starch-thickened mixture

• use of protein, e.g. heating an egg mixture

The setting of a food into a solid when it is chilled, e.g. custard setting as it cools.

Gelation sets a food upon chilling.

Gelatinisation thickens a sauce during heating.

Starch is added and heated, thickening the mixture by gelatinisation.

The mixture is then chilled, setting it by gelation.

Heating denatures the protein molecules, which then coagulate and set the mixture, e.g. an egg mixture in a quiche.

Custard is set by removing heat, in a process called gelation.

False.

Protein mixtures set on heating, but starch-based mixtures set on chilling, by gelation.

Starch, which first thickens the mixture on heating, then sets it as it cools.

Protein, most commonly from eggs, which denatures and coagulates.

A quiche, in which the egg mixture sets as it cooks.

Gelatinisation must release the starch into the liquid first, so that there is a gel able to set on chilling.