The Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

EGGS: Part 1

Eggs can be fresh or dried, dried eggs being only hens’ eggs without the shell and water. Dried egg should be stored in a cool, dry place – not in the refrigerator! Store eggs for several or a week in a cool place away from strong-smelling foods. An egg stand is ideal for this purpose. If the eggs are dirty, wipe them over – washing will remove the natural oils which help to preserve the eggs.

Pickled Eggs: eggs laid in the Spring keep better than those laid in the other seasons. Eggs that will not clean-up, must be rejected. Waterglass or the special preparations should be used. If an egg floats to the surface, use it immediately. Try to maintain the ambient temperature between 2 and 8 C and they should keep for 6 to 9 months.

Preparing Eggs for Cooking: break each egg separately into a cup, before adding it to the other ingredients to ensure it is not ‘off’. If you wish to separate the white from the yolk, tip the contents back and forth between the two eggshell halves and the white (albumen) will run off. Beat eggs with a whisk or a fork in an appropriate bowl; whip egg whites with a knife on a dinner plate – a pinch of salt will help.

Raw eggs used to be prescribed for invalids as they are easily digestible, but, this not to be recommended these days due to the prevalence of salmonella. One method, presented here for the curious was to strain a beaten egg into a mug and slowly add a cup of hot milk (or tea, coffee or lemon water; add sugar to taste. Sherry was often added also.

Cooking Eggs: eggs must be cooked slowly because the albumen solidifies at a temperature lower than that of boiling water and becomes ‘tough’ at higher temperatures. Similarly, if raw egg is used to thicken a sauce and the liquid is subsequently allowed to boil, the sauce will ‘curdle’, i.e. the egg will solidify into small specks, ruining its texture.

Coddling: produces easily digestible egg-whites, making it an ideal meal for invalids and children. Lower eggs into 3″ (75mm) boiling water; place lid and remove from heat. Let stand for: 7 mins for medium-, 5 mins for soft- and 20 mins for hard-boiled.

Boiling: lower fresh eggs gently into 75mm 3″ boiling water with a spoon. Cover and boil gently for 3-3″ mins for soft-, 4-5 mins the medium- and 10 mins for hard-boiled eggs.

Place in egg cups and tap the shell to crack it, allowing the steam to escape, thus preventing further cooking. For sandwiches, salads etc: boil the egg for 12 mins and plunge into cold water. This allows the shell to be easily removed and prevents a black ring forming around the yolk.

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Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce

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

MILK:

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

How To Scald Milk: Rinse a clean pan with cold water, pour in the milk and heat until bubbles rise around the side of the pan. Maintain the milk at this temperature, ie, do not let it boil, for 3 minutes. Do not overheat, as milk burns very easily. Pour immediately into a clean bottle and place in a basin of cold water and cover with a muslin cloth to discourage flies and dust getting in.

How To Keep Milk Fresh: If milk is not be kept in the containers in which it was bought, transfer it to a clean jug, which has been rinsed with cold water. A warm container will cause milk to stick to the sides and go off more quickly. Keep milk in the coolest place in the larder and always covered. it is worth remembering that draughts are often at ground-level and that hot air rises. Never keep milk in an airless cupboard and in hot weather stand the jug in a bowl of water with the cloth covering dangling in the water. The cloth will soak up water, which will evaporate, which uses up heat, ensuring that the containers remain cool. Keep milk away from strong-smelling foods, as it absorbs odours easily. Never mix new milk with old.

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

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

Condensed Milk: This form of milk is simply evaporated milk to which sugar has been added before being placed in its container. Sugar acts as a preservative and will keep the milk for about a week. Do not keep in the tin, but decant it into a jug or bottle.

Dried Milk: Dried milk comes is available in a variety of forms and particular attention should be paid to the instructions on the label. Niche market products can be bought especially for babies, invalids, convalescents and dieters, all of which contain varying amounts and types of added vitamins and minerals. Usually, they contain a great deal less fat than normal milk.

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Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

HARD AND SOFT CHEESES

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

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

Some local conditions are unique and those areas produce cheeses that are not successfully reproduced elsewhere: for example Gruyere and Camembert, although factories do try. They even have some success, as most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now comes from the USA and Canada.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3] Cooking rapidly at high temperature. This stops the protein from becoming tough and stringy and so, harder to digest or you could add cheese to sauces late in the process.

4] Adding alkali. A large pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins more easily digestible.

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Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

Eggs: Part 2

Poaching: boil 1.5 inches (40mm) water in a frying pan; add a teaspoon of salt and 5ml of vinegar. Crack an egg into a cup, inspect and pour into boiling water. Turn down the heat. Fold the white around the unbroken yolk with a spoon and continue to simmer for another 3-4 mins. Lift out with a fish slice, drain and serve on hot buttered toast.

Scrambling: beat the eggs well; add salt, pepper to taste and a dash of milk. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a shallow pan. Fry the eggs slowly, stirring continuously. Cook in a basin floating on boiling water, if preferred. Dish up when almost completely set, in about 5 minutes.

Frying: Melt enough fat to easily cover the base of the pan. Tip egg in gently and gather white around the yolk. When the white has set, baste the yolk to taste and remove whole with a fish slice.

Baked: lightly grease a fireproof dish and slide the eggs gently into it. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and butter to taste. Bake in a medium oven and serve in the same bowl after the whites have set.

Omelette: buy a pan and keep it only for omelettes! The base should be smooth and clean. Allow two eggs per serving; beat lightly and add salt and pepper to taste. Melt enough butter to cover the base of the frying pan. When the butter is hot, gently tip in the eggs; as it sets, lift up the handle and draw the set mixture up towards the handle, allowing the liquid egg to run down onto the hot pan. When all the liquid is set, tilt the pan forward and roll the omelette over. Serve straight away on a hot plate. It can be filled with almost anything, before being rolled up.

Pouring Custard: lightly beat 2-3 eggs for every pint of milk. Heat the milk and gradually add to the eggs; add sugar and flavouring to suit your taste; cook in a double pan or jug and hot water until the required thickness has been achieved. If it is not to be served up immediately, pour a thin layer of water onto it’s surface to stop a skin forming on top.

Baked Custard: start as above but then pour the custard into a lightly greased shallow dish; sprinkle sparsely with nutmeg and place the dish in water to halfway up its sides. Cook at 350 F for 35-45 minutes; you can test its solidity by inserting a knife, which should be clean on withdrawal.

Steamed Custard: as above, but cook in a steamer or pan of boiling water. Cooking time about the same.

Custard Tarts: pour a little pouring custard into each unbaked pastry case and bake in the oven for around 40-50 minutes. A little strawberry jam can be put in the base of the pastry case first, if preferred.